BEST FOR ECO-WARRIORS: Cars into ploughshares (Good Gifts Catalogue)

If you want to translate your dislike of cars into action, why not buy a £85 toolkit for blacksmiths in Ghana, Uganda and Tanzania. These will be used to break up old cars into low-carbon basics like ploughs and cooking pots.

BEST FOR QUACKS: Ducks for Peace (Good Gifts Catalogue)

Sierra Leone’s civil war destroyed the livestock. Ducks and chickens will help local women (including war widows) to produce eggs to eat or sell. £15 will buy four ducks (or chickens) plus food for Sierra Leonean women.

BEST FOR 'ALTERNATIVE' CHEFS: Pat a Cake (World Vision)

The Himalayas get chilly. £34 will provide a cowpat stove to warm people up and help them cook. Burning dry cow dung is pretty efficient apparently, because it is readily available and people won’t have to walk far to collect firewood and destroy forests.

BEST FOR THOSE WHO LIKE GETTING JIGGY: Condoms (Oxfam)

A mere £24 will provide condoms in the fight against HIV, and they will also come with educational materials make sure that they’re used correctly. This gift is possibly not suitable for Grandma.

BEST FOR THE (IN)SANITARY: Build a bog (Oxfam)

Don't pooh pooh this one. £50 will provide a toilet for those without one. A hygienic toilet will help stop disease spreading in local communities.

BEST FOR STEVE MCLAREN: A football factory (Good Gifts Catalogue)

Let’s face it: you won’t be needing that wide-screen TV to watch England win Euro 2008. So why not build an African footie business with the savings? £1,000 will start a leather ball factory, employing 20 people and producing 600 balls a week. It will provide both balls for soccer-mad youngsters, and employment for a local community.

BEST FOR BOB HOSKINS: A telephone for a homeless person (St Mungo's )

Homeless people generally have a hard time staying in touch with friends and relatives. But with only £10, St Mungo's will provide a phone line and voicemail service so they can chat with confidence.

BEST FOR SWOTS: Education (Samaritan’s Purse)

Did you really enjoy school? Of course you did. Just £9 will provide one lucky kid’s school uniform and materials needed for an entire year of education. They’ll definitely thank you for this… perhaps.

BEST FOR SCOTS: ‘Plant a Bagpipe tree’ (Good Gifts Catalogue)

The timber of the mpingo tree is a vital ingredient in bagpipes. The trees are found in Tanzania, where deforestation is reducing soil fertility. £15 will plant 21 Mpingo saplings. Forests will be rebuilt, soil erosion reduced and Scots heartened.

BEST FOR COMIC FANS: Super Goats (Good Gifts Catalogue)

Forget Spiderman or Catwoman, the newest superhero is a goat – or rather, Super Goat. These goats, specially bred for African conditions, are tough and resilient, breed faster, and yield more milk and twins than your average Billy. Cheap for only £75.

BEST FOR MEN IN TIGHTS: A trip to the panto (Acorn's Children's Hospice )

If you're afraid that ill kids are missing out on the delights of Christopher Biggins and Co. this year, then fear not! A mere 40 quid will pay for a gang of them to head down the local theatre for a slap-up afternoon out.

BEST FOR THE GENUINELY GENEROUS: An intern for a week (Intelligent Giving )

Our interns do some of Intelligent Giving's most important work. And they do it for peanuts. We're baffled, but grateful: last year, they saved us over £10,000 in wages. So to make the most cost-effective gift ever*, fork out £50 and you'll cover an intern's expenses for a week.

*terms and conditions apply

How we chose the winners