Last minute gifts that nourish the soul    

(And won't add clutter) 

Food and wine with a twist

Chocolate Diablo Cookies

A super-duper ginger cookie with an extra kick: Chocolate Diablo Cookies. This grownup chocolate cookie uses fresh ginger and cayenne pepper to give it a real kick. Goes great with red wine. It will be a favorite among your more adventurous foodie friends, so top off the gift with a pretty recipe card. (I baked mine with Bob's Red Mill Whole Grain Brown Rice Flour which is gluten-free, and they were terrific.)

If you are giving wine, you can personalize it by creating your own label. Have fun with it, and make it memorable. You can improvise with Avery sticker paper, or get help from sites like Sticker You. Use funny family photos, write a funny description of the wine, or use an inspirational quote for the new year. 

For more substantial gifts, consider a year membership in a chocolate, wine, flower, or fruit of the month club. On my wish list is this salt of the month club. Something I'd enjoy experimenting with but would not buy for myself.  

Experience gifts 

To make these gifts feel more personal, wrap card or certificate with a small gift associated with the experience.  

• How about a year membership to Longwood Gardens or an art museum? Pick a date when you can accompany your friend and share the experience.
• Tickets to a play that you'd both like to see. 
• For film buffs: a gift membership at the BrynMawr Film Institute. 
• Gift certificates to a favorite restaurant.
• Massages or spa treatments, if you know your friend will use them.
• Smaller gifts could include movie tickets, and iTunes and Kindle gift cards.   

• Track who gives you holiday cards and create a computerized list right onto an Avery label template (you can do this in Microsoft Word) for next year 
• Use up gift wrap before you buy any new 
• Track people's sizes, favorite colors, favorite stores, anything that helps you purchase gifts
• Store received gift cards someplace where you will see them and rubberband them together 
• When you get electronic gifts, keep unused electronic peripherals (adapters, cables) labeled with a piece of masking tape or label paper so you know what belongs to what. If there are multiple pieces, put them in a plastic bag together. Keep all these electronic "leftovers" in one location like a bin or a drawer. Be sure to include model numbers.
• Quietly pack away unused toys to make room for new toys. If the older toys aren't missed, donate them.  
• Throw out or giveaway any decorations that you haven't used in years. Decorating time will be more pleasant if you are only dealing with pieces you really love.     

Propping up rolls of gift wrap in the corner of a hall closet often means wrinkled, torn or lost rolls. Here's a way to keep the rolls neatly organized and easy to reach. Make a wrapping paper "corral" by screwing a small section of wire closet shelving vertically to the side of a closet wall. Just slide the rolls in and out of the corral-they won't tumble over or get lost behind the coats.

For more easy holiday storage tips, visit The Family Handyman website.