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1. Be sure your material gift will get used

It may be the thought that counts, but a gift that the receiver does not use is simply wasted: not a very nice thought. Give material possessions only if you know the recipient well enough to pick out something they were on the cusp of getting for themselves, or which they really need and will certainly enjoy using.

2. Give a consumable gift

Your friend will love your consumable gift twice: once while enjoying the organic teas, fair trade coffee, fresh flowers, fresh or dried fruits and nuts, or other consumable gift; and again when they appreciate that your gift leaves them with no guilty conscience about a gift left unused in the corner of their closet.

3. Share a piece of yourself

Avoid material consumption altogether. Instead, offer your services to baby-sit while your friend enjoys a cozy date with their partner, give a gift certificate for a relaxing massage, or a winter’s-worth of driveway shoveling (in which case you just save that massage for yourself).

4. Make a gift of a green service

If your time is prioritized elsewhere, you can buy a green service. Consider a gift of carbon offsets for a commuting colleague or a Zipcar membership for a friend who more frequently must turn to taxis to supplement their public transport lifestyle.

5. Make a gift of any service

You will still reduce material consumption by giving a service of any kind. Especially heart-warming are humanitarian services, such as making a gift of a micro-loan (for example via Kiva).

6. Give a gift where it is needed on behalf of someone better off

Make a child smile when they get a card describing the child in another part of the world whose life will be improved by the gift of a llama or a sheep on their behalf (for example via World Gifts or Heifer.

7. Creative gifts show you care

The baby sweater you knit yourself is more likely to become a family heirloom, extending the life cycle of the materials in your gift.

8. Buy a local gift

A gift made or grown locally can tell a story or share a unique product you have discovered on your own stomping grounds. Your locally-sourced gift will save the environment from the emissions involved in shipping.

9. Buy high-quality goods

Sometimes a little extra care or money invested will result in finding a high quality gift that will do justice to the materials consumed in the manufacturing by a long lifespan. Try flea markets or vintage and second-hand shops for quality goods you can afford: then make the gift “new” with a personal touch like a special paint job, or some ribbon around the edges. Your friend will enjoy your perfect high-quality gift much longer!

10. Think about your packaging

Use packaging that will not go to waste. Your packaging may be part of the gift itself, such as wrapping the gift in a scarf or enclosing it in a box that can be reused for collecting life’s odds and ends. Reusable wrapping, such as a gift bag, will pass on the fun. For family and close friends, consider the Sunday funnies instead of commercial gift wrap.

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1. Eco-gift giving

You have decided on a t-shirt you know your friend will wear, or a fruit basket you know she’ll love. Now do the research and go the next step. Find a fair-trade, eco-cotton shirt styled with natural dyes and a green screen printing process. Buy locally grown or organically grown fruits, and invest a bit more in a quality basket that will be a fine addition to the household goods of your lucky recipient.

2. Give the gift of your green style

Give a low-flow showerhead, an automatic thermostat control to adjust temperatures at night, a year’s supply of compact fluorescent bulbs or rechargeable batteries. Give the gift that brings someone one step closer to living in sync with the needs of our planet.

3. Shop for your gift carefully

Minimize the impact on the environment of your gift shopping. Use public transport, walk or bike to the shops. And bring a reusable bag to carry your finds.

5. Stop gift “junk”

You know this stuff—pens with the company logo that work for about a week or plastic bags full of doo-dads that aren’t really good for anything in particular. Resist the temptation: simply don’t take these things for yourself or for your kids. And if you are part of a firm with a logo-junk habit, talk to the people in charge. Can the company give fewer gifts of greater value? Gifts that will be treasured by the recipient and will denote the quality your firm stands for?

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1. 25: percent increase in the trash generated during the holiday season.

2. 86: percent of TreeHugger readers who say their kids have too much stuff.

3. 97: percent of restaurant gift certificate receivers who say they would like to receive a restaurant gift certificate again.

4. 83,000,000: square meters of gift wrap which winds up on the UK rubbish heaps after the holiday season.

5. 300 million: dollars spent in the USA on mass market women’s bath gift sets.

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Below is a selection of material that has appeared on TreeHugger. For the interactive experience, be sure to take a look at the comments our diligent readers have contributed.

1. Check out TreeHugger's Holiday Gift Guides for 2005 and 2006.

2. A review of gift ideas for Father’s Day is a good resource for gifts for fathers, any day.

3. Gifts for moms may be the trickiest to find; see what TreeHugger suggests.

4. For the more intimate recipient (or the subject of you wooing) check out TH’s Valentine’s Guide and some sustainable sexiness.

5. Gifts for your dog: the focus in post-recycled content and doggie satisfaction.

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In addition to Treehugger.com, other organizations have put together resources that may be helpful as you continue to green your life.

1. Decide which carbon offset service suits your needs best using the ecobusinesslinks survey of the prices, offset techniques, and verification methods out there.