Great Last Minute Holiday Gifts!

December 20, 2017

Whether it’s for that Hanukkah gathering, the Christmas party hostess you want to thank, or someone else on your gift list, these personal last-minute presents are things they’ll actually want to use/keep/cherish! From quick to instant delivery, we curated both the affordable variety and a few that might require a payment-plan!

Gift Cards and Coupons

Etsy is the place to browse when you’re looking for something hand-crafted, customized or one-of-a-kind. Truly a shoppers’ bonanza, this online marketplace will allow gift recipients to purchase at any shop that accepts the gift certificate.

When you can’t recall if it’s white or red wine that your host or hostess prefers, this is the smart gift–giving solution. Meant for the person who prefers handpicking his or her own — after the company has gone home! Gift prices start at $25 at Wine.com.

If you want to wrap and hand something to your friend or loved one, Southlands Shopping Center has a 24-hour gift card kiosk available across from Ted’s Montana Grill on Town Square. Choose from $10-$100 gift card amounts (for a $3 per card service fee) which are accepted at most Southlands merchants and restaurants.

Performances and Classes

Always enjoyable, but not something everybody opts to buy for themselves are live theater tickets. Grab a pair to an upcoming Tony award-winning play at the Aurora Fox Arts Center. Choose from Hedwig and the Angry Inch, Real Women Have Curves or the musical Passing Strange and give someone a night to remember.

The MasterClass has taken the internet by storm and you could gift a loved one sessions with a world class instructor. Steve Martin teaches comedy, Gordon Ramsay teaches cooking, Serena Williams teaches tennis…you get the picture. There are one-class gifts for $90 or an all-access pass of 20 classes for $180. Why not learn from the best, right?

Family Portraits

For memory-making gift that will be remembered for-EVER give a family portrait at Picture It Studios in Southlands Mall! The studio offers a variety of themes and it’s just five minutes away from the master-planned community of Southshore off of E-470. Certificates can be purchased for entire packages, or applied toward one of several including maternity and newborn, holiday extras, toddlers and extended family portraits.

Gifts That Give Back

There are several opportunities to give back to our community in the form of cash donations to help Aurora’s mistreated and homeless pets, support Police and Fire Explorers so young people interested in law enforcement and fire service can find out about careers, Shots for Tots which provide vaccines for children and COMPASS, which provides after-school programs for Aurora Public Schools. For more programs and information about how you can help your Aurora neighbors, go here.

Alternately, the 2017 Samaritan’s Purse Christmas Catalog features 42 gifts of hope to help families around the world who are victims of war, poverty, natural disasters, and famine. From blankets and goats to clean water and medical care, the gift you choose will help those in greatest need.

Quick and Hand-Crafted

If you prefer to have your own fingerprints on a last-minute gift, check out these quick and easy last-minute gifts from BuzzFeed. From a homemade Build-A-Fort kit, to a family recipe-etched cutting board, you’ll find 31 ideas you can hand-craft with love, from you to them!

Southshore: The Gift of Community

The master-planned community of Southshore has a special sense of community fostered by events and recreation residents can enjoy year-round. With new homes by Century Communities, Toll Brothers at Vista Point and Richmond American Homes, from the upper $300s to the $700s, living lakeside at Southshore is living the dream!