13 quick and easy holiday gift ideas that are actually good

This story is part of Gift Guide, our year-round collection of the best gift ideas.

Holiday shoppers might run into a few obstacles this season in a quest to stuff stockings. Even with stores launching early Black Friday deals, supply chains are being impacted by COVID-19. Online shopping skyrocketed from the 2020 year with more people being at home, and manufacturers, retailers and the shipping companies struggled to keep up.

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Holiday shopping has been a bit challenging this year with supply chain shortages.


Sarah Tew/CNET

Even those who ordered gifts before Black Friday don’t have a guarantee that their stuff will arrive in time for Christmas. We’re not saying your purchases are guaranteed to be late, but 2022 is the year to think out of the gift-giving box. 

We rounded up a list of great subscription service gifts that everyone on your shopping list will love. Added bonus? They won’t go out of stock. We’ve linked either to the service’s page where you can buy directly, or the appropriate website to buy a gift card.

Disney

Disney Plus

Something for everyone in the family

Disney Plus offers new releases like Shang-Chi, classic Star Wars, Pixar and Marvel movies, as well as Disney Vault movies and fun documentaries. Disney Plus is currently offering a one-year gift subscription offer for new subscribers.

See at Disney Plus

James Martin/CNET

Spotify

Great recommendations based on your listening history

Music streaming app Spotify is packed with songs and podcasts. There are even a few audiobooks if you know where to look. In addition to recommendations based on your listening history, it creates personalized playlists for you, keeps you updated on new releases from your favorite artists, lists where they’re currently touring and more. You can gift your loved one an ad-free Spotify subscription by purchasing a gift card. Gift cards only work with Premium Individual plans and not Premium Student, Premium Family, Premium Duo, or trial offers. We found multiple options through Best Buy.

See at Best Buy

Ty Pendlebury/CNET

Apple Music

Big music library, exclusive content and live radio shows

Apple Music, the in-house music and video streaming service from Apple. Like on Spotify, you can listen to music and playlists on-demand, access internet radio and more. The fun part about Apple’s gift cards is that you’re not locked into any particular service by buying one. 

See at Apple

Shelby Brown/CNET

Apple Arcade

A huge catalog of family-friendly games

Apple Arcade is Apple’s $5 a month ($60 annually) gaming subscription service. The service has over 225 games with new titles added every week, as well as in-app events and game updates. The service includes Arcade Originals, App Store Greats and Timeless Classics playable across Apple devices without in-app purchases or ads. 

Apple Arcade is also a CNET Editors’ Choice pick for the past year 2021. 

See at Apple Arcade

Xbox

Xbox Game Pass

Best value for console gamers

Xbox Game Pass is an all-you-can-play video game subscription for $10 a month. The service offers a few different plans to best suit your gaming style. You can choose between Game Pass for console, Game Pass for PC (which includes a subscription to EA Play). Or there’s the Game Pass Ultimate, which offers games for PC, Console, the EA Play subscription, as well as the Xbox Live Gold and the cloud gaming beta.

See at Best Buy

Calm

Calm

An easy way to focus on your health, happiness and better sleep

The Calm app offers a wide range of guided meditations to assist in relaxation. The sessions — which range from 3 to 25 minutes in length — can also help with developing a daily meditation practice. Calm also includes soundscapes, sleep stories read by celebrities, wellbeing check-ins, breathing exercises and more. 

In addition to subscriptions, Calm’s online shop also features weighted blankets, meditation cushions, journals and other mindful gifts. 

See at Calm

Aaptiv

Aaptiv

Flexible, accessible workouts tailored to you

Fitness app Aaptiv is audio-only, so it’s like having a coach in your ear or a workout buddy. The app supports outdoor workouts including running and cycling, or workouts with treadmills, exercise bikes and ellipticals. You can also explore over 4,000 workouts like yoga, strength training classes and more based on difficulty, time and music. 

Aaptiv usually costs $15 monthly, or you can subscribe annually for $99 and get a seven-day free trial. Currently, the app is running a special offer to gift a year on the app for $50.

For more ideas, check out our list of best workout apps.

See at Aaptiv

Sunbasket

Sunbasket

Delicious, healthy recipes made easy

Sunbasket is a healthy meal kit delivery service that uses fresh, organic ingredients while catering to different diets and nutrition plans. You can check out plans for vegetarians, vegans, keto, paleo and more. Sunbasket is a bit pricier than other meal kit services because it uses a higher quality ingredient, but new signups can get a discount. Also, if you want to share the Sunbasket goodness with a loved one, you can gift the service as well.

