Karen, best of luck with the Christmas gift. Consumer Reports is where I'd start my research and see that they offer in a lines of what your needs will be. Then the finding the best price will be your next step. Can't wait to see the first photos.

Hi Cocobid,my son purchased a Hewlett-Packard photosmart R707 over the summer.I love it.Takes beautiful pictures.Compared to my Cannon that I bought 20 years ago it is so easy to use.Just point and shoot.I can give you the specs on it. 5.1 resolution 24x total, zoom 3x optical zoom,8x digital zoom ,32 internal memory, 1.5" color viewable LDC screen,card slot, auto focus,flash exposure or can be manual. Video capture with sound,instant share and docking capability.Comes with a rechargable battery a/c adapter usb cable to conect to printer & pc and of course the software.I love the fact that you don't have to buy batteries.You can purchase it for around $325.Really a great bargin.Like stated before I just point and shoot and take beautiful pictures.I can email you some photos of my brugs.
Dorothy

Most consumer level digital cameras (the $500 range) generally have trouble focusing in low light. Night shots, for example. And even once you get focus lock, the flash on those is pretty weak. You can get a bloom or two in a shot, but trying to get a large plant in the frame will probably exceed what a built-in flash can illuminate.

The other thing to keep in mind is the "long term investment". Sadly, the manufacturing build quality of todays digital cameras (even the entry level DSLR's) is not as good as the Canon film camera lillypon22 mentioned. They will break easier and will wear out sooner. Figure 3-5 years as an average.

The upside is that if you really enjoy the photography side of things you'll be ready to upgrade by then anyway. I had my Fuji S602Z (Approx. $600 new) for about two years before I felt the need to get a better camera because it was limiting what I could do. But then I went beyond the point & shoot stage about 15 minutes after getting the 602 out of the box. *grin*

Digital is definately the way to go if you want to learn photography. The instant feedback and nearly limitless film supply makes learning much faster. Have a look through some of my galleries if you'd like to see what a rank beginner can accomplish in a couple of years. Most of the new camera's shots are under the "Nikon D70" & "Construction" galleries. Pretty much everything else was taken with the Fuji S602 which is much closer to your price range. (Althought the newer models similar to it may be higher, I don't know.)

{{gwi:578356}}Click to enter galleries

Karen, you have mail!

I'm not the camera person in the house, but my son had a Canon Digital Rebel for a while that I recall took some nice night shots. While retail price it too high for you, you might take a look at used ones on eBay, close to your range. One of the nice things about this camera is that you can also change lenses, very similar to a film SLR camera. A macro lens would be nice. When he upgraded again, he was able to use the same lenses with his new camera. (Yes, he a little nuts, but he shoots for a newspaper in Madison when he's not studying engineering.)
I agree with the Consumer Reports suggestion, they have had several reports recently on digital cameras and I believe they just updated some for Xmas.
I just purchased a Canon S60, a mid-level point and shoot that's small enough to put in my purse (not pocket). I paid just over 250 including extra batteries and a power cord. The reason I liked it was that it had the ability to use all manual settings and offers white balance and things like bracketing shots.
Having just finished this process, I don't envy you, there are just so many choices out there. But it sure is fun when you get it....