Let’s save time and money gathering those last-minute gifts for the young adult.  The stockings can be filled courtesy of TheMoneySkinny™ article Christmas Stocking Stuffer Savings here.  Now it’s the final week to finish filling the space below the Christmas tree.  Recall TheMoneySkinny™ mission is to save you time and money.   Let’s review great gift ideas for that hard to please tween/young adult with an eye toward skipping the junk.  The goal is to save time and money while producing a quality holiday with useful gifts.  Converting expenses typically incurred later in the year into a holiday gift can be a win-win.

E.l.f. has some nice gift sets that can add bulk at a low price.  There’s an e.l.f. Get Glowing Highlighting kit (here), an eye set (here) and a little book eyebrow kit (here).  E.l.f. gift sets provide an inexpensive pathway into cosmetics.

Axe products are a great way to fabreezeover those natural body scents.  You know what I’m talking about.  The Axe fog starts about eighth grade and continues unabated into forever.  There’s a four-piece Axe Apollo gift set (here), a three-piece Axe Adrenaline + Black gift pack (here) and Axe Anarchy Holiday Gift Bag set (here).  Axe products are a subtle 2-birds-1-stone way to raise personal hygiene awareness and add to the gift pile.

Gift Ideas for the High Schooler

Focus on sports, activity fees and other associated expenses for gift ideas.  Does the track runner need a new pair of spikes for Spring?  What about a new baseball bat for the home run king?  Move those budget busters from the invisible parent service package to the Christmas tree.  A river of t-shirts ran through my children’s high school years.  One gift idea is to give a t-shirt fund.  That way the child is responsible for making those t-shirt choices when the gimmies occur and the peck-peck-pecking of the parent is eliminated.

Gift Ideas for the High School Senior

Think future college dorm needs for high school seniors.  My children love to hit my wallet in July for many hundo to prep for that first semester of college dorm life.  Gift items like a mini fridge from Target (here) or Walmart (here), extra long twin sized bedding and even a foam mattress pad shift those expenses into December.  How about a Keurig coffee maker from Target (here) or Walmart (here)?  Each of my four kids went to college packing a Keurig.  The message is Make your own specialty coffee drink because you’re worth it.

Gift Ideas for the College Student

There is a plethora of great gift options for college students that live in apartments.  A grill, vacuum or a tv top the list of gift ideas.  Small appliances can add up to a large expense.  It is especially helpful to the college senior who ventures into the world perhaps for the first time without roommates.

Let’s pick through a little more vacuum cleaner savings.  A first-time vacuum should be a solid, dependable machine with good suction.  Skip the over-hyped, expensive roller ball!  Forget about the bells and whistles.  My vacuum of choice is the Shark brand.  These bag-less vacuums have great suction at a much lower price than the heavily marketed competitor.  I’ve purchased Shark brand vacuums available at Target (here) and Walmart (here) and have been very satisfied with the products.

Make it easy on yourself by ordering gifts online from Target or Walmart with free in-store pick up.  Both retailers offer free ship-to-store any size order.  Verify the ship date before placing the order.  An alert is sent when the order is ready for pick-up.  Site-to-store orders have a designated pick-up area that bypasses the regular check-out.

Happy Holidays!