Publisher’s note: Lake Tahoe News is looking for gift ideas that are less than $20. Find out how to make a suggestion.

Your holiday gift can help save the biggest pine in the world — the sugar pine. Sugar pines are noted for their unique shape and enormous cones.

For $20 you can buy someone a Sugar Pine Foundation (SPF) membership which comes with an organic cotton shirt, a tote bag, or a BPA free water bottle. You can also buy a sugar pine seedlings for $10 and sugar pine seeds for $1 each.

Explore SPF gift options here.

The Sugar Pine Foundation is a nonprofit organization working to restore sugar pines and other white pines by involving the community in forest stewardship. We conduct community and student tree plantings in the Tahoe region every spring and fall.

For more information, check our website and join us on Facebook.

— Maria Mircheva

Publisher’s note: Lake Tahoe News is looking for gift ideas that are less than $20. Find out how to make a suggestion.

A massage may be what the person on your list would prefer, but a less expensive alternative is a tube of Biofreeze. It’s one of the best topical pain relievers for the sports nut on your list, the computer worker whose neck and shoulders are tight, the shovelers out there, the parents carrying young kids — you name it.

A tube is $15 at A Massage at Tahoe in South Lake Tahoe. Call (530) 318.4806 to get a tube or two.

Red Hut on Ski Run Boulevard in South Tahoe will host a Burger Night fundraiser to benefit the Heavenly Ski and Snowboard Foundation’s Scholarship Fund on Dec. 14 from 4-9pm.

The Red Hut will be serving combos that include a burger, homemade chips and a fountain soda for a $10. Ice cream treats and shakes will be $1 off and all apparel items will be 20 percent off.

There are 500 tickets for the event, with an opportunity for the foundation to raise $5,000. Tickets are available at the foundation building Wednesday from noon to 4pm or by calling (530) 314.9285. Tickets will also be available at the door.

Publisher’s note: Lake Tahoe News is looking for gift ideas that are less than $20. Find out how to make a suggestion.

The Barton Memorial Hospital Auxiliary has two outlets to do your under $20 shopping.

1) The Gift Shop which is located in the front lobby of the hospital. There are a variety of jewelry, scarves, baby gifts, See’s candy (we are the only ones in the South Shore that offer it year-round), tree ornaments, flowers, holiday pottery and glass ware, and many other wonderful gifts.

The December hours are:

Monday-Thursday: 9am-4pm

Saturday-Sunday: 10am-4pm

Tuesday-Thursday: 4-8pm

Closed during the lunch and dinner hour.

2) The Attic, which is located at 970 Lodi Ave. The Attic offers donated items, Christmas decorations, clothing, toys, books, CDs, videos, furniture, pottery and glassware, and plenty of knickknacks.

The hours are:

Monday-Friday: 10am-4pm

Saturday: 10am-2pm.

All proceeds this year go toward the remodel and new addition of the Community Clinic. The Auxiliary has already donated more than $600,000 toward this construction.

— Cathy Vogelgesang

• South Tahoe Public Utility District’s board is having a workshop Dec. 15 from noon-2 at the district office. Here is the workshop agenda. The regular board meeting follows at 2pm.

• Here is the annual ski area report card put out by the Ski Area Citizen’s Coalition.

• Here is the Caltrans roadwork schedule for El Dorado-Tahoe for this week as well as the Sierra schedule.

• According to a quarterly cost of living index, Truckee has the fourth highest grocery prices in the country and is the ninth most expensive place to live.

• Debbie Akin has been appointed to the El Dorado County board of education.

With the passage of Measure R – the rewriting of the South Shore’s Measure S recreation legislation – comes the need to create committees that will recommend to the board how the money for ball fields and bike trails should be spent.

Seven people will be on each of the two advisory committees. All meetings will be open to the public and subject to California’s open meeting law.

The deadline to apply is Jan. 13 at 5pm.

Applications are available at:

• South Lake Tahoe City Clerk’s office, 1901 Airport Road, (530) 542.6004 or email eapalazzo@cityofslt.us

• John Upton at (530) 541.0525 or e mail rkupton@aol.com

• El Dorado County Supervisor Norma Santiago’s office at (530) 621.6577, or bosfive@edcgov.us.

Members are expected to be chosen at the Jan. 20 JPA board meeting. It starts at 9am at Lake Tahoe Airport. Applicants are encouraged to attend the meeting. If unable to attend, applicants should advise Upton.

The Douglas County Public Library in Zephyr Cove will be closed Dec. 24.

The library will resume its regular schedule Dec. 28 at 11am.

For more information, call (775) 588.6411.

Publisher’s note: Lake Tahoe News is looking for gift ideas that are less than $20. Find out how to make a suggestion.

Tahoe Mountain Soap Company has locally made, handcrafted natural soaps, natural sea sponges and more — all for less than $20.

Soaps come in so many scents it may be difficult to choose just one.

More info is available online.

Publisher’s note: Lake Tahoe News is looking for gift ideas that are less than $20. Find out how to make a suggestion.

Alpen Sierra coffee has lots of hot ideas for Christmas that are less than $20.

The $9.95 gift basket can be customized to include a half pound of either coffee or tea and a gourmet dark chocolate bar.

The $15 option is 1 pound of organic Alpen Sierra Coffee with a gourmet dark chocolate bar.

Both are finished with Tahoe inspired wrapping. They can be ordered online.

— Audrey Douglas

The North Lake Tahoe Resort Association has open seats on its Infrastructure and Transportation committees.

These committee seats are two-year terms with appointments being made by the board of directors at its January meeting. To apply or request more information, contact Ron Treabess at Ron@PureTahoeNorth.com.

The NLTRA operates the North Lake Tahoe Chamber of Commerce and the Tahoe North Convention and Visitors Bureau, and is a partner with the Incline Village Crystal Bay Visitors Bureau in the North Lake Tahoe Marketing Cooperative. The NLTRA also serves as a partner with Placer County and other public agencies in the development and funding of infrastructure, transit and community mobility projects designed to enhance tourism and community quality of life for the benefit of all in the North Lake Tahoe region.