Santa Claus laid off 10 percent of his Elfin staff this month. The jingle bell industry is seeking a government bailout. Fannie Mae can only afford to buy a pack of tube socks for Freddie Mac this year.

If the economic downturn has put a damper on holiday enthusiasm for '08, think what this shopping season will be like for electronics retailers. Circuit City recently declared bankruptcy, and things aren't looking much better for other sellers of gadgets and flat-screens as customers keep their belts tightened. Consumer Reports found in a recent survey that 76 percent of Americans plan to cut back on holiday spending this year.

But that doesn't mean there aren't good deals to be found this year on tech gifts. We combed through the list of offerings this year with an eye toward saving: nothing costs more than $300. Nothing too extravagant. All are good values for these tight times.

$50 and less » Heard of Neopets? Don't worry. Your kids have. The toys, which tie into a vibrant virtual world, are kid-safe and very popular. The Neopets Faerieland Playset includes Neopet and Petpet figures as well as accessories, a virtual prize code and the playset itself, representing part of the online world of Neopia. $20, shop.nickjr.com.

For those who switch computers a lot and don't want to deal with multiple music libraries, Aluratek's Internet Radio Jukebox is a simple way to get access to a lot of music on the go. It plugs into a Windows PC's USB port and offers access to more than 13,000 radio stations in more than 30 countries with no monthly fee. No hassle, just lots of broadcasts. $39,aluratek.com.

3M's Mobile Privacy Film is a simple but clever idea: Stick it on your Blackberry screen and anyone sitting next to you won't be able to see what's on your screen. The film also reduces glare and protects the screen. It's available in one size that can be cut to fit nearly any cell phone or handheld device. It's great for frequent travelers who don't like wandering eyes spying their precious private data. $10, 3M.com.

For those who are over the frequent stops at the post office the holidays sometimes bring, PictureItPostage will save a few trips. Upload a photo, logo or illustration, order the amount of postage you need and receive custom-made postage labels. Prices start at $19, including the postage price and shipping of the labels. Turnaround takes about seven to 10 days. $19 and up, pictureitpostage.com.

There's nothing sexy about surge protectors, but they're a practical gift for anyone's who's made a significant investment in a home theater setup that could be endangered by a bad lightning storm. Ultralink's UltraPower PS-103 is modestly priced and small enough to stash behind a wall-mounted flat-screen TV. $50, ultralinkcables.com.

Hunting for a wall outlet to charge a dying phone or music player is no fun. The Medis 24/7 Power Pack is a disposable fuel cell that can provide emergency power for a variety of electronics. The Starter Kit includes a fuel cell, charging cable and several tips that allow it to connect to different devices. $34, savenna.com.

Wanna cut the phone company cord? The magicJack is a tiny accessory that plugs into your PC or Mac's USB port and provides unlimited long-distance calling for $20 a year. The device doesn't work on calls to foreign countries other than Canada and requires your computer to be turned on to receive calls. But it's still cheap and easy to set up. $40 for the device and first year of service, magicjack.com.

There are devices that combine a VCR with an interface to connect to a computer for backing up old tapes to new digital formats, but a much cheaper way to do the same thing is Pinnacle's Dazzle DVD Recorder. The hardware can accept audio and video connections from a variety of camcorders and VCRs and can convert those old memories to DVDs or files you can watch on your computer, your iPod or on practically any other screen. $50, pinnaclesys.com.

$60 to $120 » Make the seemingly endless trip through airport security lines go a little faster with the Targus Zip-Thru Air Traveler case, a checkpoint-friendly laptop bag that eliminates the need to remove your computer from the carrier. The case isolates the laptop to one side, allowing for quick, clear X-ray scanning. $80, targus.com.

The Epson NX400 is an insatiable paper pet. It wants only to earn your affection by scanning, copying and printing (at up to 34 pages per minute) all of your documents. The all-in-one printer includes a 2.5-inch LCD screen so you can see pictures you want to print via its built-in memory slots. $100, epson.com.

Toy worlds collide in the Nerf N-Strike, a package that includes a "Switch Shot EX-3" foam dart-blasting gun, which also doubles as a gun peripheral for the Nintendo Wii. The bundled Nerf-themed game takes up to four players through a variety of top-secret government locations, or something like that. $60, hasbro.com.Aerielle's i2i Stream eliminates speaker cables by allowing you to wirelessly stream music from any audio source to another part of the domicile (within 30 feet) without any loss of audio quality. It plays nice with MP3 players, computer audio or home entertainment systems. $120, i2igear.com.

$130 and up » In general, Bluetooth headsets are crimes against fashion. The Zivio Boom, on the other hand (or ear, rather), is sleek and sexy, offering 10 hours of talk time and an extendable microphone purported to increase sound quality. $130, myzivio.com .

Worth it? The Zivio is priced much higher than bargain Bluetooth earpieces, but is priced comparably to other high-end sets like the Aliph Jawbone. If fashion's important, the Zivio is expensive, but justifiable.

Last year, digital picture frames were a hot holiday item, but many of them had grainy low-resolution screens and had frames that were not very pleasing to the eye. The Cagic 8 Picture Frame combines European styling with high-end features. Instead of sporting buttons on the back or a touch screen, the touch-sensitive matte frame itself controls the Cagic device. It also includes a 1-gigabyte SD memory card. $180, cagic.com.

Canon's PowerShot A1000 IS continues the company's streak of powerful point-and-shoot digital cameras that also shoot surprisingly good video, perfect for YouTube-ing. The A1000 IS features 10.0-megapixel resolution and has a 4x optical zoom. It also is available in four two-tone colors: gray, blue, brown and purple. $200, usa.canon.com.

Worth it? There are cheaper digital point-and-shoots, but for those who want to capture video as well, the PowerShot is a great choice at $200.

All those music files, videos and increasingly large family digital photos aren't going to just back themselves up. Protect your data with Seagate's FreeAgent XTreme Drive, a nice-looking desktop storage solution that can be scheduled to perform automatic backups. It has USB, Firewire 400 and eSATA connections, allowing it to expand storage on some DVRs. $160 to $300 in sizes ranging from 500 GB to 1.5 terabytes, freeagent.seagate.com.

Worth it? Absolutely, for anyone who doesn't regularly back up their files.

The Flip video camera became a sensation after Oprah Winfrey endorsed it on her show late last year. The latest incarnation of the easy-to-use, tiny shooter is the Flip MinoHD, which can capture footage at an HDTV-friendly 720p resolution. The camera's exterior can also be customized, making it a colorful addition to the Flip lineup. $230, theflip.com.

Worth it? There are other good HD mini-cameras out there at a similar price (like the Kodak zi6), but Flip customers such as Oprah swear by the camera line's ease-of-use.