I’m rounding up Gift Idea week with one that speaks to a very special type of gift giver: The Last Minute Shopper.

Let’s assume that it’s last minute. I mean REALLY last minute. All that is open to you is a drug store, a grocery store, a convenience store and the internet.  What can you possibly do?

First stop: The Internet.

1) With a few keystrokes and a credit card, you can buy an instant virtual gift card, which can either be emailed to the recipient or printed out on a printer.

Use a site like gfitzip.com or a Virtual Visa through  http://www.giftcards.com/virtual-gift-cards

Many stores offer eGift certificates in an instant, including some of these:

• Amazon

• Target

• Walmart

• Gap

• Old Navy

• Victoria’s Secret

• Macy’s

• Kohl’s

• CVS

• Staples

2) Other items you can purchase online for instant delivery:

• An “of the month” subscription

• Amazon Prime – a year’s subscription for free shipping on Amazon

• Magazine subscriptions

• Kindle downloads

• iTunes downloads

Next Stop:  Drug Store, Gas Station, or Grocery Store.  If you can find one of these kinds of places open (and you could certainly be lucky enough to do so), there are always some decent enough items you can purchase that you can pass off as a gift, even on the way to wherever you’re going.

1)   Grocery Store:

• Really nice bag of coffee, or really high-end chocolate bar (high percentage of cocoa)

• Christmas stocking full of favorite candy bars

• Selection of “gourmet” sauces or ingredients

• Beer or wine.

2) Drug store or convenience store:

• Gift cards

• Candles

• Earbuds

• Gloves/mittens

• Make up/perfume

• Picture frame (and a favorite photo you can print out at home… )

• Electric razor

• As Seen On TV products

• Manicure kit

• Stationery, cards, stamps

• Lottery tickets

• Suggestion from Reader Rebecca Stapler: “Something that’s really popular with younger kids are the Dream Lites, Flashlight Friends, and Pillow Pets. They will also have coloring books, markers, crayons, etc.”

Good luck, and don’t forget to wrap your gift!