It's not the gift, but the thought that counts. At least that's what they tell me.

Today, with atmospheric levels of carbon started skyrocketing, there's another variable that must be added to the equation these days: impact.

So what's the best way to cut the eco-impacts of gifts this holiday season? Certainly, buying locally from sustainability-conscious producers is a good start. Unfortunately, local and sustainable tends also to mean expensive, and in tough economic times like these, that can be a stopper for many people. Which is why more and more people have begun turning to homemade gifts as a thoughtful, unique and affordable alternative to the local mall.

While it might conjure cringe-inducing images of the childish macaroni art in your co-worker's cubicle, homemade gifts need neither be crude nor simplistic. There's an understated elegance to hand-crafted holiday ornaments, and it's easy to see how someone could be really pumped to get a dazzling homemade set of LED pacman wheels for their bicycle.

There are varying degrees of homemade, and depending on your level of technical or artistic skill, you might be more inclined to go with the artisan-produced goods at Etsy than to tackle a DIY electronics project at Instructables or Make Magazine.

For the older-school gift-givers out there, numerous hard-copy texts cover the subject as well, issued by everyone from Better Homes and Gardens to Martha Stewart. While the books themselves are not homemade, they may inspire people to roll their own. Recipe books and scrapbooks also make welcome hand-made additions to people's shelves.

By transferring construction to a single, human producer, homemade gifts save vast amounts of energy and industrial waste. Because packaging is reduced or eliminated, this helps too. You might want to consider giving homemade a whirl this holiday season; take the online pledge and encourage others in your gift-giving circle to do the same. After all, at the end of the day, it's not the gift, but the thought (and the eco-impacts) that count.