Are you still struggling to gather all your presents? Shipping can determine whether your gifts arrive in time for the holidays. What can you do when it’s too late to send your gift?
We have prepared a list of the best virtual gifts, not just for online friends. In addition to ensuring they arrive on time, these last-minute digital gifts also have a smaller ecological footprint.
1) Gift cards, certificates and digital vouchers
Do you know where your gift recipient likes to shop? Most of the stores offer digital gift cards for their online stores.
- gaming enthusiasts: If your recipient likes games, you can get them a xbox either Steam Digital Gift Card.
- Cinema lovers: Consider getting the couch potato in your life a fandango gift card. This will allow them to see the latest blockbusters at a nearby theater.
- apple fans: Does your gift have an iPhone or Mac? get them a Apple Store or App Store and iTunes Gift Card that will let them choose from a world of Apple accessories, apps and entertainment. If you are not an Apple user, you can get this Apple Gift Card and App Store on Amazon.
- android users: Similarly, owners of an Android device will appreciate a Google Play Gift Voucher (further available on amazon). Google Play balances can also be used to pay for YouTube Premium, YouTube TV, and channel memberships.
- Miscellaneous PayPal Digital Gifts: The Netflix Gift Card is one of many digital gifts from PayPal. You can also choose eGift Cards from Best Buy and eBay. Obviously, you don’t have to use PayPal for any of these, you can just turn to Amazon.
- Buyers: What would the world’s largest online retailer, Amazon, be without the perfect gift card options? Amazon eGift cards that are delivered electronically, as well as Mail and Print at Home gift cards. All of them will buy your virtual shopper everything Amazon has to offer, including Kindle Ebooks or a Netflix subscription.
In short, if it’s online and you sell things, chances are you have a digital gift option, and you’ll more than likely find it on Amazon as well. If you know a little about your friend’s hobbies, the gadgets they own, or their online shopping habits, you can select a gift card from a corresponding online store, and they will certainly appreciate it.
2) Premium Web Services as Virtual Gifts
Like many digital stores, other online services offer professional memberships or subscriptions. People are usually somewhat reserved when it comes to investing in such services; it’s a luxury. And that really makes these services a perfect gift.
What better gift could you give than to enhance your friend’s experience with their favorite online service? Find out what services they use frequently and surprise them with an upgrade. If they already have a premium subscription, it just means you made a great choice and helped make renewal so much easier. Below is a short list of options.
media streaming
- Netflix: Surprise someone with unlimited streaming of movies and TV shows.
- Audible: Gift one audiobook a month for three months for $45 or simply give a one-month trial for $15.
- Pandora: Make a music lover’s day by removing ads from their favorite music recommendation service. Pandora allows you to send a gift card via email or print it yourself.
- Spotify: Ad-free commercial music streaming gift cards starting at $30. While you can’t buy them online, you can buy one at a local store and share the PIN with your recipient.
- hulu: Give a full month of unlimited movies and TV series. As with Spotify, gift cards are not sold online, but you can share the code.
- Disney+: This subscription package includes exclusive Disney movies, shows from Hulu and ESPN, making it the perfect family gift. You can gift a one-year subscription through Disney+ or pick up a physical gift card and deliver it in person.
- Paramount+: Who has time to watch all these shows? If you know something that does, you probably need help keeping all these subscriptions up and running. Get them a Paramount+ gift card online or in store.
- tv sling– This on-demand streaming service for movies, live TV, and live sports is a must-have for entertainment addicts in the US. It features genre-specific channel collections and premium options that can be mixed and matched with the service base to customize each subscription.
Were you looking to give away a YouTube subscription? Google pulled YouTube gift cards from Amazon. Instead, just buy a Google Play Gift Voucherwhich can also be applied to YouTube.
Other Premium Services
- Amazon Prime– Super-fast shipping, blockbuster streaming, and free Kindle book borrowing for one year with an Amazon Prime subscription. Learn more about the amazing benefits of Amazon Prime.
- kindle unlimited: Bookworms will appreciate unlimited access to Amazon’s Kindle eBook library. You can gift a six-month subscription for just under $30.
- GoSkills: Give the gift of learning. Choose a specific course or the Unlimited option for $39 and support your loved one’s self-improvement ambitions.
- Shiny: This interactive learning platform offers something for everyone who is hungry for knowledge, and it makes a great gift.
- Tree house: If your recipient is a programmer, they will appreciate a subscription to this library of online courses.
- Setapp: Give a Mac user the best Mac apps in one convenient suite, starting at $9.99/mo.
3) Individual digital gifts
Gift cards and subscriptions aren’t the most exciting gifts and may seem uncreative. Here are options for those of you looking for less generic alternatives to a physical gift.
iOS apps
You can gift an iOS app to make your gift a little more personal. In the App Store or iTunes, navigate to the app you want to gift, tap the button share icon At the top right, on the next screen, tap the Gift icon.
Then sign in with your Apple ID, enter the recipient’s email address, add a personalized message, select a date for the gift, and finally tap Next and confirm your purchase. You can’t gift Android apps, but you can gift a Google Play Store gift card or send money to someone using Google Pay.
Music
If your friend likes music and you know what genres or artists they like, you can probably find a great album for them at one of the many places that sell music. Several allow you to gift music.
- apple music has an option to gift albums, which works just like gifting an iOS app.
- band camp allows you to send songs or albums as a gift.
amazon music unlimited (AMU) used to have a gift option, but it is no longer available. Not even Amazon gift cards will apply to AMU; you would have to give away a prepaid credit card instead. It is best to check your friend’s Amazon wish list or choose another gift.
Audiobooks and eBooks
Finally, everyone loves a good story or learning new things. Some people prefer to read, others have embraced audiobooks, which make great gifts. Find out which camp your friend belongs to and what devices they own, and you’ll soon be able to identify a compatible, personalized gift.
- Kobo eGift Cards: You can select them, but Kobo also allows you to gift an eBook to anyone, anywhere in the world. You can even choose a delivery date.
- Amazon Kindle eBooks: The service has a buy for others option.
- Amazon Audible Audiobooks: Look for the gift as a gift option; on the desktop, you may need to expand More options first.
- Barnes & Noble: Each audio and ebook has a buy as a gift option.
4) Inspired Gift Cards: Giftly
If you don’t already know what type of gift card you should get, use gift to stimulate your inspiration. First, you choose what you want to give away, with options ranging from anything to hot chocolate, then you choose a venue.
Then personalize your coupon before checkout and print it yourself or send it to the recipient via email, text or card. If you have no idea what your recipient will like, you can choose to give anything anywhere
However, be careful when purchasing a gift card for someone abroad or outside of the US; Not all gift cards work in all countries.
Choose the best digital gifts
Whatever you decide to give as a gift, be considerate. Don’t give away just because you have to. Make your gift personal, meaningful, and useful to the recipient. After all, gifting is about bonding. If you still need more inspiration, browse our extensive list of gifting sites, which also includes last-minute digital gift options.