While my favorite shopping option is Buy Nothing Day (followed closely, in at least two senses, by Buy Local Day – I succeeded with both this year), there are often a few people that we wish to get gifts, but we don’t want to burden with ever-more meaningless stuff.
This list has a nice mix of stuff-less-ness and stuff that at least helps someone and means something:
Ponderings of a Perplexed Primate 