Okay, we know it can be difficult where children are concerned, but do all you can this Christmas to choose gifts that are from sustainable sources or less environmentally-damaging.

So, shop local whenever you can - that way, you avoid or reduce the carbon involved in a trip to the city centre or an out-of-town retail park. You also help to support your local economy, which is becoming really important these days.

After all, do we really want to end up with a world that has only Walmart, Tesco and B & Q to offer us?

No - because it's great to have friendly, local shops with a bit of individuality about them and it's great to support our entrepreneurs.

There's a myth that giants like Walmart or B &Q will always give you a huge choice and better prices but often, that's simply not true. (Last year, I went looking for wallpaper and all the big DIY stores had a very limited range - and they were all selling the exact same designs. I ended up at a local decorating specialist where I found more pattern books than I could read in a week and the prices were very similar. I also got great service and expert advice thrown in for nothing so don't assume that big is better. Often, it's the exact opposite - especially if you're looking for something unusual.) 

If you have friends or relatives who have an environmental conscience ,

ask them how they would feel about a gift from a local charity shop. You can pick up some great books, CDs and films as well as intriguing knick-knacks. The benefits are threefold (at least!)

Firstly, you are giving a new home to something that might otherwise end up in the garbage, secondly you are not responsible for additional manufacturing and, very importantly, you are supporting a worthwhile cause such as a local hospice, Christian Aid or Oxfam.

You can also buy experience gifts from some charities. Oxfam, for example, has a wide range of Oxfam Unwapped gifts on its website - ranging from paying towards a water project to supporting a vaccination project in the Third World. Ideal for a relative who already has everything - and it saves you tramping around the shops for hours looking for something different.

More on gifts coming in - but in the meantime, if you are buying online gifts this Christmas, please use the links provided on our home page to retailers like Amazon, Play.com, The Green Guide and I Want One of Those.com.

Thanks for choosing The Big Green !