Tis the season when we inflict on one another neckties and perfumes that no one really wants, plus more than $1 billion in gift cards that are never even redeemed. Hence my annual column with suggestions for “gifts with meaning” that are warmer than any scarf.

If you insist on a gift certificate, how about one for GlobalGiving, whose website lists aid projects all over the world? The recipient can support a tribal child in India in school for a year, or street children in Ecuador, or L.G.B.T. rights in central Africa.

Or here are some other options:

.....Help a child read. If writing a check feels too easy, then perhaps a suitable gift is a donation of time in honor of a friend or family member. You might volunteer with Reading Partners, working one-on-one with an elementary school child who is behind in reading. It operates in many states, and careful evaluations have shown excellent results in improving children’s reading.....

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