Lament all you want, purists, but a pretty significant huge chunk of the gifts exchanged this year won't come in gift wrapped packages. Instead, they'll come in the form of plastic cards that represent credits stored in a database somewhere.

Sure, to the untrained eye, your pile of Christmas goodies may look like a boring stack of envelopes, but you know what it really is: An after Christmas shopping spree waiting to happen. And when you total up all of the gift card-generated shopping bonanzas all across the globe, you get a pretty major shopping footprint -- perhaps even larger than (gasp) Black Friday.

So it stands to reason that if worked to keep your Christmas shopping eco-friendly this year, you might as well do the same with your post-Christmas bonanza. Unfortunately for people who love shopping bags and long checkout lines, that means doing your shopping online.

The countdown to Christmas is winding down. Now you have a mountain of vegan chocolate, WWF t-shirts and a Soda Stream sitting on your dining room table, waiting to be wrapped.

Don't blow your eco-friendly gift status now!

With a little creativity, you can make your gift even more special, and green. Try one of these wrapping ideas:

Many kids -- including the grownup kind -- put a puppy a the top of their Christmas gift wishlist. Most organizations actually advise you to hold off getting a pet during this busy time of year.

If you're determined to do the dog with a red bow under the tree route, definitely consider adopting a shelter or rescue dog because it's the right thing to do. These animals need homes, it's better for the planet, and it goes with the giving spirit of the season.

For those of you welcoming a pet, either to stay or just visiting with family or friends, the good folks at the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals have a great list of holiday animal safety tips to help you pet-proof your home, including:

How's that last-minute holiday gift list going?There's still time to make a sustainable food-preferring person on your list happy this holiday season!

From food baskets to books or movies or even a live ewe, there are loads of creative and delicious choices that will surprise, delight and stimulate.

Consider something that will appeal to his or her intellect:

You may want to cop out and get an iTunes gift card for the animal-lover on your list, but don't give up, there are so many options!

For the wild-eyed vegan activist, you have the entire PETA cruelty-free catalog. Highlights include the "Hug me, don't club me" Save the Seals t-shirts, vegan chocolate, and everyone's favorite, the "Help a Chicken" gift pack, which lets you donate $15 on behalf of an ethical-chicken-killing-advocate friend.

Is there someone on your list who tells you not to buy her anything, because she has everything? Believe her, and make a donation to Heifer International in her name. The organization gives livestock and husbandry training as a sustainable way to help people escape poverty. Your friend may not need a goat, but there is village in China that will be glad to accept it on her behalf!

If there's one gift you know people will be glad to receive it's chocolate!

Chocolate is sweet, but the cocoa trade is rough on the farmers who work on cocoa plantations -- and most of those plantations don't have the best environmental record, either.

In the past few years several fair-trade, organic, delicious chocolate makers have emerged. So when you're looking for a sweet holiday surprise, consider one of these:

For the Eco-foodie in your life, there are plentiful and fun green holiday gifts available, in a range of prices.

A nifty item for people who love sparkling water or soda, but hate the plastic bottles, is the Soda Stream. You take regular water, add the flavoring of your choice -- or none -- and push a button. The Soda Stream gives the liquid a quick shot from the carbonator, and you've got bubbles!

Of course the best water comes from the tap ... and just to make sure, get a Brita pitcher or faucet attachment. Does your gift recipient already have one? Replacement filters make a great stocking stuffer!

'Tis the season for giving gifts! The most thoughtful gift is one that helps keep the planet alive -- or at least doesn't hasten climate change, global warming, or poisons the recipient with chemicals that leach out of plastic parts. Especially when you're shopping for kids!

Be sure to check the Good Guide, which tested and rated the most popular toys for the year. Sorry to break it to you, but Zhu Zhu Pets rated a relatively low 5.5, which isn't going to stop your kids from wanting them, but may change your mind!

The Plan Toys Cargo Train received the highest Good Guide rating, of 8.3, followed closely by the (awesome sounding) Lego Star Wars: the Clone Wars Fan's Vote Anniversary Edition, Home One Mon Calamari Star Cruiser, which received an 8.1 rating.

There are some, like Adbusters, who believe the green way to deal with Black Friday is to stay home and celebrate "Buy Nothing Day" instead.

For those of us who are less radical in our day to day lives, but still want to shop with a conscience, there are some practical ideas -- and cool tools -- to help you make your post-Thanksgiving sale shopping a little more eco-friendly.

To start, remember to consider the carbon footprint of what you're buying. Where was it made, what's it made of, how did it get here, and what type of packaging does it have? Some inexpensive gifts have a huge "earth cost"! You can mitigate this by patronizing companies that you know have good green practices.

