Although retailers will be thrilled if you spend your last few shillings on this year's Christmas gifts, the people on your list and your embattled Mother Earth will be more than grateful for your thoughtfulness and initiative when you generously give green gifts.  The nation is struggling though Dickensian hard times as industry and commerce struggle to reinvent themselves for the post-modern era.  You contribute more to Britain's recovery, and you spread more genuine joy when you give earth-friendly homemade and handmade gifts. And your loved ones especially will appreciate the gifts fashioned by your own hands.

Substitute service for stuff

If you feel more than a little pathetic repeating the old saw, "What do you get for the woman who has everything?" a radical change of paradigm will do you a world of good.  Do not give this privileged, well-accoutred, nicely equipped woman any thing. Instead, carefully and thoughtfully consider how you may be of-service to her.  Among her many household responsibilities, which does mom fear, dread, loathe, despise, revile and reprehend the most?  Give her a gift certificate proclaiming you officially assume that responsibility and detailing how you expect to be held accountable for completing it.  Among the many burdens dad bears, which seems most agonizingly heavy?  Deliver the gift of blessed relief, finding an ingenious way to take responsibility for his burdensome obligation or provide meaningful comfort when he has taken care of it.  Your elderly relatives most want the gift of your frequent company, Make a commitment to regular weekly visits to grandma and Aunt Eleanor in the home, and vow always to take homemade baked goods and good books.  If you calculate the value of your service, you will realize that your gift is far more extravagant than any rare fragrance or precious collectible.

Substitute handcrafted for manufactured

Mother Nature and your local artisans need your wholehearted support.  Modest though they seem, cottage industries are contributing substantially to the nation's economic recovery.  Aggressively shop farmers' markets and crafts fairs for unique clothing, house wares, art, and decorative crafts.  Similarly shop zazzle.com, etsy, and eBay for unusual gifts of all kinds, most fashioned from organic materials or thoughtfully recycled.  Note: Vogue and iVillage both reported In November that "the seventies are this year's fashion decade" and "corduroy is this year's fashion favourite."  Therefore, mark your calendar for regular trips to your local thrift shops and designer resale boutiques where all things old suddenly are new again.  Even if you finally must resort to the time-honoured tradition of a gift basket filled with bath and grooming products, go with homemade all-natural soaps, lotions, and fragrances—especially because they smell better, clean more completely, and last far longer than their commercial equivalents.

More than ever, the thought counts

Once upon a time, you could make-up in extravagance what you lacked in thought.  "Like dry leaves before the wild hurricane fly, meet with an obstacle, mount to the sky," those days are gone.  This year and from now on, if it isn't thoughtful, it isn't really a gift; it's more like a bribe or an apology.  Instead of thinking high-tech, think total tradition: You really cannot imagine just how delicious homemade sugar plums taste, and lest you labour under near-fatal naïveté, be aware that those sweet little delicacies are some seriously labour-intensive confections that leave no doubt about your thoughtfulness.  Have you considered crafting a signature pickle, jam, or salsa recipe?  Remember that food is the universal signifier of nurturance; what could be more appropriate for this Christmas?