By November, Christmas has started to creep in. The evenings are darker, the decorations are appearing in shop windows and thoughts inevitably turn to what on earth we are going to buy for everyone.

Dog lovers should be easy to buy for. After all, we already know what they love. The problem is that there are only so many mugs declaring that somebody would rather be at home with their dog that one person can reasonably own.

The best gifts aren't necessarily the biggest or the most expensive. They are the ones that make you think immediately of the person who will receive them. Something funny because it captures their relationship with their dog perfectly. Something beautiful that they wouldn't normally buy for themselves. Something small that says, quite simply, “I saw this and thought of you.”

For those of us whose lives revolve around dogs, they inevitably find their way into Christmas. They appear on our cards, our decorations, our clothes and our presents. We buy gifts for the dogs themselves and then pretend to be surprised when they are considerably more interested in the wrapping paper.

There is another way to think about Christmas shopping too. Where we choose to spend our money can have an impact long after the wrapping paper has been cleared away.

Dog Desk Shop was created to combine two things we care deeply about: our love of dogs and our work helping them. When you buy something from the shop, you aren't simply buying from another faceless online retailer. You are supporting the wider work of Dog Desk Animal Action and helping us continue to be there for animals who need us.

That means a Christmas present can do two things at once. It can make somebody you love smile on Christmas morning while helping animals they may never meet.

Perhaps you're looking for something for the person whose dog is unquestionably the most important member of their household. Maybe you need a Secret Santa present for the colleague who spends every lunch break showing everyone photographs of their spaniel. Or perhaps you're buying yourself a little something because, frankly, you've bought presents for everybody else and you deserve one too.

And then, of course, there are the dogs.

Christmas doesn't mean anything to them in the way it does to us, but they certainly understand when something exciting is happening. New toys, special treats, interesting smells and a house full of people can make Christmas enormous fun, although sometimes the greatest gift we can give them is a quiet place to retreat when they've had enough of our festivities.

However you celebrate, gifts don't have to be extravagant to mean something. Thoughtfulness will always beat price tags, and choosing something that reflects what somebody genuinely loves makes even a small present feel personal.

This Christmas, we'd love people to think a little differently about where they shop. Independent businesses, social enterprises and organisations using trading income to support a cause may never compete with the enormous advertising budgets of the retail giants, but every order placed with them means something.

At Dog Desk Shop, every order means something to us too.

So whether you're shopping for a dog, a dog-obsessed friend or simply treating yourself, you can choose a gift that gives twice: once to the person opening it and once to animals who need someone to keep showing up for them.

And we think that's a rather lovely thing to put under the Christmas tree.