I was wrapping up my holiday shopping at Walgreens yesterday morning when I noticed one man aimlessly wandering the Christmas aisle, hoping a present would jump out at him.
Yeah, I sympathized in my head, there’s not much selection. Or was there? I took a closer look and was shocked to find some really neat gifts.
A set of three stainless steel water bottles, above, was $10 – for all three of them!!! Usually these things go for $15 each. I’m kicking myself for not grabbing a set, which I could use as gifts in the next few months.
Large boxes of Thin Mints were 2/$2 – quite a steal of an office gift or stocking stuffer.
ChiaPets, which I have always coveted (perhaps because I have never owned one) were $16. I could see giving a ChiaPet to a co-worker (neat cube decoration), a grandparent (garden indoors!), or a young kid interested in how things grow.
For wordy/nerdy friends, the game Bananagrams is $15. If you’ve never played it before, it’s like scrabble but you can re-arrange the tiles to make new words.
Gift bags were $.25 each and santa hats were $2 each. Plus, a decent selection of toys were $7 each or three for $14. Bingo!
Where else do you recommend last minute gift shopping? Is there any one store that really has it all?
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Welcome to Bargain Babe! I’m Mara, and I’m so glad you’re here. I am an obsessive bargain hunter and penny pincher, and I am determined to live a full life without EVER paying full price. 
I just bought a bunch of last minute gifts at Target.
I bought a super cute insulated lunch bag for $9. Two plastic ice things for .92 each. A really cook insulated water bottle for $8.99. All 3 of these items will go to one person.
I bought a $10 cosmetic case, which I will fill from my many Bed Bath & Body Works items and also Burt’s Bees items I received in a Grab bag.
I bought a $5 wireless weather station for my 12 year old niece. It gives the temperture and it’s an alarm clock.
I bought my nice the travel edition of Apples to Apples for $15. Perfect for her UCLA dorm.
Pam, I bought the Burt’s Bees grab bag, too. It rocks! I can’t believe I got all that stuff for less than $25 shipped! I divided it up and gave a few to a bunch of girlfriends.
Boot Barn has tons of cool stuff. Cool boots, shirts, western apparel, etc. They are on Topanga Canyon just south of Sherman Way, I think. East side of Topanga.
For fans on art & western art, there’s this little western art shop on Ventura just west of Laurel Grove ave (west of Laurel canyon). The elderly gentleman who owns it is quite famous, has been mentioned in the Daily News and has received awards for his work. He has all kinds of cool paintings, and other neat stuff. I am going to go buy something there today to give as a gift to my relatives.
If that doesn’t suit your fancy, Target and Walmart pretty much have it all.
More suggestions you probably haven’t thought of: One is to walk or drive along Ventura Blvd…You never know what you’ll find in all those shops!
For the music lover, I found some great stuff at the Baxter-Northrup store just west of Van Nuys. There are some other great music shops on Ventura, too. Second Spin (also on Ventura) has great stuff – new and used CDs, DVDs, etc. The used ones look new! 😉 Their prices are good.
My favorite idea (suggested by CBS and some other news outlets) is to give the gift of love: go to the pound and save a dog,cat, or bunny. They can be given as gifts, as long as the person you’re giving it to is a reponsible person! Pets cost $30-$100.
Remember, these pets will ALL DIE if you do not adopt them! This is a fact.
Try Trader Joe’s for Inexpensive food gifts, or liquor.
Green Arrow for the garden lover on your list.
JC Penny’s still has some quality (and inexpensive) gift ideas.
I got a lot of great gifts at Walgreens! (And some for myself). 🙂 They are great for home decorations and Secret Santas to the water bottles you mentioned. I got 65 foil assorted name tags in a cool swing holder for $1 and a bag of 10 gift bags for a couple of bucks. Great place! I was just there tonight getting last minute candy canes for our school fundraiser (25 cherry flavored ones — 2 packs of those for $5). 🙂
Thank you for your sharing! If you do care about budget and don’t know how to choose gifts, except Walgreen, shopping online and DIY gifts are also great ways to save money and find the best last-minute Christmas gifts. If you don’t want to waste time on gifts searching, slickdeals.net and http://www.followsales.com are good places to find the latest online bargains, including Walgreens, Amazon, Kohls and more!
Don’t forget the 99 Cent Store, especially for those White Elephant gift exchanges. Nothing says love like an N’Sync calendar. Seriously though, lots of Xmas decorations, items you can put together in a basket, gift bags, candy, etc. Although be careful about the toy section for young children because of the possibility of lead in the items.
Due to changes at the corporate level Walgreens will be limiting it’s after Christmas clearance. Most items that normally went 50-75% like colgne sets and some gift type items are going to be held until valentines …
bummer.