Top 10 Last Minute Gifts that “WOW!” | 2015 Rural Mom Holiday Gift Guide

Oprah has her list of favorite things and so does Rural Mom!  It’s difficult to pick just 10 gifts from the thousands of ideas we find which is why in addition to our criteria of being a purposeful, quality, meaningful, budget-friendly and clever gift, it also has to have a “wow” factor!  Because when you are racing against the holiday shopping clock to find a special gift for that special someone, you do not want the gift to be what appears to be an ordinary after-thought.  You want a last minute gifts that leaves the recipient speechless with delight or happy dancing around the tree!  Below are my 2015 top 10 favorite last minute (or any minute!) gifts that wow:

Maple Cube & Microplane Grater Gift Set  

Is there a foodie or maple syrup fanatic or on your list? They’ll absolutely rave about this gourmet gift set. The sleek black gift box includes a pure Maple Cube and a Microplane grater to make easy maple shavings. You can choose to include either the Golden Delicate or Dark Robust Maple Cube with the grater.

Maple gifts are actually a pretty popular trend this holiday season, winning chef approval from celeb chefs such as Bobby Flay and Dominique Ansel. Also within this product line are several other maple products and recipes to make the gift even more useful and special like the The Maple Grade Collection Gift Set which showcases the range of color and intensity available in pure maple syrups from Tonewood.

Teleflora Charlie Brown Christmas Collection

For the Peanuts cartoon lover – (and honestly, who doesn’t love Snoopy?)  – thanks to the new movie, Snoopy and the gang are making a big comeback this year that doesn’t just include the Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade! Check him out in these awesome Teleflora gifts – the Snoopy Cookie Jar  and Peanuts Christmas Mug . They’re “Dog-gone adorable!” Believe it or not, this is actually the 50th anniversary of A Charlie Brown Christmas.

Snoopy and a spectacular seasonal bouquet made of red carnations, red miniature carnations, white button spray chrysanthemums, white sinuata statice, flat cedar, noble fir and seasonal accessories will adorn either a hand painted, hand glazed collectible cookie jar or a cute, collectible Charlie Brown mug that’s perfect for Christmas cocoa.

GoSun 

If you’re looking for a gift for the outdoorsy type or someone who loves camping, GoSun is a fantastic choice. This innovative solar cooking solution will quickly become the new best friend of anyone who enjoys nature, food, and sunshine. The way it works is very scientific, but the basic explanation is that the glass tube captures light from several different angles and transforms that light into heat. GoSun is the lowest maintenance fuel free cooking device yet. It’s so effective that you don’t even need a lot of sun to use it.

In as little as 20 minutes, GoSun can cook a meal and reach temperatures above 550%F – which is higher than most in-home ovens. It’s got the ability to steam, bake, fry, roast and boil, all right inside the glass tube. It’s the sort of gift that will be well-used and well-loved for years to come.

StoreWall Wall Storage Kits      

For the person who loves clever home solutions to the avid sports enthusiast, StoreWall Storage kits are the perfect gift to help them get organized in style for the New Year. If you’ve ever been to a mall store, you’ve seen similar products in action. Most mall stores use this system to hang things on their own walls. The storage area is put together with special panels, and then the panels are outfitted with the storage solutions to suit different needs.

Kits available include pantry, laundry area, garage, clean up station, and lawn care, and there are several other solutions as well as custom options to make wall storage simple and efficient for someone special this Christmas. You could do a small space or an entire room. The sky (or ceiling) is the limit.

Handmade Beauty Box 

For the DIY diva in your life, consider the Handmade Beauty Box. It’s a subscription box of DIY makeup and perfumes. It’s like science projects meet DIY meet beauty – really one of the most genius ideas for a subscription box ever. If you love handmade soaps, lotions, bath fizzies, balms, face products, makeup, and nail polish, you’ll love this box.

Recipients can expect to make 3-24 projects each month, and each project takes about 15-20 minutes since all of the sourcing, testing, and measuring has been done already. It’s the perfect time to DIY something awesome but not enough time that you need to take a day off of work to accomplish it! Each box is different. Subscription options are month-to-month, quarterly, or yearly. The longer the subscription option, the more money you save.

GreenWorks 80V Pro Lawn Mower

A fabulous gift choice the avid gardener and/or eco-friendly person on your list is the GreenWorks 80V Pro Lawn Mower. It’s a fully battery charged mower that can really get the job done. The 21-inch steel deck and 3-in-1 design allowing for mulch, side discharge, and rear bag capability make yard clean up quick and simple with no harmful effects to the environment.

The mower has many nice features, including push button start, 7 position single lever height adjustment, 8 inch front wheels, and an easy folding handle. It’s a really smart choice for a gift. So smart that you’ll probably want to buy one for yourself as well.

Dune Jewelry 

Dune jewelry is jewelry handcrafted from beach sand all over the world. It’s a customized gift that would make any beach lover very happy on Christmas morning. Different types of jewelry are available, and you can choose which beach to have them made from. You can even choose to send in your own sand and have a sentimental piece made from that, as well as contribute to the sand bank so that someone else can have sand from your favorite beach.

Great ideas for this jewelry would be to preserve family vacations, honeymoons, or just to be closer to Mother Nature. It’s hard to find someone that doesn’t love something personalized, unique, and handcrafted. Think of all the possibilities.

Spiced Pantry  

Spiced Pantry is the perfect gift for the culinary explorer or budding chef on your gift list. Whether they’re able to actually physically take in cuisine from other parts of the world or just wish they could, they’ll love this subscription box. No passport is needed for this culinary adventure.

Basically, the recipient of this box is treated to at least 5 ingredients needed to create a certain country’s food. Each month a different country is featured (November 2015 is Lebanon) and ingredients include spices, sauces, vinegars, oils, grains, and other dry goods. Also in the box are recipes using those ingredients. You can gift one month or all twelve – why not give the gift that will keep on giving a new experience all year?

Diana Raly’s Skin Health Glowing Skin 

This is a high end gift for the woman who deserves to add a little bit of luxury to her facial routine. It includes the Gentle Gel Wild Oats and Honey Cleanser Honey, the Enzyme Microfoliant , the Hyaluronic Acid, the Essential Moisturizer, and my persona favorite, the Rejuvenating Pumpkin Mask. All are made of natural ingredients that are known to slow the aging process and keep skin smooth and supple.

Don’t think that because this product contains no chemicals that it’s not a powerful line of defense against the aging process – things like Papaya, Honey, Pineapple, Hibiscus, and Pumpkin all do their own part in keeping skin beautiful throughout the years.  Your gift recipient will not only be wow’d during the holidays but be pampered all year long with spa quality results at home!

Litoholo Hologram Kit 

There are so many people that this hologram kit would make a great gift for, including scientists in the making, teachers, and homeschooling parents. It’s such a unique gift because the recipient makes the holograms themselves. They can create them in the classroom or in the home without any advanced degrees or chemicals required.

The box includes everything you need to make your own hologram. It’s like a mini hologram lab. Step by step instructions guide you through the simple and fun process and it’s possible to be making your first hologram in less than an hour. This is a gift that will really make someone’s day! It’s also a good one to buy and keep on hand for the next snow day!

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It’s totally true that it’s the thought that counts when it comes to Christmas gifts. This year, why not give the people on your list a Christmas gift that will let them know you put some real thought and effort into giving them something special.