There are times when you can wrap a holiday gift in a box; other times the giving is more ethereal. I'm a big fan of what I call service gifts—gifts that enrich, entertain, or just help someone out of a jam. Here are a few favorites that might go a long way.

Tech support: This is a gift for you as much as for your recipient—especially if you're the one who's been providing the 24/7 tech support until now. I've used Support.com and HiWired, both with success. You call the tech support person on your phone, and then via the Internet, they remotely diagnose and fix what's ailing your system. Prices vary depending on what you want to do, but you can delegate everything—PC backup and restore, migrate to Vista, set up a home network, and more. For more on these services, see my post from earlier this year.

A movie subscription: Netflix is the obvious choice for giving the gift of movies throughout the year. You can buy a gift subscription or just a gift card worth a certain amount. Make certain that you read the terms on the web site and understand the conditions of the gift.

You can also join a DVD club and purchase a set number of DVDs a year at Columbia House or the Dinner and Movie Club, where the recipient gets a delivered dinner along with a flick.

A game subscription: For $12.95 per month, GottaPlay works much like Netflix, but it's for renting video games. You get to preview the game on the GottaPlay web site, and if you like it, the company sends you the disk. It supports all the major gaming platforms. When you want to return it and get another, simply return to sender.

An audiobook subscription: Give a membership to the avid reader in your group. You can buy a variety of different length memberships at Simply Audiobooks. The books are shipped to you in CD format. If you've got a mobile listener on your hands, you'll want to look at Audible.com, where you can download the books to numerous devices. The first three months are only $8 now.

A tutor when you need one: OK, so maybe the kids won't find this quite as cool as an Xbox, but mom and dad probably will. When there's a homework problem that leaves you all scratching your heads, you simply connect to Tutor.com, and you'll be placed in direct contact with a vetted online tutor. You can buy a bunch of tutor minutes and use them when you need them. There's a trial price of $5 for 50 minutes.

AAA membership: This is the high-tech equivalent of your old TripTik. You can get visual and audio directions to any U.S. travel destination over your cell phone, along with the AAA points of interest. With a press of one button, your phone sends your GPS coordinates to AAA, and help is on its way.

A human assistant: Want them to be able to spend more time with you? Hire them an offshore assistant. The current rage is to look to India and hire a virtual assistant who can do everything from booking travel plans to scheduling meetings to even doing research. KPOWeb lets you hire a personal assistant based in India. At VA4U, you can select an assistant by geographical region or by their specialty. The gift of time is a great gift for a busy person.

Give them a web site: This is sort of like a novelty license plate for the digital age. Visit InterNIC for a list of all accredited domain services. Type in the URL you want and you can see if it's available.

Pampering: At SpaFinder, you can pick a location near your recipient and let them head off for a day of pampering.