So lest everyone thinks that I walk through the holiday season with a giant “Scrooge” on my head, I wanted to take the time to point out some great ways you can make the holiday season about more than the hurry you get in leading up to it. You can do some great work by helping out loads of charities, many of which make online donating easy. Here’s a few that I like:

Network For Good - is a great site that connects you, the user, with your favorite charities via the internet. They work with loads of charities on both the national and local level, and its not hard to find the one you want to work with. If you’re short on cash this holiday season, but still want to give of your time, check out their volunteer page. The best part is they work year round to connect internet users with charities, so the good work doesn’t stop after the holidays.

Child’s Play Charity is a charity for gamers to give a little bit to the community. Created by the guys over at Penny Arcade , the Child’s Play Charity has worked with local hospitals to create Amazon.com wish lists for each hospital. You can go visit each wish list and order something to be sent to the hospital. There are big and small items - and I easily found something I could send to my local Children’s Hospital that were within my budget.

The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children is a great charity you can donate to. NCMEC helps prevent kids from abduction and sexual exploitation; helps find missing children; and assists victims of child abduction and sexual exploitation, their families, and the professionals who serve them. Their work during Hurricane Katrina exemplifies the dedication they have to helping reconnect missing kids and their families. Their donate page is can be found here.

Finally, another little point to remember - giving shouldn’t stop just because its January 2nd.