With the arrival of Christmas catalogues comes the perennial question of what to give to friends and loved ones who already have everything. A rising number of people are choosing “alternative” gifts. These gifts are charitable programmes that allow you to purchase (in a loved one’s name) anything from a goat (Oxfam America, $45) to school materials (World Vision, $320 for 10 children). One can even “adopt” an Amazonian national park (World Wildlife Fund, $1m).

It is a win-win situation: the loved one doesn’t accumulate more useless stuff and both giver and “receiver” can feel the glow of doing something good.