Because a typical SS budget usually hovers around the $20 limit, you can't dazzle your gift recipient with some easy-to-buy, big-ticket gadget. So you'll have to get creative. Just keep the two "Ps" in mind as you brainstorm -- personalize as best you can and package it well.

PERSONALIZE

This can be difficult, depending on how well you know the person. But just ask these questions to figure out what your guy or gal would appreciate most:

• What is she most passionate about?

• How does he spend most of his leisure time?

• Did she just buy a new car? Have a baby? Move into a new place? Get a new pet? What would come in handy for those life changes?

• What about him brings the best out in you ? How could you honor that?

(And if you still have no idea how to personalize your gift, you can always head to Walgreens, which has an entire wall of gift cards for popular destinations including Starbucks Coffee, Olive Garden, Red Lobster and Shell gas stations.)

PACKAGE

After you've settled on a personalized gift theme or idea, now focus on how to present it. Here are some examples (some inspired by the book "The Perfect Basket" by Diane Phillips):

• Is she really into music? Bring out her inner DJ with a $15 iTunes gift card, a stack of blank CDs and her own DJ name. You can get a playful name by visiting the DJ name generator at mydjname.com. (According to the Web site, I'm DJ Stomp Biscuit.)

• Does he live for movies? Find an inexpensive popcorn bowl and fill it with a couple of movie theater gift certificates or a video store gift card; microwave popcorn; and Junior Mints, Dots and Jujubes.

• If she's a cozy kind of person, put together a winter basket filled with hot cocoa mix, candy canes, marshmallows, skewers to roast the marshmallows, graham crackers and chocolate bars.

• Do you have an amazing recipe you'd like to share? Print out a nice copy and pair it with something he would need to make it. For example, I'm crazy about a particular margarita recipe (e-mail if you want it). I would tie the recipe around a couple of cool margarita glasses (you can't go wrong at Pier 1 Imports) or a bottle of premium tequila.

(And have fun doing it)

I'm all for bargain shopping -- but it's usually a lot of work and involves trips to sterile shopping malls and discount stores. If you'd like to make a gratifying experience out of your gift shopping (and help local businesses), try heading to downtown Roanoke. You'll be accomplishing your task while enjoying the old-fashioned charm and hip eateries that downtown has to offer. Plus, many of the stores will be open late for Dickens of a Christmas on Dec. 2, Dec. 9 and Dec. 16.

Here's how you can put the two "Ps" in action in the city market area:

• If your gift recipient is a foodie, grab a gift certificate to Say Cheese, the specialty cheese shop next to Billy's Ritz on Salem Avenue. Then package it with some fancy cheese spreaders or a bottle of wine. The shop next door -- Roanoke Valley Printworks -- has quirky notecards to complete the package.

• If she's all about purses and shoes, you're in luck. The Claire V Warehouse Sale starts tonight at 309 Campbell Ave. and continues through Tuesday. Here you'll find deeply discounted silk handbags that will make any accessory hound squeal with delight. Fill it with chocolate and you'll be the best Secret Santa ever.

• Speaking of accessories, one of the newest additions to the market is Bowman Handbags, a Blacksburg-based company. The store seems big on girly and personalization. Besides the pricey bags, I noticed a pack of monogrammed pink and brown cloth napkins (featuring one letter) -- four for $24.

• The perfect gift for a beer lover? Stop by Basketworks right next to Center in the Square, where you'll find a shelf of specialty beers (sold by the bottle).

• Here's a pretty unusual beauty gift idea. At Shades of Colour Boutique on Market Street, you'll find 100 percent shea butter from Africa. The store's brochure claims it moisturizes and protects skin and helps to reduce the appearance of stretch marks. A quarter-pound is $7, a half-pound is $14 and one pound is $24.

• All the Tech and UVa sports paraphernalia you can handle is waiting at High Peak Sportswear. Here you'll find garden gnomes -- garden gnomes! -- decked out in school colors. The prices are fairly reasonable, too.

• If she's a crafty artist at heart, give her a gift certificate to Beads Indeed or the Glazed Bisque-It paint-your-own pottery store -- and throw in a $5 gift certificate to the Little Dipper ice cream shop nearby to sweeten the deal.

DID YOU KNOW?

Evite.com, the Web site you already depend on to organize your party invitations, will handle your Secret Santa assignments for you. Once participants RSVP, Evite will randomize the guest list and automatically send assignments by e-mail. This ensures the secret part of the gift exchange and makes hosting a party even easier.

To get started, visit www.evite.com/pages/tips/secretSanta.jsp.