Animation software makes a great stocking-stuffer for an animator - but it can be pretty expensive, even moreso when you look at the high-end animation software that's compatible with the Mac OS. Most free or low-cost software is developed with PCs in mind, but not all of it. Here's five programs for the Mac that not only animate well, but won't empty out your wallet.

The key draw of Flash is interactivity; not just an animation tool, it's a fully-interactive production studio that allows you to create movies your viewers can participate with, rather than just watch. But it can also work with other interactive platforms such as PHP to enhance its functionality and increase its capabilities. This includes letting you gather user information and use it to customize your Flash animations, such as with this Christmas E-Card.

You can winterize your windows, winterize your tires - but you can also winterize your website, although the process doesn't exactly involve weather sealing. Instead it's just a little animation, a little actionscripting, a little DHTML, and you can use the Flash falling snow animation as an overlay on your website content to create a festive (or blizzardy) feel.

Ever tried drawing smoothly in Flash? Are you any good at that? If the answer is "yes," you're off my Christmas card list. (Just kidding.) Seriously, though - for those of you who have difficulty drawing in Flash, there are a few nifty little tools that come in handy and just might save your squiggly, wiggly, wrinkly artwork. They're called the Smooth and Straighten buttons, and they exist to clean up your lines and fills so they look just a little cleaner and a little less wobbly.