Sometimes you need a quick gift at the last minute.  Maybe you need a hostess gift for a party, you’re invited to participate in a gift swap at church/the office/etc., or (gasp!) you forgot someone.  (Or maybe what you were planning to give someone didn’t work out, didn’t show up, is backordered, or something like that.)

Here are some ideas for gifts that can be kept on hand, whipped up quickly, or otherwise assembled at the last minute from components you can easily find locally.  (It’s hard to make a last-minute gift from something you have to order online!)

• Use wrapping paper or scrapbook paper to jazz up basic office supplies, like these composition books, notepads, sticky notes, and binder clips from Staples.  (Check back tomorrow for the tutorial!)
• Layered jar mixes.  These allow you to use ingredients you already have on hand and package the dry ingredients for a recipe in a visually-appealing manner.  Pinterest is a great source for ideas to use when packaging these.
• Recipe kits are another variation on mixes.  Print out a nice recipe card, then gather all of the necessary (non-perishable) ingredients into a basket, bowl, box, or other container.  If you want to take it up a notch, you can use a container that suits the contents (a bowl for a cookie recipe, a colander for a spaghetti sauce recipe, etc.) and/or toss in a few gadgets (garlic press, wooden spoon, etc.) with the ingredients.
• Use decorative packing tape (available at Michael’s, and probably at other local shops; or keep some on hand) to decorate basics.  Even a bottle of water, sweet tea, or frappucino looks dressier in decorative packing tape.  Packing tape (or duct tape) projects I’ve come across on Pinterest include clipboards, storage boxes and room accessories, stationery and packaging, clothespins, and water bottles.
• Whip up some chocolate-covered almonds.
• Create a candy bouquet.  You can find an actual tutorial here, or look for other examples on…yup – Pinterest.  (At least one of the bouquets on Pinterest uses boxes of candy for the container, too.)
• Give a gift card, but present it in a fun way.  I’ve seen gift cards packaged as/in snow globes, magazine-page envelopes, other paper envelopes,  cloth envelopes, a faux Frappucino, monster pouches (1), bouquets, ornaments, tiny bags, cozies, and boxes.
• If all else fails, give the recipient a nice IOU for something that can be delivered later.  If you’re at a loss, consider downloading a free printable, like the ones here or here.