During the holiday season from Thanksgiving to New Year’s, we confront the problem of plenty. The classic problem is what to get someone who has the ability to treat herself to far more than you could possibly afford.

But there is another problem, one that requires inspiration and organization. How do we give something meaningful to needy folks in our community who we know exist when we don’t know who they are?

Let’s begin with a principle: good deeds are contagious and self-replicating -- but only if they are recognized. Let’s do so.

Thanksgiving is a time to share the bounty of America. We normally spend it with family and close friends. But why stop there? How can we reach out to those who lack them? We know there are people in our community who are poor or far removed from loved ones. How can they be included? Here’s an event I find inspiring.

The Bistro is an excellent Bozeman restaurant. In respect to its staff, it’s closed for Thanksgiving. To an economist, this implies idle resources. The stoves are cold and tables empty. To altruists, this offers an opportunity.

The Bistro owners and their friends had an excellent idea. Why not offer a traditional Thanksgiving dinner, at no charge, to 150 individuals with no good place to go? That’s exactly what they did, i.e., they advertised this opportunity to the community. They solicited donations, turkeys, money, and labor from friends. And this being America, people responded.

Some of the guests were quite able to pay for a meal but wanted company for this special day. Others were genuinely needy. All were welcome. And the well-off children of the organizers were exposed to folks who’ve been less fortunate. I feel blessed to live in such a community and I support such efforts.

Now what about Christmas? Everyone gets stumped over gift ideas, whether you are a child giving to your parents, a boss thinking of colleagues, or giving to wealthy friends. Economics can help with those hard choices that plague us each time of gift giving.

Some people are just really hard to help. They’re well off, well educated, and their only scarce resource is time. Yet you want to do something nice for them. In this case we must look for gaps in their knowledge and competence and attempt to fill them.

For others, giving cash is a bit insensitive and definitely less than ideal when the recipient is not genuinely poor. While convenient, cash gifts neglect a key principle dear to economists, “comparative advantage.” Everyone has their own niche, something that they are just much better at than anything else. Nobel laureate economist Milton Friedman reminds us, “We should concentrate on doing those things we do best, those things where our superiority is the greatest.”

If your comparative advantage wouldn’t make a good gift, then look towards the “comparative disadvantages” of the receiver. If the recipient is new to an activity, then their inexperience offers great gift opportunities.

Here are two problems I faced when considering well-off, well-educated friends who have done much for me over the years. The first involved a couple with a fine home with a spring creek and a pond. The pond, once quite attractive, was a wreck. It was a silted-up eyesore.

I am quite indebted to them but not financially. However, as a former logger and irrigator, I know how to move dirt and water. Here was my opportunity to help them. I exercised my comparative advantage and managed the reconstruction of their pond. I believe they are pleased and I know I am. Also, if trout can be happy, theirs are.

Other friends include a couple who have recently taken up cycling. They too lack for nothing material -- but alas they know little about how to make cycling more enjoyable. Their tennis shoes and shorts aren’t optimal cycling gear. But how could they know this? Having biked more than 5,000 miles in a year, I know that padded shorts and bike shirts add to the pleasure. They may find these items in their Christmas stockings.

Economic principles can help us do good. Let’s use them to make our community an even better place.