Our Ultimate Last-Minute Gift Guide

There are five days ‘til Christmas and Hanukkah is already underway–if you’re shopping for last-minute gifts, you’ve come to the right place. In support of procrastinators everywhere (well, very specifically, procrastinators in DC, Maryland, and Virginia), we’ve scoured through every last one of our 2022 gift guides to find all the gifts you can get right now.

First up: Gifts from our 2022 Ultimate Gift Guide. 

This list of 55 gifts for everyone on your list includes a bunch of DC-centric experiential gifts, plus tangible items you can wrap along with them. Most of the experiences would make for a great last-minute grab (just click, buy, and if you’ve got a printer, print!), and some, but not all, of the more wrap-friendly items are also available online. Here’s the last-minute breakdown.

For the jet setter: The Away suitcases (starting at $275) guarantee delivery by the 23rd if you order today (Monday) only, but the C by Bloomingdale’s cashmere travel wrap scarves ($149) are in-store in Tysons. Pair either with plane tickets for a trip—Asheville, Nantucket, Key West, Bozeman, Savannah, Costa Rica, and Cape Town all got new direct flights from the DMV this year—and you’re winning the gift game.

For the music lover: The specific belt bags we recommended may be hard to grab on such short notice, but concert tickets (think the Anthem, 9:30 Club, Capital One Arena) are still an easy purchase.

For the foodie: The dinner subscription from Table 22—a chef’s choice take-out tasting menu for two from Rose’s Luxury ($110 before wine pairings and other add-ons) and a rotating pasta kit ($85 at La Collina, before add-ons), for example—is another easy last-minute buy—just print a description of your selection so the recipient can get all the details. 

For the theater fan: We suggested tickets to a musical, which are all still on sale and ready to buy. The Kennedy Center is featuring Wicked now; National has Jagged Little Pill: The Musical coming in March; Ford’s Theater has Shout, Sister, Shout on the way—plus so many more. We suggested two pairs of headphones (for listening to the soundtrack at home), and both—the Sony pair ($398) and the Anker Soundcore version ($60)—are currently set to arrive by Christmas via Amazon. 

For the binge-watcher: We recommended a subscription to a streaming service—you can buy gift cards to all the major streaming networks (Netflix, Hulu, Paramount Plus, etc.) online or in person at stores such as Target, Best Buy, and some grocery stores. The nugget ice machine we’re coveting to go with it won’t get here in time, and while the cozy throw ($149) from Parachute we recommended might, their 14th Street store has plenty of other comfy styles you can snag. 

For the lover of fresh flowers: You can still gift someone a spot in a flower-arranging workshop at She Loves Me (starting at $95), though since there’s nothing to print, it’s lucky there are in fact a few more days to get a floral arrangement (starting at $62), to go with it. 

For someone who wants to feel pampered: A gift certificate to one of the DMV’s many good spas is a great last-minute gift. To go along with it? We recommended a classic waffle robe. Brooklinen ($99) and Coyuchi ($128-$148) are both offering expedited shipping so you can have them by the 24th.

For the history buff: A monument tour—specifically this “Perfect Private Night Tour of Washington DC,” with its 45 five-star reviews on TripAdvisor—can be purchased online ($385) at any time, and if you choose two-day or overnight shipping, you can get an 8-by-10 of this DC nightscape print by Angela B. Pan (starting at $27) quickly to go with it.

For the creative: Give the gift of a class–such as a darkroom seminar for a photography buff ($75), an acrylic painting class ($262), or a beginner’s pottery class ($365)—at the Capitol Hill Arts Workshop, or check the offerings at Eastern Market Pottery and the Art League in Alexandria. We recommend pairing the experience with art supplies—both the acrylic paint set ($27) and the sculpting wheel ($40) we picked out would arrive this week, and the Art League has its own art supply store you can pop into.

For the tea drinker: An afternoon tea at the St. Regis (starting at $65 a person), and shop in person at the locally owned The Spice Suite for something to go along with it.

For the sports fan: Tickets to a Caps, Wizards, or Mystics game are easy to buy and print. And though we don’t think the wheel-able cooler ($450) we suggested will arrive in time, this BenQ projector ($750) might.

For the cocktail connoisseur: You can still make reservations for a cocktail flight at Jose Andres’ Barmini (starting at $95 a person); or check out the Gibson for one of Chantal Tseng’s libation-themed events and private cocktail classes. Sadly, the bar carts will not make it in time. 

For the fitness enthusiast: Give the gift of a two-hour session at DC’s Trapeze School (starting at $55 a person), and wrap along with it either Bose Tempo version ($249) sunglasses designed for hiking, running, and biking, or a candle with the glorious SoulCycle-inspired grapefruit scent (36)—both are delivering this week.

Next: There are still seven gifts from our Great Host and Hostess Gift Ideas for Your Next Holiday Party story that you can grab today.

1. A bottle of Each Peach Market’s cold-pressed organic olive oil, or their olive oil gift basket, which includes other treats ($18-$100).
2. This festive, metallic-green fir-and-firewood scented candle; $38 is in store at the Mosaic Anthropologie.
3. This cheese stone ($100) is in stock at Tuckernuck, an easy last-minute gift that’s complete with a book on cheese from Bold Fork Books.
4. Copper mugs ($38 each) from Salt & Sundry.
5. A box of fancy chocolates, ($10.50 and up) from The Chocolate House.
6. Other locally sourced snacks, from homemade ricotta and pesto to stuffed olives and homemade granola, $5 and up at Nido Wine Shop and Market.
7. A mini air plant in a rainbow planter ($18) from Little Leaf Shop.

