It’s that time of year and gift ideas can be challenging as well as where to shop. Below are some shopping sites we recommend and some unique gift ideas:

WorldVision.org is a Christian relief, development and advocacy organization dedicated to working with children, families and communities to overcome poverty and injustice. There are many options with World Vision from sponsoring a child or children to purchasing food, supplies and more for entire villages.

Gift Giving Catalog: Give a goat (16 cups of milk per day) for $75, 2 chickens for $25, 5 ducks for $30 or a deep well for $100 (2,800 gallons of clean water per day).

ThinkGeek.com – Selling geek t-shirts, mugs, ties, high caffeine products, and many other gifts for programmers, linux hackers, and open source geeks!

They have it all! From t-shirts & apparel, geek Toys, gadgets, computer stuff, caffeine & edibles, electronics.

Best Buy is their Smart Mass Thinking Putty!

dosomethingdifferent.com – Do something different, relaxing, inspirational, memorable, adventurous or romantic! These guys offer global destinations and experiences ranging from adrenalin sports, once in a lifetime, theme parks, wine tours, wildlife encounters and more!

Do Something Romantic this Christmas for your loved one!

Amazon.com – The terrific thing about Amazon is they ship almost anywhere and their prices are extra competitive.  If you are located in the US, they have free shipping on many items.

The best part about Amazon is that if you have an account with them, based on your previous purchases, they make related recommendations for you, and also show items that other shoppers have viewed based on the selected item.  Very intuitive and easy shopping!

eBay.com – eBay is universal so if you live in Australia for example just add .com.au and you can see all items local to you.  Many people assume eBay is simply second hand items being auctioned, but nowadays big businesses run stores and sell new items in the original packaging (with tags) for drastically reduced prices. Seller ratings also assist in knowing if you can trust the person you are purchasing from.

Best Items: Tickets, vacations, toys, clothing, games and gift certificates.

identitydirect.com – This site is fantastic!  Just imagine the smile on a child’s face when they open a popular story book and see their own name as part of it!  These guys are located worldwide and you can select items such as books, clothing, bags, drink bottles, lunch boxes and more the recipient will love seeing their names in a book, on their school bags and more.

Adventure Books: From Disney, Sesame Street, Nickelodeon and Marvel, choose from books, comics and coloring books and personalize them!

Etsy.com – The Etsy community spans the globe with buyers and sellers coming from more than 150 countries. Etsy sellers number in the hundreds of thousands. If you LOVE vintage items then this is the place for you. From 1940′s fashion to eclectic trinkets such as retro clocks, home decor, collectibles and antique toys Etsy has it all! To locate specific vintage items, in the search bar you can select from Handmade, Vintage, Supplies or All Items.

Recommendations: Vintage fashion and jewelery, toys, and home-wares.

Where is your favorite place to shop for the holidays?