'Tis the season, and most of us are looking for new ideas for gifts to share the joy of the season. The personalized Christmas gift is a winning and popular new idea. Let's take a look at some of the many ways you can create a personalized Christmas gift.

Web technology opens a world of possibilities. Digital imagery and graphics packages put power in your hands. Digital images can be screened on a mug, a Christmas ornament, Christmas card, or sent via email as a holiday greeting. There you have several personalized Christmas gifts.

You need to get inside your friend's or relative's head, so to speak. What activities, hobbies or crafts do they enjoy? Are they a music freak? A devourer of books? A birdwatcher? An aspiring ballerina? You can see the possibilities.

The more commercial gift possibilities lack character, and thus meaning. Maybe you are a teacher or a fishing enthusiast. Wouldn't a teacher love to receive a how-to book on college grants and scholarships, listing resources and solid information he or she could pass on to their students?

The fishing enthusiast will be happy to receive a selection of unusual fishing lures, or a book describing the regional fishing conditions and tips on luring the fish of choice.

The music freak is easily pleased. If you know they love classical guitar, Irish ballads or rap, find an unusual take on their interest.

It's easy to give a personalized Christmas gift to the devourer of books. Many readers are writers. A leather bound journal with an embossed monogram or favorite quote is a terrific personalized Christmas gift. If your reader is fascinated by the mystery genre, a book on writing mysteries may be the perfect personalized Christmas gift.

Your birdwatcher is sure to be pleased with a subscription to the Audubon Society's magazine. Wood carvings of birds, birdwatching gear or a bird bath are some other possibilities.

The aspiring ballerina may enjoy a framed print of Degas' Ballerina. Perhaps a Christmas ornament in the shape of a ballerina's shoes? Theater and ballet gift shop catalogs are replete with unique items celebrating ballet. Books are good choices: a history of ballet, ballet exercises, biographies and autobiographies of famous ballerinas are just a sampling. Tickets to The Nutcracker Suite is a guaranteed winner.

So no matter who you're looking to give a thoughtful gift with meaning, just put yourself in their shoes. What would make you feel as though the giver really thought about who you are? That's what makes a personalized Christmas gift.