Several years ago I started to become disillusioned with the modern American version of Christmas.  You know the one I mean, ultra capitalist, uber-wasteful (just think about how much waste is created by all of that wrapping paper) and over commercialized.  Around the same time I started to feel this way my church started having an alternative gift fair.  One thing this alternative gift fair offered was a booth that had a list of world charities that you could donate money to in some ones name rather than spending that same amount of money on something that would probably be forgotten before the new year came around.  With your donation they provided you with a nice card and a slip of paper which detailed exactly what the donated money went to.  Since then my family has made this kind of gift giving a major part of the holiday.  Not only does it take away the hassle/stress of trying to figure out what some one wants, then having to go out and find the gift (in all the traffic and crowds), it focus' the money towards a positive purpose, and at the same time generates allot less waste.  So for those who are looking for an alternative to the yearly Christmas grind, here is a link that will allow you to reclaim some of the true meaning of the holiday.

http://www.newdream.org/holiday/altgift.php

At the bottom of the page are several other links which take you directly to web sights where you can purchase alternative gifts if you can not find a fair in your area.