Adopt a vegetable£15

Good Gifts

Last order date for Christmas: Thu 20 Dec 2012

Types of gifts: 50 bowls of rice for £5, adopt a vegetable for £15 (saves rare varieties from extinction) or a £25 Xmas hamper for an elderly person. There's a £2.95 fee per transaction - even if you buy more than one gift, you'll still pay just £2.95.

What does the charity get? The site guarantees all your cash goes to exactly what you've bought (the charity takes the £2.95 handling fee).

Link: Good Gifts

Eye operation£8

Gift of Sight (Sightsavers)

Last order date for Christmas: Wed 19 Dec 2012

Types of gifts: An eye operation for £8, a Braille book for £10, four white canes for £10, or an adult cataract operation for £28.

What does the charity get? 74% of your donation goes on charitable activities, 24% on fundraising and 2% on governance, management and admin.

Link: Gift of Sight

Blankets for 5 babies£15

Unicef Inspired Gifts

Last order date for Christmas: Fri 21 Dec 2012, 1pm

Types of gifts: Polio vaccines for 100 kids for £11.50, blankets for five babies for £15, or deliver a baby for £23.50 (covers all midwifery equipment needed to bring a new life into the world).

What does the charity get? For every £1 donated, 76p goes to Unicef's work with children, 22p goes to fundraising, and 2p towards administration.

Link: Unicef Inspired Gifts

20 chicks£7

Cows 'n' Things (Age UK)

Last order date for Christmas: Sat 15 Dec 2012 (though the e-card option is usually instant)

Types of gifts: A chicken for £5 or 20 chicks for £7, two Mosquito nets for £7, a community health kit for £41 or an irrigation system for up to 600 families for £140.

What does the charity get? For every £1 donated, 90p is spent on work overseas where the need is greatest - helping the most disadvantaged older people. 10p is spent on running the programme.

Link: Cows 'n' Things

Feed a family£25

Present Aid (Christian Aid)

Last order date for Christmas: Fri 14 Dec 2012 (though the e-card option is usually instant)

Types of gifts: A can of worms (!) for £7 (a wormery can help fertilise wasteland), £9 for a year's books, stationery and uniform for a child, a goat for £19, or feed a family for a month for £25.

What does the charity get? For every £1 donated, 83p is spent on Christian Aid’s stated objectives, 16p on fundraising and 1p on running the charity. Cash from gifts goes to projects within the relevant fund (eg, agriculture and livestock).

Link: Present Aid

TB Screening£6

Must Have Gifts (Worldvision)

Last order date for Christmas: Tue 18 Dec 2012 (though the e-card option is usually instant)

Types of gifts: TB screening for £6, birth certificates for £9, a kid goat for £19, or school dinner for 45 children for £20. Everything you buy will go directly to the communities that have asked for it.

What does the charity get? Out of every £1 donated, on average 80p goes directly to the community involved. The remaining 20p goes towards the cost of the gift catalogues and cards, staff and admin costs as well as overheads.

Link: Must Have Gifts

Goat£25

Oxfam Unwrapped

Last order date for Christmas: Tue 18 Dec 2012 (though the e-card option is usually instant)

Types of gifts: Share in a farmyard for £5, buy a health check for £6, school supplies for £8, chickens for £10 or a goat for £25.

What does the charity get? Your donation will be spent on a related Oxfam project, eg, cash from education-themed gifts goes to one of its education projects. For every £1 donated, 84p goes on projects, 9p on admin and 7p on fundraising.

Anything else? All gifts are dispatched within 3 working days by 1st class post or air mail. There's an optional delivery contribution of £1.70 per order for UK deliveries.

Link: Oxfam Unwrapped

Christmas dinner£5

Centrepoint

Last order date for Christmas: Mon 17 Dec 2012 (though the e-card option is usually instant)

Types of gifts: A Christmas dinner for a young homeless person for £5, a Christmas present for £10, healthy living classes for £20, or a safe, clean bed for the night for £31.

What does the charity get? For every £1 donated, 86p goes directly to Centrepoint and is spent on supporting homeless young people. 14p is spent on administration.

Link: Centrepoint Gifts

Lifeguard's air horn£6

RNLI Lifesaving Gifts

Last order date for Christmas: Tue 11 Dec 2012 (though the e-card option is usually instant)

Types of gifts: The Royal National Lifeboat Institution's charity gifts include a lifeguard's air horn for £6, a lifeguard uniform for £10, or 25 litres of fuel for a lifeboat for £15.

What does the charity get? The RNLI uses money from the gift where the need is greatest. For every £1 donated, 85p goes towards saving lives at sea and 15p goes towards generating income for the charity.

Link: RNLI Lifesaving Gifts

Adopt a panda£3/month

WWF Adopt An Animal

Last order date for Christmas: Wed 19 Dec 2012

Types of gifts: Adopt one of a range of 13 animals from £3/month and receive three annual updates a year on your chosen species, plus a cuddly toy.

What does the charity get? For every £1 donated, 71p is used directly for conservation programmes and field projects, campaigns, education and raising awareness of environmental threats, 28p for fundraising and 1p on legal and accounting costs.

Link: WWF Adopt An Animal