Has your ho-ho-ho become a little ho-hum?
Tired of giving gifts from the middle of the bell curve?
Does the thought of holiday shopping tempt you to make the Grinch your role model through the end of the year?

Never fear, friends, American Mensa is here for you with some bright ideas for holiday gifts. Best of all, you can knock it all out in one afternoon online and never fight for parking, never set foot in a crowded store and never wait in a long line for a harried sales clerk to be rude to you. How smart is that?

Speaking of efficiency, this season's Holiday Gift Guide is once again brought to you by the good folks at GEICO, who know a thing or two about saving time and money on your homeowner, vehicle and rental insurance — and who offer special discounts to American Mensa members. We invite you to invest 15 minutes in learning what GEICO can do for you. It's the smart thing to do!

With the above goals in mind, we hope you'll consider these suggestions to make your holidays…

Delectable. Food is a universally appreciated gift, and we think gifts that appeal to the sweet tooth are the most memorable:

Of course, we lead with chocolate (it's a Mensan thing). Recchiuti, a passionate San Francisco chocolatier, offers the Confections' Red Wine Pairing Box of specially selected chocolates and suggestions for the perfect wine to complement each.

Some holiday treats are so good that they are almost worth the work involved to make them. We recommend you order them premade and lavish your time on friends, family or a good book this season. Consider springerle, fragrant and beautiful anise-flavored cookies that take days to make or Bûche de Noel: a luscious chocolate combination steeped in tradition for true chocolate lovers.

If you're shopping for someone who enjoys their time in the kitchen — but not necessarily chocolate — Nielsen-Massey is the "vanilla specialist." Visit their Web site to learn about different types of vanilla and get help selecting just the right blend.

Wander-ful. If you're travelling for the holidays, perhaps you might need…

Mensa Travel*. On this full-service site, you can book your flight, hotel and car reservations; search for cruise and tour-package deals; and purchase flowers, concert tickets and more!

Just the right bag to stow your gear. Our friends at Tom Bihn hand-craft geekishly great options for your travel, business and day-to-day needs, including the "Brain Bag," "Smart Alec" and "Synapse."

To save 20 to 30 percent on your car's gas consumption (and who doesn't need to?). The Sharper Image offers a computer that will track your driving habits and score you in the areas of drag, acceleration, smoothness and deceleration; the higher your score, the more efficiently you're driving. This smart little device can also display miles per gallon and gas usage per trip, as well as diagnose the code that triggered that annoying check-engine light.

Smart. As the song says, "May your days be merry and bright" — so here are a few possibilities:

Turn your photographic memories into high-resolution digital files with Brookstone's fast, easy slide and negative converter.

If your special someone harbors a good dose of Mensa pride, New Hampshire jeweler Jack Dokus has designed a striking silver ring. If bling's not their thing, Fox Imaging* is the official store of American Mensa products; take a digital wander down their aisles of logo-emblazoned gear.

A great stocking-stuffer for the quick mind, the Mensa Home Test is a formally developed, normed challenge that will give them a true sense of their brainpower. And it will give them an idea of whether they qualify for Mensa.

For the new parents on your list, here's some smart technology to make their holidays quiet(er). ThinkGeek*'s Why Cry Baby Analyzer is a baby monitor so advanced that it identifies the cause of a baby's cries and displays an easily read icon.

For the psychology or education wonk, we suggest a subscription to the Mensa Research Journal. Published three times a year, the MRJ collects the latest research on topics covering intelligence and giftedness.

Designed for gaming, creative flow, stress relief and dual hemispherical brain stimulation, the NeoCube Omega comes recommended by an actual Mensan who described it as "1,027 spheres of magnetey goodness." (Admit it — now you're curious.)

Kick-start your day with a mental workout! The Mensa 10-Minute Crossword Puzzles Page-A-Day Calendar is challenging enough for a Mensan, yet designed to be solvable in just a few minutes. The collection is authored by Mensan Fred Piscop, a veteran crossword-puzzle writer for The New York Times and The Washington Post. You can get this calendar or any of the other Mensa-licensed calendars and books at American Mensa's Smart Buys, the online store for everything you find where American Mensa and Amazon intersect.

Youthful. Here are some ways to keep young minds and hands (of all ages) busy during the cold, indoor months:

Thanks to Lego, anyone can build a replica of Frank Lloyd Wright's masterpiece Fallingwater.

From Edmund Scientific* — the online folks with all the best science and construction toys — comes Strawz, the kit to build your own elaborate drinking straw with flexible connectors and endless possibilities for holiday drinks.

The Discovery Store's 4-D Shark anatomy puzzle with detachable organs, cutaway design, plenty of detail — and big pointy teeth! Everything a budding marine biologist enjoys!

Fun. And who doesn't need more fun?

On behalf of your extra-special Star Trek fan, we mention the Authentic James T. Kirk Captain's Chair. (If it matches your living or game room's décor, perhaps this is an extra-strong hint!)

You knew there had to be a geek T-shirt in here somewhere. This year we suggest a good old-fashioned binary reference: "There are 10 kinds of people in the world: those who get binary, and those who don't."

Awww! What could be more fun at your holiday parties than giardia? This cute plush variety won't infest your drinking water and is sure to be quite a conversation piece as a little one's "lovey" or the cat's favorite object of attack. Giant Microbes also makes many other critters such as H1N1 and MRSA. (Of course, here at Mensa we're partial to the neuron. But we digress.)

At Mind Games® every year, the Mensan judges' top five favorite games are awarded Mensa Select® distinction. Get any of the winners since 1990 at American Mensa's Smart Buys store.

Magnanimous. Since the holidays are a time for generosity in all its forms…

Give the gift of American Mensa: Our membership gift certificate is a practical, cost-effective gift for any Mensa member or candidate who's received an offer of membership. Your gift can shine throughout the year (or longer!) as the certificate pays their membership dues.

Splurge on The Algonquin Round Table Experience: As our favorite fantasy gift from Neiman Marcus' famous Christmas Book, it's the opportunity to host some of the brightest minds in modern literature, journalism and the arts for an exclusive private dinner at New York City's legendary Algonquin Hotel. (We said "splurge" and "Neiman Marcus," so you know some serious generosity is required for this one! But what the heck, proceeds support First Book — and we're all for giving books to kids.)

We sincerely thank GEICO for sponsoring the 2009 Holiday Gift Guide.

* Are you a Mensan? These vendors offer discounts or other special benefits to American Mensa members! Visit our Benefits & Services page for more information, or look into joining now.