Christmas will soon be here, you still need to shop for gifts, and your time is running out.

Millions of people face this situation every year. It most often arises because of a classic knowledge problem. You don't know what to get for the people for whom you are shopping. If you did, you would probably already be done with all your shopping at this point of time.

You could perhaps solve this problem a very traditional way, say by giving a classic fruitcake to all the people you have left to shop for on your Christmas shopping list. And depending upon how they feel about receiving a fruitcake, that may help you with the problem of shopping for them next year, especially if they don't like your gift of fruitcake and that leads to them falling out with you.

But odds are that if you're shopping for gifts for them, it's probably because you like them, so why would you even risk that? You need a better solution. So let's turn to statistics.

Or more precisely, let's turn to the results of a poll of Americans run by Statista on what kinds of items are most frequently found on people's wish lists for the gifts they will receive at Christmas. The following interactive chart shows the percentage of Americans whose gift lists included items that fell into the indicated categories.

Knowing the probability the people on your Xmas shopping list will want something that falls in the most popular categories can help you finish up your shopping this year now that there's so little time left. And to help get you over the finish line for this year's gift shopping, we've asked the Inventions in Everything team to supply suggestions of gifts that go along with many of these categories.

Last Minute Xmas Gift Ideas

When the IIE team goes shopping, its normally to find out if its even possible to buy a product based on wild or wacky patented invention we've featured. Or, in the case of the "Outside the Box Thinking" category, we review unusual innovations that do exist and that you can buy. The six items on the IIE team's last minute Xmas list for 2024 falls somewhere between these two categories. Here they are.

Bilz Money Puzzle for Cash, Gift Cards and Tickets

Money and gift cards top the list for gifts Americans say they would prefer to receive in 2024 with more than half of those surveyed saying they want to get these things for Christmas. These are really easy things to get, so giving them as gifts is more about how you package them. That's where the Bilz Money Puzzle for Cash, Gift Cards and Tickets comes into play.

Put the cash or gift card into the puzzle box and your gift recipient can enjoy the challenge of extracting your gift from it. Or should we say that your gift recipient can "enjoy" the challenge of extracting your gift from it. We trust that since you know them, you know what you can get away with. As a plus, because the money puzzle can also hold things like movie or concert tickets, you can also tick the box for the Entertainment/media category with this item.

Moipejo LED Flashlight Gloves

Over a third of Americans say they would like to receive some kind of apparel for Christmas this year, so why not light up their faces by giving them gloves with built in LED lights?

It occurs to us this product might also tick the boxes for Jewelry, which nearly one out of five Americans would like to receive at Christmas. It also ticks the box for Electronics and appliances, which 15% of Americans hope to get in 2024.

The Flying Orb Ball Hover Toy

Speaking of electronics and appliances, which 18% of Americans say they'd like to receive, why not get them a flying ball they can play catch with themselves with?

This is a unique product the IIE team covered earlier this year. It's fundamentally a lightweight miniature drone mounted inside a ball-shaped frame that allows air to pass through so the drone's rotors can work, making it possible for the 'ball' to fly on its own.

Combined with a bit of programming magic, it becomes a ball that lets you play catch with yourself. The concept of Flying Orb Ball Hover Toy, a.k.a. "the boomerang ball" is demonstrated in the following short video:

Versions of this technological wonder are available at retailers like Amazon and Walmart. And like many modern tech-based toys, it has a rechargeable battery.

Funboy Winter Fun Inflatable Toboggan

As long as we're talking about products that are fun, we have to include the inflatable toboggan. Unlike the Flying Orb, it's low tech and it checks the box for Games.

For obvious reasons, this gift is best given to those who live in areas that get snow and that ideally also has hills. Otherwise, you may need to pair this item with Travel, which nearly 19% of Americans say they would like to get for Christmas this year. If you don't, there's nothing stopping your gift recipient from blowing it up anyway and using it as a cushion or pillow, which means it might work for them as Décor. Or not.

Original SipCaddy Shower Wine Holder

We think this item falls into the Personal care products category, but really, it's for that person you know who likes to drink adult beverages and who also likes to bathe or shower.

In truth, this gift is for that special someone who likes these activities so much they want to do them both at the same time. Again, you know who you would give this gift. If you didn't, you might be better off giving them that fruitcake.

Pulidicki Car Cleaning Gel

This last minute gift idea is a total stretch on our part. We looked at the remaining categories we hadn't already covered and tried to identify one product that could tick the boxes on as many of those as we could. This miracle product was the winner.

Pulidicki Car Cleaning Gel is a sticky gel that you can use to remove dirt from the nooks and crannies of your car while you detail it, which clearly falls in the Automotive category. You can also use the gel to clean the gunk off the keyboard for your Computer and hardware, and also your electronics and appliances. Or for that matter, around your light switch plates and baseboards of your home, which makes it a Home improvement product. If their hobby is cleaning, it would count as Hobby supplies.

There you have it. Six last minute gift ideas, links to where you can buy them, and just enough time to order them to get them before December 25 arrives. What can possibly go wrong? Happy Xmas!

Image credit: Cake Decorator Displaying Deluxe Fruitcake on Baking Line photo by JmanningCSB on Wikimedia Commons. Creative Commons CC BY-SA 4.0 Attribution Share-Alike 4.0 International Deed.