Dear Rachel,
This may seem a trite issue but people in our department have been doing variations on the Christmas gift thing for several years, from everyone giving everyone else gifts--which got too expensive--to pulling a name from a hat and giving that person a gift. That wasn't a very good idea either. Got any suggestions? We don't want to give up on the idea of giving entirely. After all, it is Christmas, a time of giving. -- Sign us the Media Crew

Dear Crew,
I can see your frustration with exchanging gifts at work.  So much goes into it, yet when it’s all over you feel like it was a waste of time and money.

We are all looking to partake in the holiday spirit and to share our good feelings with fellow workers, but I’m not sure handing out gifts is the best way. Cards don’t quite do it either, though they are always appropriate.

Let me make a suggestion.

Why don't you consider the time and expense you all put into exchanging gifts in past years and commit to devoting those resources to some charitable work outside the office?

You could simply give the money to a good cause, or you could all volunteer some of your time.

Lord knows, with the nation's economy still in such a mess, there's even more good causes out there that need the support of people like you.

One of the great and uplifting aspects of the holidays is seeing all the people who turn out to help the less fortunate in their communities, whether it's donating coats to the homeless or volunteering time to work in a soup kitchen or pitching in to repair and insulate homes of the elderly or infirm.

We think of the holidays as a time for family and friends but in so many ways it's really about community. People come together to celebrate what they've shared together through the year in their schools, at their jobs, and in their churches and synagogues. That's the real joy of the holidays, as least as I see it.

Think about getting together and deciding what sort of charitable work you'd like to become involved in. Once you decide, have one person call around to the various good causes in town to see what's most needed and how you all can step in.

Whatever cause you take up, you'll need someone to organize work schedules and the like, just as you organize a project in your department.

In contributing your time and money in this way, you'll certainly be helping others, but you'll also see a huge return.

You'll have done something truly worthwhile together, which will bring you closer together. You'll have eased the burden for others less fortunate, which is a reward in itself.

And lest we forget, you won't have a stack of useless gifts staring at you when the holidays are over.