For more ideas, check out our list of the best meal kit delivery services, as well as coffee, tea and wine delivery subscriptions. 

See at Sunbasket

Bean & Bean

Bean & Bean

Women-owned, fair trade, organic coffee

NYC-based triple-threat coffee company Bean & Bean — included on CNET’s list of favorite coffee subscriptions — lets you pick your favorite roast, grinds the coffee beans to your desired consistency, or keeps the beans whole. Bean & Bean also has tea, matcha, instant coffee, honey coffee and other products to shop.

You can also check out CNET’s lists for tea and wine delivery subscriptions. 

See at Bean & Bean

MasterClass

Masterclass

Dozens of fascinating courses taught by renowned industry professionals

Get an early start on your New Year’s resolution to learn something new with a gifted subscription to Masterclass. The online learning service has over 100 classes to choose from taught by A-list celebrities with new content released every month. You can dive into cooking with Gordon Ramsay, filmmaking with Martin Scorsese, writing with R.L. Stine, science with Neil deGrasse Tyson, self expression with RuPaul and more. 

You can give three different annual subscription tiers through the Masterclass website — Standard ($180), Plus ($240) or Premium ($276). 

See at Masterclass

Stitch Fix

Stitch Fix

Best for shaking up your wardrobe

Stitch Fix is a clothing delivery service that you can customize to arrive at a frequency that best fits your schedule. Clothes shopping was stressful enough before the pandemic and Stitch Fix lets you do it from the comfort of your home. You can either sign up to get boxes delivered regularly, request a box for a special occasion or shop in the Stitch Fix online store. 

Stitch Fix also has a gift card program that you can use in the online store or apply to items selected by their stylist. For more ideas, check out our favorite clothing subscription boxes. 

See at Stitch Fix

Hunt A Killer

Hunt a Killer

High quality, addicting, immersive mystery solving at home

If there’s a true crime fan in your life, Hunt a Killer is the closest they’ll get to cracking a decades-old cold case. You can either choose a mystery or horror plan. Each mystery breaks down into about six boxes delivered to your house once a month. Boxes include letters, photos, maps, evidence, police and forensics reports and more. My husband and I first tried out Hunt a Killer last year and it’s one of our favorite activities now. 

You can give Hunt a Killer — the horror or mystery plan — as a season pass (one case) or a full year (two cases).

See at Hunt a Killer

Book of the Month

Book of the Month

Fresh book recommendations delivered to your door

Book of the Month Club sends five books to your door every month (you can customize the frequency). Then you can pick a book (or books) you want to keep and send the rest back. Book of the Month gives great, new recommendations for an affordable price and offers the choice to skip a month. Your first month with Book of the Month is $10 and then it’s $16 a month after that. 

For your avid reader, you can choose between three-, six- and 12-month subscription plans. 

See at Book of the Month

Find The Perfect Gift

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Five S Kneading Massager
$35 at Amazon

Hydro Flask
$35 at Hyrdo Flask

Nintendo eShop Gift Card
$50 at Amazon

Fox in the Forest
$12 at Amazon

SteelSeries Arctis 1
$50 at Amazon

Jacques Torres bonbons
$55 at Jacque Torres

A bouquet of exotic meats
$90 at Man Crates

Sarah Chloe diamond locket
$145 at Sarah Chloe

The Bouqs Co. Pixie bouquet
$99 at The Bouqs Co.

