Have you ever had a co-worker or friend surprise you with a gift during the holiday season, and you had no intention whatsoever of giving them anything? It's pretty awkward when they give you a really nice gift and you just sit there feeling like a thoughtless jerk. What you need is a "go-to" gift idea.

We've all seen the episode of Seinfeld where George went around the office giving impersonal gift cards to a phony charitable organization called the The Human Fund. Well, now you can pull the same type of impersonal -- yet altruistic -- crap with random coworkers when they surprise you with a fruitcake.

Here are a few ideas:

• TreePeople is a great non-profit that plants tree in southern California and basically sells carbon credits in the form of gift cards. I got one recently and it was actually pretty cool. Of course, it came with a bottle of booze -- which I appreciated way more. That's why it's a "go-to" gift. Save the booze for special people.
  
  
• Unless, that booze happens to be wine. The Organic Wine Company can help you find an organic -- and possibly local (if you live in California, France, Italy, Spain, or Argentina) -- bottle of wine. Local or organic wines are always a good go-to.
  
  
• Ahhh ... fresh, organic, eco-friendly, and fair-traded coffee -- perhaps the perfect generic gift for that special random someone. Nearly everybody is hooked on the stuff, so why not give them a bag of delicious coffee that will reduce their carbon footprint? Good Earth offers a variety of delicious, USDA Organic roasts.
  
  
• Here's a gadget that's cheap, green, and totally impersonal: it's a wind-up phone charger. Most people think that hand cranks are for emergency radios and junk like that. Truth is, they're all the rage when it comes to green gadgets -- second only to solar panels.
  
  
• The gift basket is surely one of the greatest holiday cop-outs in the history of mankind. It's basically the equivalent of saying: I don't know what kind of things you like ... I don't even really know which holiday you're celebrating this season, but here's an assortment of things you might like. The Green Perspective sells a green gift basket decked out with a coffee mug, green lifestyle guidebook, compact fluorescent bulb, etc., all in a reusable shopping bag.
  
  
• This just in: a houseplant is no longer a crappy present. Peace lilies, English Ivy, Ficus, and Golden Pothos have been found to be great indoor air filters. Just stack a few of these babies on your desk, wait for a coworker to drop in with a gift card to Chili's, and send them away with an air-cleaning organism. You'll feel all warm and fuzzy -- and green -- inside.