Still stuck for what to give this holiday season? Or to ask for when a family member or friend asks for hints? Obviously, for many people this is not a year for excessive giving. (Nothing wrong with excessive receiving.) When you give, don't forget the cost of the gift over time: Ten years ago it was the cost of film and processing on top of your non-digital camera; now it's the $25 cost of Blu-ray discs ($10 more than DVDs) on top of the $200 Blu-ray player (at least the players are finally priced right). In the meantime, here are five gadgets, accessories, and gear I've used, liked, and think you will, too, from $5 to $1,000.

Microfiber cloth. You never can have too many microfiber cloths for your sunglasses, laptop screen, camera lens, whatever. Most are in the range of $5. Some come in pouches and attach to your camera or keychain. Also, think about this microfer gift for yourself (not for gifting) if you're really cheap: Buy a big microfiber cloth, say 12-by-15 inches, and cut it in quarters with pinking shears (the ones that make zig-zag cuts and prevent unraveling). A microfiber cloth makes a fine stocking stuffer or a gift from kids shepherding their allowance money.

3M Precise Mousing Surface. The very best mouse pad comes from 3M with a somewhat long-winded name, Precise Mousing Surface. Some 3M mousepads have gel-filled wrist rests for home / office use. My favorite is the paper thin mousing surface you can slip in your laptop case and take on the road to deal with the glass or polished desks you encounter in some hotels that baffle most mice. (You do carry a mouse on the road, don't you?) The toothed surface was meant to solve the problem of slippage with the now-defunct mechanical mouse, but it works just fine with today's optical and laser mice. $10-$17.

Photo books. Creating a professionally printed and bound book of photos costs less than making a couple dozen 8-by-10 gift prints and the impact is more dramatic. It's just about too late to make one for Christmas (some have Dec. 20 cutoffs). But you can give an IOU for a photo book and work with the recipient to pick the best photos. I've made a dozen and all have turned out well; my only regret is rushing to make a deadline (Christmas, a birthday or anniversary) and winding up with minor mistakes or not exactly the right photo in some cases. I've had good luck with most every provider I've used: MyPublisher, Photo Works, and most recently SmileBooks. With some publishers, you go online to produce the book; with others, you download a small software application. The majority of users prefer online, but they're looking for the quickest results. For the best results, including the ability to proofread the book more accurately, go with the downloadable software (MyPublisher, SmileBooks). Prices vary by size. Expect to pay $30 to $40 for a 20- to 30-page 11-by-8-inch book in hardcover and $1 for each additional page. Watch for discount coupons, free shipping, or two-for-one sales -- just not in December.

Sonos multi-room music system. If you want to play MP3 music from your PC in multiple rooms, the Sonos multi-room music systems work flawlessly and can be mastered by just about anybody regardless of skill. In each room where you want music, you place an amplified (ZonePlayer 120) or unamplified (ZonePlayer 90) transceiver that links to your PC or home music server via wired or wireless Ethernet. Then you control it with an elegant, iPod-like walk-around remote. You can also stream Internet music or Sirius satellite radio (the Internet edition). Unlike some other multi-room solutions, the sound is synchronized across all rooms. It's not cheap. It does work. Flawlessly. Price: $1,000 for one amplified, one unamplified ZonePlayer, RF wireless remote with color LCD display, and cradle.

70-200mm DSLR zoom lens. I've got a half-dozen lenses for my digital SLR cameras. The most useful is also the most costly: the 70-200mm f/2.8 zoom lens with optical image stabilization. It's great for capturing kids, pets, sports, and wildlife in virtually any lighting condition such as the school play or a dimly lit gymnastics arena. The f/2.8 lens opening (smaller number is better) lets in twice the light as an f/4 lens, which also seems to make it cost and weigh twice as much. Vibration reduction means you can take slow-shutter-exposures with almost no camera blur. That adds cost, too. The model lines are Canon IS (image stabilization), Nikon VR (vibration reduction), and Sony SteadyShot (SteadyShot is in the camera not lens), selling for about $1,500. For $600-$700 you can get compatible 70-200mm f/2.8 lenses with excellent image quality from Tamron and Sigma, but they unfortunately don't have vibration reduction, and that's a must-have feature if you want maximum picture quality in low light.