Hurdler by Lauren Nassef.

I'm kind of notorious in my family for not necessarily giving people the Christmas gifts they asked for, but instead deciding for myself what I think they would like. It's true. For me half the fun is figuring out what would make life better for the person receiving the gift. This year I started planning and buying in October, ridiculously early for me, and I thought I'd share some of the ideas I've come up with.

WARNING: If you are related to me or related to someone in my household (i.e., a member of Rob's family), stop reading now! Seriously!

Give the opportunity to give: Through Kiva you lend as little as $25 to people in developing countries who are requesting small amounts of money (often less than $1,000) for specific purposes: buying seed for a farm, upgrading to new auto mechanic tools, buying a new cart and horse. With the investment of Kiva users, the people receiving the loans are able to improve their businesses and become more self-sufficient, while paying back their loan. Not only do you get the satisfaction of knowing your money is helping the lives of others in a significant way, you even get your money back in the end -- which you can of course then give to another Kiva project.

I'll be giving a Kiva gift certificate to my step-dad, someone who is fiercely liberal and fairly anti-consumerist. I think he'll like knowing his gift has nothing to do with shopping malls and everything to do with helping those who could really use it.

Give a signature spice blend: Turkey chili is one of my kitchen standbys -- it's really easy, very comforting and loved by all. I recently learned how simple it is to make your own chili powder by just toasting dried chili pepper pods and pulverizing them in a coffee grinder. And the depth of flavor makes store-bought powder taste like sawdust. With the huge array of chili peppers available in L.A., I've been experimenting to find my ideal chili powder, using Alton Brown's recipe as a starting point. I'll be mixing up a big batch before Christmas and giving them out, along with a recipe for my chili.

If you don't make chili, you can also try making a custom curry blend, rub for roasted meats or mulling spices blend. Penzeys Spices has tons of inspiration and also sells empty jars for packaging your creations.

Give original artwork: Okay, so this isn't the most revelatory tip, but I've been really into buying art prints on Etsy this year and will be giving some out as gifts as well. I just think it's amazingly cool that you can buy prints directly from the artist, often for less than $50, and decorate your house with fun, unique artwork. There is no excuse for bare walls or generic IKEA prints! You can check out my Etsy favorites to see if anything inspires you. In the past I have bought prints from Berkley Illustration, Oh My Cavalier, Lauren Nassef and Dkim Art. Just remember to order early -- there's no last-minute Christmas Eve shopping on Etsy.

What are you giving this year? Any interesting gift ideas?

What's better than an unexpected gift in the mail? An unexpected paper doll made by the one and only Chisako, my friend and former paper doll teacher. She sent it as a thank you gift for the article I wrote about her on Etsy.

Seeing a Chisako-made doll up close, I finally understand that all the dolls I made were nothing compared to what she can do.

She transforms paper into fabric. Look at the draping!

I'm not exaggerating when I say this is something I will treasure forever. Thank you, Chisako! ありがとうございました!

So there has been some grumbling about my lack of posts lately -- I do apologize. For the last month, I've spent most of my free time working on assignments for the online food writing class I'm taking. It's called Food Writing Boot Camp, and they really mean it -- I feel like I'm in the midst of a journalistic marathon. But it's great, I'm learning a lot, the other people in the class are talented and I love the teacher. So you see, I'm neglecting my blog for a very good reason!

In other news, Milhouse likes his leash -- or at least doesn't hate his leash -- and has a new found love of chewing on dead grass in the backyard. It didn't take long for him to get used to wearing a leash, but every time I put it on, it does take him several minutes to get used to being in the big bad world once we are outside.

I have several craft and apartment decorating projects on hold right now, awaiting the end of my class. I'll be back with those soon!