Having great girlfriends means wanting to give great girlfriend gifts, right?

Well, if you’re not up for making some gifts for your favorite female friends, we have some girlfriend advice on last minute gifts you can give that she’ll love.

We’ve talked about finding the perfect present and what’s involved in that. (Just a reminder: personalized and/or customized, thoughtful, unique to her, makes her life easier or is just a way to spend time together like planning to take a class or traveling together.) We’ve shared a girlfriend gift directory to help you find gifts online that are perfect for your BFF.

But, now we’re into Hanukkah and Christmas Eve is tomorrow – so what can you still do to give a great girlfriend gift? (And we’re hoping you might be meeting to exchange gifts after the official holiday!) Here’s some:

Girlfriendology girlfriend advice on last minute gifts

1. Make your own gift certificates – Get creative and plan some fun events/activities for 2009. On the computer, created with craft supplies or hand-drawn, create your own gift certificates for fun times together. Create a coupon for dinner together whenever she wants to redeem it. If she travels a lot, made a certificate to take care of her cat or give her a ride to the airport. Plan a day together at a local spa or a weekend adventure trip. Personalize the design, materials and wrapping with the theme of the gift certificate – like a dinner invitation wrapped around a bottle of wine to drink together at your special meal or include a photo of you two together for a voucher for a weekend girls trip.
2. Create your own custom gift basket – Does she love to knit? Give her a gift certificate for a knitting store as well as yarn and knitting magazines or books. If she’s a gourmet girlfriend, fill a basket with pot holders, kitchen towels, utensils and a cookbook of her favorite type of food. For a ‘girlie girl,’ fill a plastic shower tub/basket with soaps, lotions, bath salts/bombs and scrubbers.
3. Share your skills – Does she comment that she wished she could knit, cook or do yoga – like you? Sometimes it’s intimidating walking into a pilates class or creating a souffle for the first time. Make it easy for her and fun for you both! Create a gift certificate with similarly themed gifts and offer to teach her. Have fun and make memories together by sharing and learning together. Share your talent too by baking treats or making her a special gift.
4. Give a clue! – Don’t have your gift ready just yet? Wrap up a clue with some teaser and a date for the revealing. Then plan time together on that date and share the gift when the two of you are together. Sometimes that makes it more fun to experience and share gifts than when you’re in the midst of all the other gifts, people and activites. If you need to stall a little longer (like your present isn’t quite finished by the original date), keep the clues going to build anticipation. Just make sure your gift is worth the wait!
5. Create a gratitude book or box – Gotta love Oprah for this fun idea. Decorate a gratitude box or create your own booklet and fill it with notes. For inspiration on what to write, watch this girlfriend gratitude video.
6. Promise her your friendship – That’s the best gift, right? Make her a little booklet or create a card with your thoughts on what she means to you as a friend. Tell her what things you love about her and why she is such a wonderful friend. If you’d like, give her a symbol of your friendship, give her a friendship ring or a personalize gift (like the Girlfriendology pillow my dear friend Tina gave me). Just make sure you share the special things about her and her friendship. No doubt, your forever friendship will be her favorite gift.

And, here’s a video with a few ideas on bling-ish gifts for girlfriends. While there isn’t time to order these online, you might see something that inspires you for your last minute shopping (and gift wrapping):

And here’s an article on some more last minute gift advice:

Check out these last-minute gift ideas

BY KELLY KOZLOWSKI • FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER • December 18, 2008

Intimidated by the holiday shopping scene? Avoid the hectic crowds and store catalogs with these last-minute gift ideas, and save some cash while you’re at it.

1. Bake cookie care packages – Whip up batches of your favorite holiday treats and then package them for friends. Start with your favorite cookie recipe and add other sweet snacks for variety. Try homemade trail mix with nuts, dried fruit, candy and pretzels. Dip plastic spoons in melted chocolate and candy cane pieces for the hot chocolate lover. Cover pretzels with melted chocolate, drizzle with caramel and top with nuts for a turtle treat that’s sure to please.

