Out of Time

Here it is, less than a week before Christmas, and you've blown it. Again. Me too. What do I do? Head to the mall and do the zombie shuffle with 50,000 people, looking for the perfect gift when I have no idea what to get them in the first place? Or is it really down to standing in line to buy a Best Buy gift card?


One option is a Netflix gift membership. I have some huge movie buffs on my list that, as far as I know, haven't even tried Netflix. I know they like buying DVDs and rent from places like Blockbuster. I think if they tried Netflix they'd see how good it is for getting through your "I've been meaning to watch that" list.


One of my favorite places to get gift certificates from is Amazon. I've used it for books of course, but I've also bought backpacking stuff and electronics there. It's easy to redeem the certificate online so it credits your account, then you can spend it later in the year without having to dig for it. Now they're even better since you can apply them to Amazon's MP3 downloads. That'll let even the snottiest teenager fill their new MP3 player no matter what brand it is.

My other last-minute option is to negotiate the "no gift" agreement. It's pretty lame to do this on the 20th! but I've done it before and I'm doing it again this year. If you're having a hard time buying for someone, chances are good that they're having an equally hard time buying for you.
If you really want to give them a gift, let them off the hook. Or agree to exchange the best thing you can find for $1.

Netflix

You'd have to live under a rock to have not heard about Netflix.com by now. But what amazes me is how many of my friends and family haven't tried it and still have basic questions about how it works. For $2o you can let them try it for 2 months (unlimited) or for 4 months (restricted to 2 DVDs a month). That's 8+ movies for $20. Where else can you get that sort of bargain? If they hate it, hey, it was only $20. Or you can go really cheap and buy them one month of 2-at-a-time for $4.99. Or buy that for yourself just to get a copy of A Christmas Story and National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation to play over and over and over for the kids in the car DVD player on your long holiday drives.