But for many it is a time of end-of-year parties, gift shopping, event planning and fixing up loose ends prior to the year's end.

Let the Border Mail's Christmas Shopper help you.

Read our secret Santa tips below, and click here to view the special publication.

SECRET Santa is the gift that keeps on giving, usually wrapped for a hapless colleague or in-law.

These are gifts that bear a resemblance to "pass the parcel", unwanted, unloved items given by eccentric aunts and stored in a cupboard, to be re-wrapped at Christmas time as secret santa gifts.

Think out-of-date diaries, cakes of stale soap or bargain bin books.

They're never thrown out, simply stored and re-invented as secret santas.

You're not alone in this sneaky way to save money at a time when wallets bleed dosh.

Millions of gift-bearers across the globe take part in secret santa, otherwise known as kris kringel in Ireland, manita-manito in the Philippines, julklapp in Germany or plain ol' white elephant gift exchange in the United States.

The premise to secret santa is simple: anonymously give a gift to a person whose name has been drawn from a hat. Secret santa is usually played with work colleagues and as an addition, or alternative to, regular gift giving among family and friends.

The value of secret santa is its financial ceiling; gifts routinely cost between $5 to $25; it's the challenge of the limited budget that gives the fun (and possible element of revenge) to secret santa.

It's a safe haven for scrooges (who can buy from charity shops) and practical jokers (think green slime wrapped in gold paper).

That's what makes secret santa fun, its surprise when the gift is unwrapped. And since the giver is anonymous, the recipient is none the wiser.

As the phenomenon gains momentum, secret santa variants have profilerated online.

There are a number of websites that will organise the exchange of secret gifts for communities from three people to thousands.

Websites also cater for secret santa gift ideas, which can be anything from inflatable antler rings, giant pencils, astronaut ice cream to unicorn lip gloss and cupcake mints.

Here's a list of gifts that may make a fun secret santa.

Apart from secret santa, there's the usual gift-giving for close relatives and friends.

The tradition of hanging a Christmas stocking, or sock, on the mantlepiece on Christmas Eve (ready to be filled by Santa and his helpers) dates to the early 1800s.

Stocking fillers are a Christmas staple and work well with children. Toys, sweets, coins and fruit were often pushed into the sock, to be rummaged through on December 25.

These days, there are apps for Christmas lists, where you can create a wish list for your children.

You can track your spending and share the list with family and friends, as well as check your budget to ensure you stay within limits.

The following list may give you some ideas for small, fun gifts.