Gift: Time Capsule CD
Price: Priceless

This is something we've been doing since 1998, but only this year have we gotten around to giving it away.

Here's the idea. You make a time capsule, listing all your favorite & most influential things from the past year: music, movies, books, shows, events, pictures - top picks only, and put them all on a CD that you then give away. The idea is that you are a filter for the greatest things that have come to you in the past year and you want to not only remember them, but pass them on (you can see our partial TC from 2003 below the jump - go easy :-)). More

There are many designers out there who do pillows, but Judy Ross is one of the best. Bold color, beautiful texture, clean design - any one of her pillows makes a great gift. Judy Ross pillows can be found at Auto, ABC, Calypso and Barney's (see all stores). And lucky for us she is having a sample sale this weekend where you will find the goods at greatly reduced prices. Sample Sale: Thurs 11-7, Fri 11-6, Sat 11-5, 41 Union Square West #907.

Gift: An Offer To Help Paint a Room
Price: Priceless

How many friends do you have who would like to do a few things to transform their apartment, but never get around to it? Offering to paint a room is a great gift and a sure way to get them going.

We recommend that it..

To start the gift, give them some color ideas. This can be in the form of magazine pictures, color chips or a pre-printed color collection from your local paint shop.

For painting tips and instructions see this link. For floors, this is a good link.

Gift: The Thirsty & Tilt Bowls
Price: $32-$67

For small lovely, houshold items, Clio is one-stop shopping. Our top choice is their small platinum plated porcelain "Thirsty" Bowls from France and our second choice are their Tilt bowls from Denmark. They can fit into someone's home in many ways, from doing duty as a front-hall spare change catch-all to holding lemons in the kitchen (Note: the silver one pictured on the left is a bigger "Thirsty" bowl, but the same shape).

The holidays are for coming out of our shells, connecting with others and giving thanks.

Therefore, our Un-Gift Guide this year will be a list of ten HOME items and ten acts that can help you take this season by the horns and not miss the pleasure of giving. You can also check out Sara Kate's food related Un-Guide over at The Kitchen.

Gift: The "Coupon" Book
Price: Priceless

Inspired by Shannon's comment last year, we highlight this amazing idea. The gift is a "coupon book" specifically made for your friend or family member. It is "redeemable" when they visit you or on their own. This is how she describes it:

"Along with things like dinner at our favorite Vietnamese restaurant and hunting for the sausage most resembling a traditional Lithuanian *skilanti* at Brighton Beach, we'll include non-gift gifts like a walk across the Brooklyn Bridge, an afternoon working a jigsaw puzzle, and an evening of telling family stories."

We are as much a sucker for a new gadget as the next person, but we are drawn much more to the gifts and acts of kindness that can - with luck - set this season apart from any other.

Gifts are an opportunity to draw together, not stand apart: to draw together with family and friends as well as with one's own self and one's own home. And less is definitely more. One good thing or act is better than all the tea in China. Therefore our picks are beautiful, simple, healthy and/or perishable.

This is just a start. Tell us your own. Happy Holidays, MGR