It’s that time of year, when thoughts turn to the frantic question of “what the hell am I going to do about xmas gifts??” I am a notorious scrooge when it comes to the xmas holidays. I’ve lobbied many times to have my family either forgo gift giving or to ignore the holidays altogether. I dream of travelling to a non-Christian, non-western country in late December, the kind of place where people treat Dec. 25 like any other day.

But, I live in the US and my family and friends — even the non-Christian ones, even the Jewish ones! — celebrate xmas and expect me to do so as well. So, I cave in to the gift-giving pressure but I also make an effort to shop well and give thoughtfully.

In my opinion, the best holiday gifts meet the following criteria:

• Cost very little. I strive to break the cycle of consumerism by not buying into (heh heh) the idea that the best gifts are the ones that cost more.

• Involve very little material expense or waste. In other words, very little natural resources or artificial materials had to go into either the production, distribution, or packaging of the item.

• Can be purchased from the maker directly or at least purchased from an independent store owner. I will do just about anything to avoid buying gifts at the big box stores or from any corporate entity.

• Are made from organic, natural, non-toxic, or locally produced materials. I put this one last because it’s the hardest criteria to satisfy — especially if you are also trying to spend less money.

My holiday gift to you, my devoted readers, is the following TOP TEN HOLIDAY GIFT IDEAS. (Eat your heart out, Oprah.) I hope that you will share your own gift ideas, especially those that fit the above criteria, either in the comments or on your own blogs. (Please link to this post so I can see what you have to say!) I should add that most of the ideas are for adults; I don’t really have a clue what to give children — especially since it seems that kids these days (insert grumpy shaking of fist here) only want gadgets with lots of lights and sound effects.

1. The gift of activity. This is my favorite gift to give and to receive. Rather than give an object — another thing to own or dispose of — give the gift of an experience: movie tickets, tickets to a concert or play, membership at a museum or arboretum, a few yoga classes, music lessons, a massage, a reservation at the handball court, etc. Now, this gift can certainly be costly — depending on the event or location — but it also involves the least waste of material goods and the highest likelihood of enjoyment.

2. Restocking the spice rack. Everyone knows that you are supposed to replace your dried herbs and spices every year but, yeah right, who does that? I tend to hold onto dried herbs and ground spices for years, until they lose all semblance of flavor. So, how about giving a selection of standard cooking herbs (basil, oregano, rosemary, thyme) and spices (cinnamon, coriander, curry)? If you buy in bulk at your local Whole Foods (or equivalent) or at the farmer’s market (if you are so lucky), you can package the herbs/spices yourself in nice — and recyclable! — packaging.

3. Magazine subscription. The gift that keeps giving throughout the year. Every month your friend/family member will be reminded how wonderful you are. A nice and easily recyclable gift.

4. Going green gift. Almost all of us are in the process of going more green but the shift over from conventional ways to more environmentally friendly ones can be expensive. So, give basic green items to help. For example, we all know that we’re supposed to stop using plastic containers for storing food (you knew that right?) and start using glass. Give the gift of some pretty glass food containers like these at the Container Store or these by Pyrex. Or give a bottle of Dr. Bonner’s Liquid Soap and an empty spray bottle for mixing a safe home cleaner. (For more ideas of “green gifts,” check out TreeHugger’s Holiday Gift Idea List.)

5. Books from Persphone Books. This independent press in London reprints popular “middle-brow” fiction from the early 20th C, mostly by women. The books are exquisitely made with reproductions of fabric patterns on the endpages. Not only are they beautiful objects, the novels themselves are a revelation — strange, quirky, and incredibly fun.

6. Textiles. There is just about nothing better than a soft, sensuous scarf or hat made from a fine (or even organic!) textile. If you are not crafty yourself, visit your local yarn shop where you might find items for sale. You can also do some online shopping at Redneck Mother’s Crafty Mother’s Corner.

7. Cookbooks. Talk about a gift with almost endless happiness attached. For a small expense, you can guarantee many days of good eating (if the recipient is willing, of course). My suggestion: Mark Bittman’s How to Cook Everything, pretty much an indispensable contribution to any kitchen.

8. The best book you’ve read this year — something that really meant something to you. And, you should be prepared to explain why, either in your xmas card, a note in the opening of the book, or verbally — a significant part of the gift is the story of its meaning to you. For me, it would be Michael Chabon’s Yiddish Policeman’s Union, which is a stellar piece of storytelling and continues Chabon’s record of being the guy whose novels I am least interested in upon first description (imaginary Jewish settlement in Alaska? No thanks) and yet who always transports and enraptures me.

9. Gifts for pets. If you know anyone who dotes on their pets, speaks about them as their children and to them as if they were children (“aren’t yu da cootiest wittle puppy”), give them a gift for their pet. Speaking as a person who is guilty of telling people at length about my cats’ special diet or my dog’s gastrointestinal issues (yes, I’m one of those), I would take a gift for my pet as a sign that the gift-giver recognized the importance my pets have to me — not to mention the fun I would derive from seeing my animal’s fun. I don’t think any dog can resist the charms of a grunting stuffed hedgehog (like this one). I don’t have any specific recommendations for cats because, of course, they will hate whatever you give them — they’re cats after all.

10. Charitable donation. It takes a special person to receive a charitable donation made in their name as a gift, and not feel slighted about not getting a “real” gift. (Trust me, I’ve given charitable donations to family members who were distinctly cranky about not getting some cheap piece of crap instead.) So, choose wisely. But, if you’ve got a selfless and generous soul in your family/circle of friends, there’s nothing better than giving in their name. If you don’t know them already, Heifer International has made holiday charity easy and appealing. But, there are an infinite number of causes: your local animal shelter, the homeless shelter(s) in your town, Doctors Without Borders, Planned Parenthood, you name it.

While I am at it, let me just add that one of the most distressing thing to me about the holidays is the amount of waste not only in the gifts themselves but in the wrapping paper, bows, cards, and etc. It breaks my heart when I walk through my neighborhood on the trash day after xmas and see piles of garbage bags filled with xmas wrapping — a few minutes of unwrapping pleasure followed by a lifetime in a landfill. So, please: re-usable gift bags (don’t throw them out! save them for next year!), recycled xmas wrapping, no more useless, unnecessary tissue paper (I’m on a personal campaign against the stupidity of tissue paper), creative wrapping like brown paper grocery sacks or left over cereal boxes, or wrap everything in a new kitchen towel that becomes part of the gift. It’s not the wrapping, stupid, it’s the gift that matters.