Gift giving is a year round opportunity to express gratitude, friendship and love. Gifts that take little or no resources from the environment are ideal. Environmentally friendly (eco-friendly and nature friendly) are synonyms used to refer to goods and services considered to inflict minimal or no harm on the environment. This shopping season many are thinking of the number of trees spared, and fossil fuel consumed when shopping online compared to drive-by window shopping on weekends and weeknights. How can you give more environmentally sustainable gifts this year?

Gift Wrap
During the Fall and winter shopping season many will be paying additional funds for gift wrap. While gift wrap can beautify a presentation, it can also cost us the loss of one more tree essential to fighting soil erosion, conserving rainwater, and reducing water runoff. A simple bow on an unwrapped gift can do much to protect life sustaining resources such as trees.

Shopping Online
Many have considered shopping online to prevent needless use of resources such as fuel consumption.
But even when shopping one has to consider the source of the energy used to power the online device. when purchasing and shipping a tangible item online more paper is used if you opt to have an item gift wrapped in addition to being boxed for shipping. Still online shopping can prove to be an excellent way to reduce fuel, energy and paper consumption. How? Sending an electronic gift instead of a material one. What is an electronic gift? While many send greetings via email this tool can be used to send a gift card that can be used online or printed out for in-store use. email gift cards require no paper at all. An excellent environmental sustaining approach to gift giving.

Sustainable Gift Giving
While so many are preoccupied frantically hunting down what they hope to be the ideal gifts for family and friends others deliberately avoid turning the shopping season into a paper bag exchange. In addition, taking the time to give a gift your recipient will truly appreciate may in and of itself sparing the environment of valuable resources especially if the gift is not discarded and put to some good use. What kind of gift might that be?

Best Gifts For Family Members
Family members should be the easiest recipients to please. But that's not always the case and the reasons are not so obvious. Some family members appreciate a practical gift associated with a goal or task at hand. Others prefer a gift that does not remind them of family duties and obligations, but just the opposite. Consider the message you want to get across and the message they need to hear.

1. Observe

2. Ask

3. Setup a Wishlist

4. Give them the means to get what they most desire.

Observe
How can this be best accomplished? An intimate conversation. A visit to the recipients home. A look at their prized collections, books, hobbies, etc.. Either way it's going to take a little work.
Consider what they already have, use and value. Perhaps a complimentary personalized accessory to that item is all that's needed. Regarding accessories, some prefer an item manufactured by the same company or bearing the same brand of the item used. Something hand made, unique and creative.

Ask
Often times the vast majority of gifts get put in the garage or attic, sold at a flea market or yard sale or returned to the store. It seems the only way to give a gift that's of some real worth to the recipient is to find out what the recipient actually likes in the form of gifts. If time is of the essence then just ask. Ask who? Good question. Ask those who know the recipients like and dislikes best.

Setup a Wishlist
An online wishlist is a real time saver. You save time wondering what they want. You save time wondering what brand they like and you save time looking for it and delivering it. It's all right there online at your fingertips. For those who are diehard computer and Internet users this is a great way to exchange gifts.

Give Them What's Most Desired
For those you know (but not so well) don't waste your gas, break your back or your wallet. A store issued gift card often does the job. Store issued gift cards are like a shopping spree in the wallet. Most folks can't wait to use it. Store issued gift card come in a variety of load values. Obviously values of $25 to $50 or more will likely please the recipient. Of course you will want to choose a card merchant the recipient regularly patronizes. If you're not sure, remember... you can always ask.

Digital Gift Giving Alternatives
As a distributor of digital and tangible goods I encourage my clients to consider downloading items as opposed to opting for shipping simply by providing online digital download options. While prepaid debit gift cards and retail issued gift cards are big in the gift giving department most folks would be happy to receive an email gift card or debit card that can be used immediately to pay for online digital goods and services. The fact that gifts cards can now be submitted via email or shipped to the recipients address at little or no charge wins out over bulky heavy, more costly merchandise. Online gift cards can be used to purchase digital goods such as software, music, mp3's, online video games, cell phone minutes, long distance calling, video on demand and more.

Adding That Personal Touch
In this digital day and age consumers are used to getting what they want when they want it with little or no personal interaction. Adding a personalized message to a digital gift can give it more value and weight in the recipients eyes. Gift giving done right gives the recipient and the giver an excuse to express the endearment and appreciation they have for each other. That said the best gift is one that reduces cost, sustains environmental resources and gets you the warmest hug.