RS Recommends
From celebrity courses to the best live TV streamer, these digital gifts are sure to impress even the pickiest recipients on your list
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It happens to the best of us: We procrastinate holiday shopping — or we’re headed to a holiday event with no gift for someone — and we don’t have time to stop at a shop. Luckily, there are now dozens of great digital gifts that don’t require any physical delivery.
As the name suggests, the best digital gifts can be ordered online and delivered instantly — and you won’t have to worry about shipping or about quantities selling out. Many of these presents are gift cards and subscriptions to popular services, and you have the option to e-mail them directly to their recipient, or print them out and give them as a card. Other top digital gifts are for experiences, letting your recipient choose exactly what they want — and how they want it.
We’ve found the best digital gifts you can get right now. If you need to order a gift online fast, these digital gifts will deliver just what you — and your recipient — are looking for.
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MasterClass Subscription
Image Credit: Masterclass Get up close and personal with some of the world’s most famous newsmakers and artists through a subscription to MasterClass, an online learning platform that taps everyone from celebrities to CEOs for on-demand classes you can take from home. The platform has classes from Metallica, Nas, Bill and Hillary Clinton, Christina Aguilera, Mariah Carey, and classical musician Yo-Yo Ma.
A subscription to MasterClass costs just $120 a year (or just $10 a month). Each pass gets you unlimited access to every course on the site. Start and stop each class on your own schedule and download workbooks for offline reading. Some classes also offer the chance to ask the instructors questions.
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Airbnb Gift Card
Image Credit: Airbnb If you’re shopping for an avid traveler (or maybe someone who needs motivation to take a trip), consider a gift card to Airbnb. The gift card can be used for one of Airbnb’s thousands of stays, or they can put the card towards an Airbnb experience.
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Costco Gold Star Membership
Image Credit: Costco A Costco card might not be the most glamorous gift idea, but it’s certainly one of the most useful. Costo’s warehouse stores are famous for deals of bulk foods, as well as cult-favorite cheap eats like their $1.50 hotdog-and-drink combo. An annual subscription costs just $60.
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Trade Coffee Subscription
Image Credit: Trade There’s lots of coffee subscription services out there now, but Trade is one of the best. They have a few gifting options, all of which set up deliveries of coffee on your giftees schedule. Plus, with Trade, your giftee will actually get coffee they’re likely to enjoy, instead of a random selection.
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Headspace Subscription
Image Credit: Headspace Few gifts are better than a healthier mind. Headspace has done just that for thousands of users, helping people meditate, fall asleep, and manage anxiety. Their audio experiences are very well-produced and quick, offering an easy intro to meditation for anyone.
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Fender Play
Image Credit: Amazon There are thousands of ways to learn guitar, but guitar-maker Fender has some of the highest-quality courses. Elite instructors guide users through any kind of guitar instrument via well-produced videos, all based around individual songs. Best of all, you can send a subscription through Amazon.
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A Private, Virtual Cooking Lesson
Image Credit: Facebook / The Chef & The Dish The Chef & The Dish lets you learn how to cook authentic, regional food from a professional chef. Your lesson will be taught over a video call, and a Kitchen Assistant will contact you before your lesson to run through your shopping list and provide tech support.
The Chef & The Dish allows you to explore food from 16 different regions of the world, including Brazil, Peru, Japan, the Caribbean, and America.
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Uncommon Experiences
Image Credit: Uncommon Goods Uncommon Experiences offers digital classes on astrology, music, cooking, and even mindfulness, all taught by experts. We recommend this two-hour Mindful Organizing class, taught by a professional organizer on how to help you declutter. All you have to do is pick the date, fill in your giftee’s info and they’re good to go. Uncommon Goods will send an email with the video call link before the class begins.
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An Adventurous Experience
Image Credit: Facebook / 57hours Shopping for someone who loves the great outdoors? Check out 57hours. The service specializes in high-intensity experiences (think skiing, rock climbing, surfing) all over America. You can book a half-day trip or multi-day excursion, and every experience has been vetted by 57hours for experienced, safe instruction.
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Kindle Unlimited
Image Credit: Amazon If you know someone who struggles to put a book down or spends hours looking for their next read on Goodreads, gift them a Kindle Unlimited subscription. This online subscription will get them access to over two million digital reads.
They can access Kindle Unlimited on their smartphone, laptop, tablet or Kindle. Sweeten the gift by getting them their very own all-new Kindle, in case they don’t already own an e-reader — there’s no better gift for bookworms.
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Audible Membership
Image Credit: Amazon Once you get into audiobooks, you’re not sure what you were doing before. If you have someone on your gifting list who hasn’t been converted yet, send them a subscription to Audible. The audiobook leader (owned by Amazon) offers a giant library of titles with high-quality audio and a great interface. Subscriptions start at just $15 a month.
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Stubhub Gift Card
Image Credit: Getty Images Stubhub gift cards are an easy option that shows some thought. The recipient can use it for just about any ticketed experience, be it a concert, a sports event, or a play — all booked through one of the most trusted ticketing platforms around.
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Grubhub Gift Card
Image Credit: Grubhub If you can’t enjoy a meal with a loved one this holiday — or you just want them to have another one without you — get them a gift card to Grubhub. They’ll be able to order whatever they want to their door, thanks to you.
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Kindle Unlimited
Image Credit: Amazon For the bookworm on your list, send a subscription to Kindle Unlimited. It gets your giftee unlimited access to more than four million books (plus thousands of audiobooks) — all accessible on any device (but best on Kindle e-readers).