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It happens every year: the season sneaks up, the calendar fills, and suddenly it’s gift-giving time… and you’ve bought nothing. To help you avoid the panic-buy spiral (and the regrettable “kitchen TV”-style gifts that follow), we brought in Samantha Schoech, senior staff writer on Wirecutter’s gifting team. Sam spends all year researching, testing, and vetting gift ideas—so she knows exactly what still delivers when you’re short on time, short on ideas, or short on shipping days.
In this episode, Sam shares the most common last-minute pitfalls, the places she trusts for reliable gifts in a crunch, and the affordable, thoughtful picks she returns to again and again. She also talks through subscription gifts that still “arrive” instantly, the universally-loved standbys you can grab at a grocery store, and the standout items from Wirecutter’s gift guides that ship fast and feel special.
If you’d like to receive hand-picked gift recommendations right to your inbox, subscribe to Wirecutter’s gifting newsletter, The Gift!
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The Wirecutter Show is executive produced by Rosie Guerin and produced by Abigail Keel.Engineering support from Maddy Masiello and Nick Pitman. Episodes are mixed by Catherine Anderson, Efim Shapiro, Rowan Niemisto, Sophia Lanman, and Sonia Herrero. Original music by Dan Powell, Marion Lozano, Elisheba Ittoop, and Diane Wong. Wirecutter’s deputy publisher and general manager is Cliff Levy. Ben Frumin is Wirecutter’s editor-in-chief. Hosted by Rosie Guerin, Caira Blackwell and Christine Cyr Clisset.
Find edited transcripts for each episode here: The Wirecutter Show Podcast
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No transcript available for this episode.
The Wirecutter Show