• Girlawhirl loves gift cards from DonorsChoose.org because she knows firsthand how much fun it is to review the requests that teachers make. In the past, she's given a class new backpacks – and received handwritten thank you notes and pictures from the students!

• GlobalGiving.com works similarly, with a site full of projects arranged by country or theme. Again the fun is not just in the knowledge that she's making a difference, but that she, or her gift card recipient, can pick and choose where the donation goes. Girlawhirl found out that trained rats – now called HeroRats – aren't just used in Mozambique to help de-mine fields so children can play safely; they're also used in Tanzanian TB clinics – where they're able somehow to find infected people that the clinics miss.

• With so many “survivors” in Girlawhirl's world, a gift that benefits the Lance Armstrong Foundation is a natural. When she shops the LiveSTRONG Store or the LiveSTRONG™ collection on nike.com, Girlawhirl knows that 100% of the profits go straight to the Lance Armstrong Foundation. And as a little gift to herself, when Girlawhirl uses code GIVE2008 through 12/18/08, she'll receive a 25% discount at the LiveSTRONG Store.

• For her friends passionate about the environment and global warming, a donation to one of their favorite organizations: stopglobalwarming.org or wecansolveit.org is entirely appropriate and completely earth-friendly as it's all done through the internet and the recipient can be notified via email.

• Girlawhirl can stealthy add a give-back component to any gift she purchases when she buys from more than 40 stores and online shops that have pledged to contribute to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. Truth be told, these are stores Girlawhirl regularly shops at: Saks.com, Ann Taylor, Williams Sonoma and more, so it's nice to know that there's an added benefit when she does her holiday shopping. See all St. Jude's partners here.

• It's Blake Mycoskie's goal to deliver 30,000 pairs of shoes to the children of Ethiopia, and Girlawhirl's pretty sure that the founder of TOMS Shoes will make it happen. For every pair she purchases – they make great slippers! – another pair will be earmarked for those in need. Check out the video to learn more.

Don't Blow the Budget:

• Girlawhirl can do a little holiday giving without spending a cent. She found this page on an animal shelter's website that easily allows her to “click to give” every day. Across the top are tabs for four different clicks: food for the shelter's animals, free mammograms, children's healthcare, free books for a literacy program, protecting the endangered habitat of the rainforest and food to help fight world hunger. Girlawhirl's bookmarked it and is happy to take a break from her emails to give a few clicks every day.

Check before you shop! Find exclusive discounts for girlawhirl.com readers here along with the best deals on the web.

Girlawhirl's Gift Guides will run daily until December 24^th! Come back to see all her great ideas for holiday gifts, from the office grab bag to hostess gifts, the best food gifts and more.