What's the right gift for the person you didn't have time to shop for? According to a new Consumer Reports poll, it's a promise that you'll give the person a gift at some point in the future. That's the choice of 41 percent of deadline-stressed shoppers. Another 31 percent take an easier path: They do nothing.

Four out of ten adults struggle to finish their gift shopping on time, and Consumer Reports asked them what they give or say to the people they skipped from their lists.

While many consumers attempt to make amends by giving the would-be recipient an IOU (41%0) or a homemade voucher for a personal service such as babysitting (17%), 14 percent told Consumer Reports that they lied and said something like "it's in the mail" or "I forgot it at home."

Another 12 percent avoided the person they left empty-handed, and 12 percent resorted to the time-honored tradition of re-gifting a present they received from someone else.

Survey based on telephone interviews of 1,011 adults nationwide between Dec. 15-18.