Gift baskets can be made with items found at your all-night supermarket.

Despite promising to change their procrastinating ways, each year millions of Americans wait until the last possible minute to do the bulk of their holiday shopping. There’s no doubt that a ticking clock can turn gift buying into a frustrating chore, and fighting crowds of equally harried shoppers can just make things worse. Luckily, there are things you can do to make shopping for presents a breeze, even if you’re rapidly running out of time.

With ten years of editorial experience, Cheryl Kramer has worked as the Beauty and Fashion Director at Fitness, the Associate Beauty Editor at REDBOOK, and an Associate Features Editor at Harper's Bazaar. For the past two years, she has served as Beauty Editor at REDBOOK. A New Yorker with a busy work schedule, Kramer is often shopping for gifts at the last minute and offers these tips for buying holiday presents at the eleventh hour:

• Magazines. A subscription to a favorite magazine is a quick and easy last minute gift, and something a friend can enjoy all year long. Just head to a newsstand, pick up one copy to wrap up, and include a note saying that more issues will be on the way.

• Gift baskets. Gift baskets are also great ideas and are easy to put together with items available at grocery stores or drug stores, many of which are open late on holidays. If someone on your list is a coffee lover, for instance, pick up a few bags of gourmet beans, a mug and some nice cookies or biscotti, and throw them in an attractive basket.

• Gift certificates. Gift certificates are always appreciated, and you can even buy them at a moment’s notice without leaving your house. Just log onto a website like Gift Certificates.com. You can buy a certificate from one of many stores and print out a confirmation to wrap up or send an-email to the recipient.

Redbook
magazines.ivillage.com/redbook/

Gift Certificates.com
www.giftcertificates.com

Procrastinator.com: Last Minute Shopping
www.procrastinator.com/lmshop_main.html

Last Minute Gift Guide
web.knoxnews.com/ads/holiday2/

Amazon
www.amazon.com