Six minutes to follow the path around the pond, an additional three minutes to fly up the hillside like a delivering wraith or mercy-angel, bearing the simple gift of a coat.

NEWYORKER: Tenth of December

"Just in time for the holidays, this new low pricing makes the critically acclaimed NOOK Simple Touch a terrific, affordable gift for anyone on the gift list, " said Jamie Iannone, President of Digital Products at NOOK Media LLC.

ENGADGET: Barnes & Noble drops Nook Simple Touch price to $79 for some unilluminated holiday reading

There's a simple way to do this: the annual gift exclusion.

FORBES: Give Now

In the old days taxpayers would often attach to their return a simple, bare-bones letter from an accountant stating the gift's value.

FORBES: Play Ball

Plain and simple, it was selfish, and it turned the magic of gift giving into a financial transaction.

FORBES: How I Blew $1,000 and Ruined Christmas: 3 Lessons on Giving Gifts

And with that simple experience, Linden is aiming to undo a notoriously broken form of well-intentioned generosity: gift cards.

FORBES: Gift Cards Be Gone: Karma Launches

When it comes to gift giving, Rob Johnsen, co-founder of MyWedding.com, has some simple, if calculating advice: Decide how much your relationship is worth.

CNN: Here comes the bride, there goes your wallet?

Believe.in has what looks at first a very simple, indeed unbelievable, pitch: it will pass on 100% of the money you raise in donations and Gift Aid to your chosen cause.

BBC: Believe.in and the business of charity