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With each passing year, I find myself reaching deeper into my heart for holiday gifts that impart genuine love and appreciation rather than feelings of obligation or hefty price tags.

For me, it’s a natural impulse, but it seems to heighten in response to the commercial clamor that wages on until the very brink of Christmas. Even as I write, the media is frantically reminding us that we are again facing those dreaded “last shopping days” of the season. With the clock ticking, there’s no doubt that many a generous spirit is now feeling frenzied rather than festive.

Maybe you’ve forgotten a special person on your gift list, or maybe you haven’t found the perfect present for someone you love. Like me, you yearn to give from your heart, but now you’re down to the wire. Take a deep breath and let me lighten your load with five simple solutions for finding uniquely useful last-minute gifts that won’t cost a bundle or create a ton of waste. Best of all, they have “heartfelt” written all over them.

Five Last-Minute Gifts from the Heart:

Surprise Them with a Service » With so much concern these days over consumption and waste, an ideal gift this year is a media rental service. Services don’t just accumulate on a shelf; they keep right on giving for weeks or months to follow, and they’re easy to purchase in a flash. Most of us are familiar with movie rentals from Netflix (www.netflix.com), but now there are also online book-rental services — think virtual libraries. BookSwim (www.bookswim.com) lends paperbacks, hardcover books and college textbooks, while services like Simply Audiobooks (www.simplyaudiobooks.com) and AudioBookWorm (www.audiobookworm.com) offer audiobooks on CD or via computer download…………..

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