by Sarah V Reid

Created on: November 10, 2008   Last Updated: November 13, 2008

Each year, we collectively spend millions of dollars on gifts over the holiday season. Many of these go on to languish in closets, never to be used, or are returned for store credit.

This year, don't just "panic-buy" something that may never see the light of day again. Instead, why not give a gift that gives back? Consider, for the person who has everything, giving a gift to someone who has nothing.

Oxfam offer a wide range of gifts to suit every budget, from an $18 "can of worms" to create fertiliser for crops, through a $35 water purifier and $500 to plant a forest, right up to building a $10,000 house on stilts (www.oxfamamericaunwrapped.com. Each of these gifts will help an underprivileged community to build a brighter future.

The World Wildlife Fund offers an Adopt-An-Animal scheme (www.worldwildlife.org. Symbolic adoptions of endangered species cost from as little as $25 for an adoption certificate and photo of your chosen animal, up to $250 for a framed adoption certificate, photo and giant plush toy. With more than 90 species to choose from, you may be spoilt for choice, in which case you can purchase a gift adoption card.

The more extravagant gift-giver may like to give one of the World Wildlife Fund's "extraordinary gifts". These range from $1000 for the installation of rat prevention kits on boats in order to preserve the Bering Sea puffins, to $3.5 million for the creation of a "wildlife superhighway" in the Congo, protecting endangered species in the area.

However, giving a gift that gives back doesn't need to break the bank. If your loved one supports a particular cause, why not give the gift of your time? Many charities need volunteers to help with the running of their day to day operations and to raise awareness of their cause. Alternatively, you carry out a good deed in relation to something close to their heart, such as the clearing of a local park to be enjoyed by children.

For those who would still prefer to give a more traditional gift, the website www.giftback.com has a wonderful selection of gifts, hampers and flowers to fit a range of budgets. When making a purchase through this site, 10% of the price is donated to the charity of your choice, and the accompanying gift card lets the recipient know which charity has benefited. With a vast array of charities to choose from, you are sure to find one that's close to the recipient's heart.

A gift that gives back is the ideal gift for these times, when so many in the world have so little.

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