I try to approach gift-giving in two ways. Since I am not in the position to give someone cash (but conversely, am happy to receive it), I see it as an opportunity to either enlighten someone with knowledge (i.e. a book) or give them something really beautiful. So for example, this year, I pared down my list of gift recipients to just 10 people. My dad gets an umbrella (he loves nice umbrellas). My stepmom gets hand-dyed linen napkins from Spain. Everyone else is getting books. That’s it! I also shopped entirely locally, at full price, and bought things made sustainably/responsibly. I bought nothing from Amazon and asked that no one buy me anything off Amazon.