The recent recall of green beans and other commercially-produced canned goods got me to thinking about the upcoming winter gift-giving holidays and the toy-related recalls. With regards to the parental side of my identity, these recalls hitting me where I 1) feed and 2) delight my kids is really getting just a bit too close to my inner Mama Bear and are hits I don't take blithely. Growing and processing at least some of my family's food and procuring what I can from people whom I recognize and can call by name gives me a feeling - however much of an illusion - of control. Likewise does an alternative approach to gift giving. I may pay a bit more for gifts than I would if I shopped at Stuff*Mart (with thanks and apologies to Madame Blueberry and the rest of the Veggie Tales crew), but what are mere pennies when stretched over the life of a gift that will last for years, possibly becoming an heirloom, or - let's be frank - meets my rather minimum standard of flat-out NOT poisoning the recipient?

So what's a girl who loves giving gifts, who loves determining just the right gift, to do? Here are my Official 2007 Hot Water Bath gift-giving strategies:

1) Thinking about giving less. Not less in terms of thought or even in terms of the number of recipients (I am the daughter of a woman who gave gifts to her favorite restaurant servers and as such I am incapable of not giving presents) but rather in terms of the actual tangible items. The families on your list might enjoy a museum or zoo membership or a cool picnic basket of the kind that can actually be used (with a promise to fill it with a great picnic once spring comes anew). For years when I couldn't purchase gifts for all my girlfriends I instead had a holiday brunch at my apartment. Champagne and smoked salmon at a restaurant is expensive and kind of a hassle. At home they're indulgent and nurturing. If my nieces lived closer, I think I'd give them a tea party. Alas, they're at a distance but I can still give them tea...and special tea cups just for them. Not elaborate, not cluttering, not too much, just special and just right. My father let it be known some time ago that he does not need anything that he has to dust and/or in some other way care for so he usually receives consumables like steaks or wine, or a book (he's a voracious reader) or greens fees. Note to self: talk to Dad about putting together a wish list on Amazon.

2) DIYing wherever possible. This year's homemade gifts on my project list include home canned items (pickled hot peppers, chocolate sauce, jerk sauce) gifted in embellished jars and including recipes and serving ideas, aprons, a wizard cape for my Harry Potter-mad nephew, wreaths, a puppet theater and more. Those who would laugh at or sneer at a made-with-love present do not deserve a place on the gift-list, I think. Even homemade items that miss the mark ought to be received with love and gratitude - effort and love always trump cash. If you fear that a child (or, sadly, an adult) on your list may not be charmed by a homemade whatever in the face of plastic battery-operated madness, persist. As the saying goes, we must be the change we want in the world and even if you're not a knitter (I'm not) or a quilter (I'm not) or a...I don't know...candle-dipper, you surely must have some kind of talent that can be put to good use. I cannot be the only 38-year old in the world who still loves mix tapes CDs, right? And I especially love them with collaged covers.

3) Avoiding mass-market retailers in favor of local shops, artisan-focused web clearinghouses like Etsy and your neighbors who exhibit at the school winter fair. My sisters and I have been known to pick up the occasional thrifted or yard sale item for each other with great success - both are excellent for pretty retro tableware (wine glasses to go with a bottle of local wine, say), jewelry (a nifty broach), books (great frameables can be found in old art books) or even toys (I've bought hundreds of legos at my local cancer-center thrift). The proprietress of my local toy store - they still exist! - knows what is made where and what companies really feel their products and resist such rapid growth as to require lowering quality and sourcing standards. She's the one who turned me onto Maine-made Taurus Toys and their marble run components that work with Duplo.

4) Not gifting for the sake of obligation. We've all been on the receiving end of gifts that were given for no other reason than the giver felt obliged - and it showed. Someday I'll tell you about the present I received that was accompanied by the statement, "I don't know what this is. Some kind of weird jam maybe. Whatever, Merry Christmas." Gifts given begrudgingly are not gifts at all and I'd rather receive heartfelt good wishes over a "here's the present I must give you" any day. A handwritten note of appreciation is yards better than the pre-wrapped random whatsits poorly made goodness knows where, for sale by the scores, not intended to last (or at least not last the year and you can buy another one) and only intended to put a thing in an emotional space that advertisers would have you believe to be empty but really isn't. Buy some substantial writing paper - Crane is nice, but there are lots of others - something heavy that says read this, it's important, get a pen that works (not always a simple proposition, I know) and dust off your best pre-email handwriting. You do to have time. It only takes two or three minutes to write down how much you value someone and the relationship you share. Put on the address and stamp before you stand up from your desk or dining table or wherever and put the finished card with your keys so you will remember it when you next go out.

5) Being practical where called for. Sometimes, delight and whimsy aren't on the menu. That should be o.k. and not something from which to shy. My newly-engaged grandmother and her fiancé have between them decades of acquisitions that they are about to combine into a single household and, while they are quite independent and mobile, getting out and about isn't always the easiest thing. Stamps, a selection of greeting cards, pre-paid phone cards and the like are the things I'm thinking of for them.

There you have it. Reading this, I think that my sister thinks she knows what I'm sending to her house for Christmas and she so totally does not.