It’s not too late to snag great gifts for Christmas. Late-stage holiday shopping can be a little nerve-racking, but you don’t have to give up on quality gifts just because the options are getting a little sparse. Turn your attention away from that perfect jacket or pair of jeans that is no longer available in the size or color you wanted. There are always great gifts in less-popular categories, and you never know what will turn out to be the surprise winner of the season.
WHITE ELEPHANT WINNERS
Hot off the presses, I have a few new ideas from this year’s white elephant parties. People voted with their steals, and this is what the kids and adults are loving right now. Best of all, there’s still time to get your own before Christmas.
This is not something I would ever think to buy, but a tiny fridge was one of the most-stolen gifts among teens at the white elephant exchange. I had to look into what one stores in a miniature cooling fridge: drinks or snacks in kids’ rooms, beauty products that need refrigeration, medications, pumped breast milk. Many can run on indoor AC plugs or a DC cigarette lighter plug in the car. Be warned they don’t tend to last more than a couple years, but people seem to love the convenience of portable refrigeration. And they are undeniably cute. There’s a popular $30 Frigidaire model which is adorably retro but only cools 26 degrees below ambient temperature, which really isn’t sufficient for the heat of summer. This Cooluli fridge on Amazon ($46) can cool 40 degrees below ambient temp, seems to be built with cooler-type insulation and has better customer satisfaction.
My son and his friends love a good poker night on a chilly evening. A game night is more social than a movie night, and the competition gets everyone fired up. The teens perked up when someone unwrapped this handy poker set suitcase ($21 on Amazon), and they maxed out the white elephant limit on stealing it. …
