We college kids are absolute masters when it comes to stretching the dollar—we share textbooks, swap party outfits, take rolls of toilet paper from public bathrooms and chug as much beer as we can when playing pong at other people’s apartments. So when we give gifts this holiday season, we’re definitely making sure we’re getting as much bang as we can for every single one of our bucks.

Which is why I figure that this year, we should give gifts that also give back to others around the world. If you’re gonna buy something for someone, why not buy the something that also helps someone else? It’s basically multitasking—you’re crossing people off your Christmas list and making a positive difference. And if you shop online, you can do it all without even getting out of bed.

initiating the gallery...

What are some other gift ideas that also give back?

Ashley is a UC San Diego grad who is holding on way too tightly to a potential career in magazines and goes to Vegas all too often. She’s fascinated with celebrities and strawberry beer and doubles as a pathological texter/emailer/blogger. Feed the addiction with tweets @cashleelee. Thanks in advance.

The holiday seasons are all about eating too many dips, spending way too much money on frenemy gifts, and watching Elf on repeat. This year we’re prepared to take the stress and the frustration out of holiday gift giving by giving you the ultimate gift guides to buying the perfect presents for your favorite people (and we’re splitting into 3 different price ranges so you can choose the gift based on how much you actually like the person!).

So set this series as your favorite because all week we’re bringing you the best.

As many retailers start advertising Christmas before you’ve even begun planning your Halloween costume, it’s often hard to look past the consumerism of the holiday. Giving gifts is a nice gesture – you get to show the people you care about that you appreciate them and it can be fun trying to pick out something you know they’ll like. At the same time, Christmas is obviously big business – a lot of money is exchanged during the holiday season. Yes, you’ll probably continue to buy gifts (I know I do) even if you could just make donations in people’s names, or dispense the practice of gift-giving all together.

You can however, give gifts that both help out a cause, while still treating someone you care about to something nice.

When you’re out doing your Christmas shopping this year, look for gifts that continue to give (and I’m not talking as a re-gift). Some companies provide charitable gifts – a different approach than making a donation in someone’s name, you can give a gift that where proceeds go to a charity or a gift that helps fairly employ someone in a developing country. While giving donations for people is an amazing gift, I know there are times when you feel like you should be giving them something tangible instead.  We’ve found nine gifts at various price points to help you give a gift that keeps giving back! There are a lot of options out there, find something your gift receiver will like or a cause they support.

[Click on any photo below to start the gallery.]

Get even more gift giving inspiration in CollegeCandy’s Holiday Central!

Not this year!

Inevitably, there will always be people on your holiday-gift list who stump you (especially now that you waited until the last minute!). Maybe you haven’t seen Great-Aunt Ruby since you were ten, but you have to get her something this year because she just sent you a ton of cash for your birthday. Or maybe you just made a new friend, but you aren’t sure of this person’s likes and dislikes yet.

Charity to the rescue!

If the people you know are nice, they’d probably really appreciate a charitable gift. Not the kind of charity where you give them money—the kind of charity where you give others money in the name or honor of those you’re gifting.

Here are some great places to start.

Heifer International – This organization has a gift catalog link from their home page, which will lead you to a menagerie of offerings to give in the name of friends or family members. You can give a flock of chicks or ducks for as little as $20. Heifer is all about providing livestock to people who need it to become self-reliant, and it’s a great cause.

World of Good – This place is partnered with eBay and sells eco-friendly, humane, fair trade, etc. gifts of all kinds. You can search for gifts in four categories: people positive, eco positive, animal friendly, and supports a cause.

Global Goods Partners – Offering gifts and the opportunity for donations, Global Goods Partners aims to relieve poverty around the world and empower women by giving them the resources they need to become self-sufficient and successful.

Build a Nest – This site supports women artists and artisans in developing countries by providing them with loans to start or maintain creative businesses. The products are sold online, and much of the proceeds go back toward helping the women.

Hooray for the Underdog – Sells fun and funny notecards and images, then donates a portion of all proceeds to benefit rescue dogs and animal-welfare groups.

Animal Gift – For the animal lover in your life, Animal Gift provides you with tons of donation options that will help animals from seals to elephants.

World Vision – This aid organization provides an online holiday gift catalog with options ranging from goats and chickens (similar to Heifer International) to emergency aid in Darfur to portions of clean-water wells in Africa.

[Photo courtesy of World of Good. We just bought that beautiful bag!]

If you support Barack Obama but think you’re too poor to donate any amount to his campaign that would make a difference, think again.

Until today (9/19) at midnight, the campaign has a matching donation program set up. That means that anything you donate is automatically doubled by some other kind soul. If you’d like, you can send that person a thank-you message after you make your donation.

So if Obama’s your man, now’s the time to show it with a little green! Here is the explanation and donation page.

[Photo courtesy of Flickr Creative Commons.]

It is now nearing the middle of October. If midterms aren’t bringing you down just yet, something probably is. Whether it be guy problems, money problems, annoying roommate issues or simply a general feeling of crappiness, you want nothing more than to vent, drink, and wallow in your world of misery.

Naturally.

I’ve been there. We’ve all been there. And everyone needs a little time to bitch.

But after watching an episode of Oprah all about giving back, I was inspired by a young girl who was battling a life threatening disease. Despite her condition, she found the time and energy to raise hundreds of thousands of dollars for children suffering from AIDS in Africa. Makes our problems see quite trivial, eh?

Sure, your guy issues may seem like a giant deal when you have a date party coming up and the guy you love just hooked up with someone else and now you are going to be forced to be the only one in the entire house to go alone and that is not only totally embarrassing but a complete waste of the $250 you spent on that hot new dress.

Let’s face it, people; there are people out there with real problems. People who need real help. Children battling cancer, families living on the streets, women being abused in the homes they have built for their families. Situations like these force us to wake up and realize that our “problems” are trivial. So, instead of sitting around and bitching about the small stuff, why not use that energy to help those who really need us?

Need some ideas? Start here:

1. Find your local Habitat for Humanity

2. Hold a book drive for inner city schools

3. Volunteer for various city clean up projects

4. Volunteer at a children’s hospital

5. Tutor inner city students

6. Donate your old clothing to a battered women’s shelter

7. Help out with adult literacy programs

8. Join your school’s Dance Marathon or Relay for Life (Don’t have these at your school? Start one!)

9. Donate blood

10. Lend a hand at the local Humane Society

These projects will not only directly affect those people (or animals) you work with and for, but will also make you realize that those huge problems you had aren’t so bad after all.