Sweet heart bamboo
$35 at Plants.com

Max Brenner chocolates
$37 at Max Brenner

Ingarden microgreens garden
$100 at Amazon

Shun Sora Japanese petty knife
$70 at Amazon

Wolf Circus Toni gold bracelet
$95 at Wolf Circus

Champagne Gummy Bears
$9 at Sugarfina

MakiMaki sushi roll kit for 2
$125 at MakiMaki

Cote des Roses rosé
$16 at Wine.com

Flavored Truffle Gift Box
$38 at La Maison du Chocolat

Barrel Aged Hot Hive Honey and Reaper Salt Series
$40 at Fuego Box

Carrie Hoffman X studs earrings
$290 at Carrie Hoffman

Wanna Date? sweet date spread
$12 at Uncommon Goods

Italian olivewood serving board
$17 at Sur la table

Three-piece cheese knife set
$20 at CB2

A delivery of fresh pasta
$25 at Goldbelly

Maison Miru heart nap earrings
$75 at Maison

Bokksu Japanese snack box
See at Amazon

State cashmere blanket throw blanket
See at Amazon

HyperChiller
See at Amazon

Nixplay smart digital photo frame
$20 at CB2

Online cooking classes
See at Online Cooking School

Washable Silk Tee & Shorts
See at Quince

Ouai Chill Pill Bath Bombs
See at Ulta

60 Hour Candle
See at TheraBox

Dyson Supersonic hair dryer
See at Dyson

Mint & Lily Mama necklace
See at Mint & Lily

Sephora gift card
See at Sephora

Google Nest Hub
See at Google

Theragun Prime
See at Therabody

Matador NanoDry Towel
See at REI

Mixbook
See at Mixbook

Tiki fire pit
See at Amazon

Mario Badescu face spray set
See at Ulta

Flower delivery from BloomsyBox
See at BloomsyBox

Slip silk pillowcase
See at Amazon

Aarke water carbonator
$230 at Bed Bath & Beyond

Disney Plus Gift Subscription
$80 at Disney

DJI Minin 2 Fly More Combo
$600 at Amazon

Fujifilm Instax Mini 11 Instant Camera
$69 at Amazon

ThisWorx Portable Car Vacuum Cleaner
$36 at Amazon

Perfect Pot
$165 at Our Place

Letterfolk Customizable Tile Mat
$75 at West Elm

Parks Project Candle
$36 at Parks Project

iPad Mini 2021
$500 at Best Buy

Crown & Paw Pet Canvas
$50 at Crown & Paw

Coravin Wine Preservation System
$150 at Target

Botley 2.0
$47 at Amazon

Arcade1Up Arcade Machine
$600 at Best Buy

Biolite TraveLight 135
$40 at Biolite

Blockaroo Blocks
$40 at Amazon

Gloomhaven: Jaws of The Lion Board Game
$32 at Amazon

JBL Go 3
$50 at Amazon

Illy Y3.3 Espresso and Coffee Machine
$149 at Amazon

Lenovo Smart Clock
$35 at Best Buy

Keurig K-Slim Coffee Maker
$79 at Amazon

Lego Speed Champions Corvette
$30 at Amazon

Madewell Transport Tote
$178 at Madewell

Lunya Silk Sleep Mask
$48 at Lunya

Lite-Brite
$13 at Target

Lodge Cast-Iron Grill Pan
$20 at Amazon

Wyze Cam v3
$36 at Amazon

Apple AirPods 3
$150 at Amazon

EarFun Air Pro 2
$80 at Amazon

Sony WF-1000XM4
$250 at Walmart

Sony PlayStation 5
$499 at Amazon

Roku Express 4K Plus
$39 at Amazon

Apple iPad 2021 (9th generation)
$280 at Amazon

Acer Chromebook Spin 713
$530 at Amazon

MacBook Air M1
$1,000 at Best Buy

Bose SoundLink Flex
$150 at Best Buy

Dell G15
$1,100 at Best Buy

HP Pavilion Aero 13
$1,000 at HP

Lenovo Yoga 7i (2-in-1)
$850 at Best Buy

Mosaic Plant-Based Meal Delivery
$70 at Mosaic

Trade Coffee Subscription
$40 at Trade

Vizio MQ7 65-inch
$1,000 at Amazon

Apple Watch SE
$269 at Amazon

Apple Watch Series 7
$399 at Best Buy

Atlas Tea Club
$199 at Atlas Tea Club

iPhone 11
$499 at Apple

iPhone 13
$799 at Apple

Fitbit Charge 5
$179 at Amazon

Google Pixel 6
$599 at Amazon

iPhone 13 Pro
$999 at Apple

LG C1 OLED 65-inch
$1,797 at Amazon

Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra
$1,166 at Amazon

TCL Series 4 TV 65-inch
$529 at Amazon

TCL Series 6 TV 65-inch
$999 at Amazon

Theragun Mini
$199 at Amazon

Best of Dylan’s Candy Bar Gift Basket
$100 at Dylan’s Candy Bar

The Mirror
$1,495 at Mirror

Echo Dot with Clock
$60 at Amazon

Croissant Light
$19 at Amazon

Spanish-style Wine Glasses
$20 at Amazon

Nintendo Switch OLED
$350 at Target

Xbox Series X
$499 at Amazon

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