I'm on my way to Chicago for BlogHer '09 this week, so the combination of cute shoes, vegan and made in Chicago caught my eye when I saw a post about Mohop shoes on the Green Lashes and Fashion blog.

Mohop shoes, which have handcrafted soles made from maple, cherry and (my total favorite) walnut wood, come in three different heights -- low, medium and high. All of the heels are purported to be comfortable, like clogs, because they conform to the natural shape of your foot.

The best part is that the "top" part of the shoe can be changed around and customized to suit your mood. The ribbon or fabric straps -- you can even order straps made of fabric remnants, so very "reuse-chic!" -- can be laced several different ways through unique elastic loops on the side of the soles.

Annie Mohaupt, the designer, makes the shoes in her studio in Chicago. I'm hoping to have enough free time to get out and see a few sites while I'm there, and I'll definitely keep my eyes open for real life sightings -- and maybe even trying on -- of these groovy, green shoes!

You're a conscientious shopper, and you pay attention to the green and ethical practices behind the businesses that get your money -- good for you! Now, apparently, you should be getting your booty over to Kohl's, which just came in as the number one purchaser of green power among retailers, and third overall.

EPA Green Power Partners that have completed voluntary green power purchases were ranked. Green power is defined by the EPA as "electricity generated from environmentally preferable resources like wind and solar."

Kohl's more than doubled their green power purchase for 2009, but still came in behind Intel Corporation, which came in at first place for the second year in a row, and PepsiCo. The full list includes a few names that just might surprise you, such as Wal-Mart stores and several states and cities.

There are plenty of other businesses making the list, and all together, EPA Green Power Partners are buying over 16 billion kWh of green power each year.

Not too long ago I wrote about a great invention that would enable you to retrofit your existing toilet into a dual flush wonder for only $30. Well, the kind folks over at SelectAFlush have sent me FOUR Dual Flush Conversion Kits to give away to our readers.

SelectAFlush allows you to choose just how big a flush you need every time you visit the loo. It's American made and a cinch to install. This little device will save your household thousands of gallons of water over the course of a year without investing in pricey dual flush toilet.

All you need to do to have one of these sent to your home is to leave me a comment below and a little bit of luck.

• To enter, leave a confirmed comment below.
• The comment must be left before 5pm EST on Friday, March 20th.
• You may enter only once.
• Four winners will be selected in a random drawing.
• Each of the four winners will receive one Dual Flush Conversion Kit (valued at $30.00).
• Open to legal residents of the 50 United States (including the District of Columbia) who are 18 and older.

Click here for Official Rules.

GOOD LUCK!

Are you looking for some sustainable beer choices for this, the greenest holiday? Look no further. Below is a gallery of tasty brews to enhance your celebrations wherever they may be. Of course, if you want to be especially kind to the environment you can always brew your own.

Don't forget that just how green your beverage ends up being has a lot to do with you. There's the obvious, like making an attempt to recycle your cans and bottles but people often overlook the fact that their compost piles would benefit from any excess beer lying around before or after its been filtered through their kidneys. Give the neighbors a show this St. Patty's Day they will not soon get over.

Ready to stop leveling forests just to wipe you butt? Great. Want to take sustainability a step further than recycled TP? Perfect. A growing number of hard-assed tree huggers are making the switch from conventional toilet paper to cloth for their green bathrooming needs. I guess you could call it a trend, or a movement. While I doubt the cloth wipe is the next Snuggie, Wallypop is offering a whole lineup of these reusable toilet wipes that are specifically engineered for your bum.

Constructed from eco-frinedly soft flannel, knit terry, velour, and hemp wires, these wipes are available in all sorts of cutesy, stain-masking patterns. Wallypop even has a cloth toilet wipe how-to -- covering use, storage, and washing, to help you make the swith. If the whole concept seems totally asinine, just think: if every American household used one less roll of virgin tp, it would save 423,900 trees.

While they actually do sound pretty soft and fluffy, I think I'm more likely to stick with recycled TP. It just seems like a more sanitary and pleasant process overall.

If you have been reading this blog for a while, you are undoubtedly aware with my love affair with a lawn mower. I love my Neuton Battery-Powered Lawn Mower. My husband loves it just as much because I no longer nag him to cut the the grass. Because of my history with the company, I was thrilled to see that they had received the Editors' Choice Award from Organic Gardening magazine.

The Neuton mower was one of eight winners of the prestigious award this month. Organic Gardening loved its quiet operation as well as its ability to mow over anything they threw its way. They also remarked on the benefits of being able to order additional batteries for longer run time and the mower's power display right on the handle.

Neuton is offering a number of sales right now including $100 off a reconditioned 6.2 mower with a free trimmer thrown in!