From our Great Gift Ideas for a New Girlfriend or Boyfriend, here are nine things you can get right now. 

1. Rare plants ($14 to $700), like this Whalefin Snake Plant that looks cool and is easy to care ($32), are available in-store at Little Leaf.
2. This bike chain bottle opener ($28) is at Shop Made in DC in Georgetown.
3. An astrology-inspired match bottle ($28) from Salt and Sundry.
4. If you order this personalized leather catchall (starting at $49) today, you can get it by Christmas from MarkandGraham.com.
5. A Paloma cocktail kit ($28, hint: pair it with your gift recipient’s liquor of choice for all the ingredients they’ll need) is available now at Proper Topper.
6. This very cute, very fancy trio of vases from Tiffany & Co. ($250, and gifted with the promise that you’ll keep the fresh flowers coming!) will get to you by the weekend with complimentary expedited shipping from Tiffany.com.
7. An assortment of hot sauces, like this set of five ($17) at Shop Made in DC in Georgetown.
8. This eye massager (with heat!) seems like a real wildcard, but there is a reason it has a 4.5-star rating with more than 15,000 reviews. For the stressed out, the sleepless, the haver of strained and otherwise sore eyes, it’s a gem—and it’s currently set to arrive by Christmas. $70 at Amazon.com.
9. Cashmere texting gloves are $50 at Tuckernuck.

From our list of DC-Themed Gifts Only a Washingtonian Would Appreciate, here are five gifts you can still snag.

1. Chocolate monuments. You can pick up eight-ounce, five-inch, three-dimensional Capitol Domes in white, dark, and milk chocolate for $13.95 each, but there are also chocolate Lincoln Memorials, Washington Monuments, White Houses, and more at Chocolate Chocolate on Connecticut Avenue.
2. Okay, so you can’t gift the actual seats until pickup in February, but you can buy now, and print a photo of an RFK Stadium Seat to show your recipient today. $350 to $600 on at StadiumSeatDepot.com.
3. These DC-flag–themed pencils ($20) are in store at Appointed.
4. Cheers to having the original area code with the “202”-etched whiskey glasses ($22), in store at Salt and Sundry.
5. These incredibly detailed neighborhood maps by Wild Place Prints ($28) are currently at the Shop Made in DC in Georgetown.

From our guide to Holiday Dog Gifts for Every Pup Parent’s Budget, eight gifts you can get now(ish).

1. An après-ski sweater for pups (starting at $45). MarkandGraham.com is offering delivery by Christmas if you order today (Dec. 19).
2. A fancy new Yeti dog bowl ($50.) You can pick one up at the Strosniders Hardware in Arlington, or nearby Dick’s Sporting goods. 
3. These DC-themed bandanas ($25) are available at Shop Made In DC.
4. Gourmet treats from dog-friendly cannolis and tiramisu to seasonal cookies and donuts ($1.50 to $3.50 at Doyle & Co.) are available at Doyle & Co., the coffee shop in Dupont.
5. The Amazon best-selling Outward Hound Fun Feeder Slo Bowl ($17) delivers in days from Amazon.
6. …As do these squeaky dog toys ($18), also on Amazon.com.
7. This sleek and cozy Pets So Good Oshu Pet House ($595), is delivering by Dec. 24 from bloomingdales.com.
8. The sparkly Kurk Geiger London Rainbow Dog Collar ($85) with rainbow-hued crystals will also ship by Dec. 24 from bloomingdales.com, or you can pick it up from Bloomingdale’s in Tyson.
   

Of the Best Things We Bought This Year: three last-minute gifts. 

1. The Dagget Western Boots by Jeffrey Campbell in “fuschia metallic,” are $270 at Jeffreycampbellshoes.com and there are still shipping options that will land these boots on your doorstep by Friday.
2. A clothing subscrption is a great, no-wrapping last-minute gift, such as the Nuuly rental service ($88/month) that one of our editors bought this year.
3. The Lectrofan EVO sound machine ($60) in white is set to arrive before Christmas from Amazon.

Still shopping? 

Here’s a list of 37 DC-Area Stores You Can Shop In Person this week. We compiled this list of local stores, which include fashion, home goods, gifts, and more, as places you could shop online for Small Business Saturday, but now—when the holidays are here and there’s little time to wait for shipping, is when local shopping really shines. 

Not mentioned there but also fun stores you can pop in locally this week are: La Village Marche for French-inspired gifts and home decor; Rice Market on 14th Street for Asian teas, spices, ceramics, cookware, cookbooks, and more; and Three Littles toy store in Union Market, where we currently have our eye on some cute little stuffed toy rats. 

Amy Moeller

Fashion & Weddings Editor

Amy leads Washingtonian Weddings and writes Style Setters for Washingtonian. Prior to joining Washingtonian in March 2016, she was the editor of Capitol File magazine in DC and before that, editor of What’s Up? Weddings in Annapolis.