2. Give a different kind of plastic -The Novi Public Library is offering a unique holiday gift option for parents: a library card for their child. Parents who apply for one this month will also receive a gift bag. The library is at 45245 W. Ten Mile. For more information, call 248-349-0720, from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Thursday; 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday and Saturday, or 1 to 5 p.m. Sunday. Check out library card options at your local library and skip gift card plastic in favor of library plastic–cheaper and longer-lasting.

3. Fill a photo album – Create a hardcover photo book with your own photos and memories at Shutterfly.com. Create a free account using your name and email address and upload pictures into a Shutterfly album. Then follow step-by-step instructions to fill page templates with photos and captions. An 8×8 book with 20 pages will cash out in the $30-$40 range, with options to pay for up to 80 additional pages or upgrade to the 12×12 size (priced in the $50-$60 range). Visit the Web site today and Friday to receive 20% off photo book pricing. For a traditional alternative, print copies of photos and fill a store-bought photo album.

Red Envelope gifts for girlfriends

4. Support the craft scene - It’s OK if you’re not “the creative one.” With the help of eager artisans, you can give handmade gifts without any hassle. Check out etsy.com for everything from original paintings to jewelry and house wares. Also, for an unusual twist on classic stationery items, buy paper products made from elephant dung at http://www.rainbowgifts-usa.com.

5. Start a tradition – Take the focus off of hard times this holiday season by starting a tradition with friends or family. Use a local holiday pageant as an excuse to get dressed up for an affordable night out with friends, or plan a Christmas Eve movie night with your family and surprise them with new pajamas for the occasion.

6. Create your own cookbook – You don’t have to be Betty Crocker to pull this one off with flying colors. Collect a dozen of your favorite recipes–plenty available at foodnetwork.com –and arrange them in a scrapbook with pictures of food and friends.

7. Fashion a scarf in minutes – One of this year’s most popular accessories, scarves are a must-have during winter. Avoid the hunt for a deal by making your own. Purchase one to two yards of fabric from your local fabric store, cut the material to your preferred length and width, and sew a hem around the edges for a quick homemade gift. Feeling a little more ambitious? Buy extra fabric and create a blanket.

8. Make a mix tape…make that a mix CD – Before you scoff at the idea, consider an alternative to the romance-ridden mixes you used to make for high school crushes. Buy a stack of blank CDs and customize mixes for everyone on your list or create a soundtrack for the holidays with your favorite seasonal tunes.

9. Give self-made self-help books – Rather than doling out cash to give the gift of advice from strangers, buy a journal and mix your own words of wisdom in with blank pages for others to fill. Is a relative getting married? Create a marriage-themed book with tips and letters of advice. Got a high school or college grad on your hands? Send them into the world with everything they’ll need to know about laundry, love and cleaning the bathroom. Include personal pictures, favorite quotes and magazine pages with handy advice for a splash of color.

10. Record a holiday video message – Ideal for relatives that aren’t coming to town for the holidays, this gift can be finished in minutes. Use a Web cam, hand-held camcorder or even your cell phone to record a holiday message and send it via email or phone to loved ones.

Check out these last-minute gift ideas | Freep.com | Detroit Free Press.

These recommendations have some local info but definitely can be inspiration for your own personalize, perfect presents – especially for us last minute gift givers.

Girlfriends are amazing and the gifts we give should reflect that. How can you make your friends feel as special as their friendship is to you? Please share and inspire!

Related articles: Handmade girlfriend gift ideas, perfect girlfriend gifts, green girlfriend gift wrapping ideas and last minute gift wrapping girlfriend advice.

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Tags: Christmas, Christmas and holiday season, Gift, Gift card, gift ideas, Gift wrapping, Girlfriend Gifts, last minute gifts, Shopping

This entry was posted on Tuesday, December 23rd, 2008 at 12:50 pm and is filed under Be a Better FRIEND. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.