Shopping is a different ballgame for different people. At times, shopping can be outright impossible while in other cases; it is lots of hard work and fun at the same time. When it comes to shopping for yourself, it is always a very easy experience as you tend to know all that is good for you and what isn't. When you have to hit the high street looking for gifts for other family members or colleagues, shopping tends to be a little tricky. It is at this point that shopping gets to be real stress. The lucky ones plan well in advance and have a clue of what to get their loved ones as early as July. All you have to do during the period before the Christmas rush begins is to be very alert as concerns any hints that your loved ones may drop concerning what they would like to receive for Christmas. Another great way of knowing what your loved ones want for Christmas is to seek out their Santa's wish list. This ensures that you have ample time to get ready for the actual buying of the gifts as well as their disbursement. As Christmas approaches, this is the best time to prepare for the actual gift buying.



Get out your notebook and note down any hints that you had picked from your family members. It is important to be able to correctly interpret these hints. For example, if you are a man and your wife has been nagging you about the broken down iron box for some time now, do not take this to be what she desires for Christmas. You might have successfully bought some Christmas gifts for him that you are pretty sure will take his breath away, but there is still that family member that is quite hard to get a gift for. Every family has got to have one member whose hobbies and interests are quite hard to discern. This probably explains why the sale of slippers, socks and pajamas usually goes up during the festive season. These generic gifts serve to please these people that have no obvious hobbies and interests. Other people in this category are the people who we think have it all.



If you suspect that a person has all that you'd want to buy for him or her, the safest option would be to buy them nothing instead of getting the above generic gifts which are appalling to say the least. There are personalised Christmas gifts for him as well as gifts for her that say just how much you value the person in question. There are engraved gifts that bear a permanent message of your love as well as mugs and calendars that have also been personalised. Anyone who receives such a message will marvel at the effort and thought that you have put into their gift. Such a gift will see to it that you get the best of treatment in the coming months. Other personalised gifts for her as well as for him include having a spoof copy of a well respected daily containing their picture and a personal message to boot. You could also opt to go with a personalised bottle of champagne or whiskey.