The Macintosh is not a gaming machine. I understand that. I’ve been fighting the good fight for over a decade now, but it’s a losing battle. Mac users will never get as many games as PC owners, we’ll never see the innovation, and simultaneous releases continue to elude us even today.

But that doesn’t mean there aren’t great games to be played. With the right software and hardware, it’s pretty easy to fool your Macintosh into thinking it’s an Xbox 360, if even for a little while. So, if you know a Mac gamer in need of some gifts this Christmas season, or if you’re getting a new Mac and want to see what it can do, here are a couple of suggestions to get you started (provided your system can handle them).

Mac applications have always been great gifts for the holidays. They are easy to purchase and often very helpful for the receiver. To help you find Mac gifts for people on your list, I have compiled of some of the best paid applications that are now available.

• TextExpander
• Wallet
• Coda
• Aperture
• QuickTime Pro

As if all of the holiday season goodness hasn’t already been enough for you, Microsoft wants to make it better by offering a kind 50% off on the Special Media Edition of Mac Office 2008. Although this isn’t across the entire line of software that Microsoft offers for the Mac, it will help you save more »

Infusions of Grandeur has announced Giftory 3.0, an update to their gift buying and tracking utility for Mac OS X. This handy little Macintosh program helps you keep track of gift giving and receiving for multiple people, on multiple occasions, over a period of years. And, of course, it will soon offer iPhone integration (pending Apple approval) so you can stay on top of your list while out in the crowds on Black Friday.

An excellent idea for parents managing the shopping lists of their children, or for those attending many parties and gift exchanges amongst friends, Giftory allows you to set up a group of people and create lists of gifts exchanged between them, as well as sort and prioritize the gifts in a variety of ways. You can keep track of all sorts of gift exchanges, and, perhaps more importantly, plan and budget for gifts that have yet to be purchased.

Although I’m not personally a fan of photo cards, this isn’t because I’m against the idea. It’s because the photos generally have that phony, staged feel of shopping mall photography centers, and because they’re just too expensive to bother with when I’m already overloaded with gift purchases (especially considering most photo centers require a minimum purchase). Thankfully, HappyHolidays! makes it easy to create personalized photo cards, perfect for sending to family and friends for any occasion. With HappyHolidays!, users can take any digital photo and add a background and a personal message to build a customized photo card. The software makes it easy to vary each card, so you can customize them for each recipient.