Thinking about Christmas shopping, or other gift-giving, these days? For anyone looking for something creative and meaningful to give this holiday season, there's a brilliantly original web site out there which can help.

Goodgifts.org connects simple monetary gifts from you to a wide variety of specific, tangible benefits all over the world. Of course, donating to charities is always a good idea, but the clever twist offered by this site is to tell you exactly what you're paying for. For example:

• $26 to clear 10 square meters of minefield
• $34 to set up a fishwife in business in south India
• $34 to protect 250 sloth-inhabited trees in eastern Brazil
• $43 to buy a baby-care kit for a refugee family
• $43 to buy a donkey plow in rural Sudan
• $43 to protect an acre of rainforest
• $46 for a cataract operation for a needy child
• $60 to buy a bicycle for a midwife in a developing country
• $77 to for two months of soap-making training in Sierra Leone
• $86 to reunite an abducted child with their family in the Congo
• $94 to set up a bicycle taxi business in Rwanda
• $94 to buy a rocket launcher to be turned into farm tools and school bells
• $129 to buy a flock of ducks or chicken for a war widow in Sierra Leone
• $163 to completely outfit a car & bicycle repair shop in Africa, which will employ several people
• $214 to buy a camel for a Saharan African nomad
• $300 to buy a water pump for a village of 250 people
• $4,300 to preserve 100 acres of rainforest and give your own name to the reserve

These are only a selection of the many gifts available. All are provided through recognized charities and are guaranteed to direct 100% of your money to the specific item or service you select. Well worth checking out and passing along to friends, churches, or other community groups who are looking for ways to help those in need.

Labels: Culture