It's that time of year again, boys and girls. No, not time to express your love for the people who raised you, but instead, it's time for Steam's holiday sale.

This year's iteration runs from December 19 to January 3 and as in previous iterations, it offers a wide swath of discounts. First, there are the daily discounts, which collect a handful of games and slash their prices. At the moment, you could pick up BioShock Infinite for $10 or Batman: Arkham Origins for $25.

Then there are the Flash sales, which usually offer larger discounts than the daily discounts, though they only appear for eight hours. Right now you could pick up Counter-Strike: Global Offensive for $3.74, but eight hours from now you'll be out of luck.

Not just a sale, Steam's holiday celebration is also a community event. Every eight hours three games will be offered up for the community to vote on. Whichever receives the most votes gets a deep, public discount. Voting also entitles you to one free Snow Globe card with which can unlock rare items in Steam games such as Dota 2 and Team Fortress 2. Or you could simply horde your cards until you have enough to craft the Snow Globe 2013 badge. This won't help you in-game, but it's a nice reminder of how you spent this year's holiday season.