I have to admit that I am feeling a lack of energy. I am desperately working towards finals, my bread machine is baking for me as we speak, and it could snow. Could. Or just be cold. I have Christmas shopping done and I also have to admit that I did not purchase only handmade items. I also bought Operation! I have a serious weakness for board games.

This year, get your person a gift of knowledge or experience, instead of a thing. I'll start with magazines first because they are cheapest...

Countryside Magazine

This is probably one of my favorite homesteading magazines. They are really big, have great articles and seem to be laid back just the way I like it. :)

Backwoods Home

Backwoods Home tends to be more militant in its attitude and definitely has a strong Libertarian slant, which if you are into is great. It also has excellent do-it-yourself make-it-from scratch and survivaly type stuff.

In my opinion if you have to choose a homesteading magazine, these two are the best. How about an adventure?

Check out Great American Days, where you can purchase an experience for someone. They start out simple like a massage or a sushi-making class, all the way up to diving with sharks or rock and roll fantasy camp.

Alternatively you could send someone to farm school at Mary Jane's Farm... or just get them a subscription to her magazine.
I particularly recommend the Farmgirl Sisterhood membership for any country girl at heart.

Finding alternative gifts that people will actually like is really a challenge. I think with the recession being what it is, one really cool thing you could do is pay for someone to become a member of a local organic farm coop.