If we must make purchases for ourselves and others this holiday season, may we consider a practical and more meaningful approach. Here are my Top 6 Gift Ideas for Guys this holiday season. It is called, “The Black List.” Hopefully, the items are marked with a certain degree of imagination, practicality, and general thoughtfulness – beyond consumption for the sake of consumption and onto considering needs, aesthetic, cultural connectivity, and relational development.

1. Apple TV

Let’s face it. We’re a post-HD flat panel, post-cable culture. Our lives are lived are on film and screen. It’s important to engage the most widely used electronic and informational device that informs (for good or bad) our culture. No longer do you need to pay for a cable or satellite package. Through Apple TV you can simply watch films and shows that you desire at the time that fits your schedule. No more commercials that promote unnecessary consumption and over indulgence. No more scheduling your life around a television series that you find particularly compelling, informative, artistic, or useful.

2. Breffo Spiderpodium

In a world of rapidly changing technology, we are constantly purchasing different accessories to fit updated phones, cameras, music players, and tablet computers. The cost becomes nearly unmanageable. The Spiderpodium is only $20 and can operate as a GPS mount in your vehicle, a music player fastener when working out while your child rides in your jogger stroller, or a tripod for your camera. Only a lack of creativity can limit the capacity of the Spiderpodium in fitting any small electronic device.

3. Moleskine Notebook

MOLESKINE is the legendary notebook that has held the inspirations and ideas of everyone from Van Gogh, Picasso and Hemingway to famed author, Bruce Chatwin. Artists, authors, and geniuses of all variety have long appreciated the simplicity and superior functionality of these notebooks. Originally these books were produced by small French bookbinders who supplied the Parisian stationery shops frequented by the international avant-garde. However, In 1986, the last manufacturer of Moleskine, a family operation in Tours, closed and Moleskines were gone – but not forgotten. As a result of their previous popularity and demand, they did return. In 1998, a small Milanese publisher brought these books back for writers, artists, travelers and all free-thinkers around the globe.^ I use multiple moleskines for multiple purposes – mostly reflection and creativity. ^ From moleskines.com

4. Mag-Lite ST3D016 LED Flashlight

Who doesn’t need a little light from time to time? The Mag-Lite is the most practical of all gifts. It is great for amily camping excursions, emergency blackouts, and road trips. It uses LED lighting and lasts much, much longer than continuing to buy and re-buy cheap plastic flashlights that are not dependable.

5. Black Coffee

Let’s just say it’s a way of appreciating what God put here on this earth for us. Just be sure to purchase Rainforest Alliance Certified and Fair Trade Certified coffee beans as an act of recognizing the value of our earth and those around the globe who are working tirelessly in their local economic systems.

6. Canon Digital SLR Camera

You’ll never regret investing in a good camera. I look back to pictures from a 2MP camera I had when digital cameras were new on the shelves and I wish the grainy pixels could be recaptured. One of the most important parts of life is making memories. Make them. Capture them. Celebrate them.

Or is all this just an example of how we justify our purchasing and consumption?