For people who are interested in giving a gift in keeping with the spiritual roots of the Christmas season, something of a personal nature might be a good choice - like your time.

How about providing a holiday card to your adult children, redeemable as hours of babysitting service, or a card offering sidewalk shoveling service for an elderly friend?

The Web site treehugger.com also suggests a consumable gift like dried nuts of organic tea, which leave no residue in the form of a guilty conscience about presents left unused in the corner of a closet.

Hand-made also has a significance often not shared by store-bought items, not matter the monetary value.

Treehugger.com recommends that givers buy high quality "that will do justice to the materials consumed in the manufacturing by a long lifespan. Try flea markets or vintage and second-hand shops for quality good you can afford: then make the gift 'new' with a personal touch like a special paint job, or some ribbon around the edges."

Also think about how the package can be part of the gift; for example, by wrapping an item in a scarf, or using the Sunday comics for wrapping children's toys.

Unselfish acts like giving apparently have a neural basis. Researchers at the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke found that giving activates the brain's reward center in an area called the mesolimbic pathway.

Donating also engaged a portion of the brain associated with bonding behavior between a mother and child.

Business Editor Tom Mast can be reached at tom.mast@trib.com, or call 307-266-0574.