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It is the worst part of the holiday season, the dreaded gift buying sessions where you spend countless hours trawling through shop after shop after shop and yet you never find that elusive perfect gift. In the end you are forced into grabbing that stereotypical knick-knack from the last shop you go into, five minutes before closing and on Christmas morning you hand it over feeling like a walking clich.

The sure fire way to combat this most distressing situation and turn Christmas shopping agony into a fun and exciting experience is to do your homework. By following this simple plan your dad won't have to pretend to love that barbecue set that you've given him three birthdays out of the last five years.

Step 1) The first step is to jot down a list of all the people you have to buy presents for. By taking the time to think about who you want too, or in some cases are obligated too, buy gifts for, you won't have that last minute Christmas eve freak out when you remember as you go to bed that you haven't bought anything for great aunt Gladys adopted cat Missy.

Step 2) Now comes the hard part. Armed with your list of family, friends and work colleagues find a quiet place to sit down with a coffee and next to each name write the first thing that comes into your head. Your sister loves cats; the neighbors play their music too loud, mum loves too cook. These little snippets of information form the basis for your research.

Step 3) Now that you have a rough idea of what your gift recipient is interested in consider what gifts fall into that category. For example your mother may like to cook, so instead of buying her another Jamie Oliver baking dish or a subscription to the latest cooking magazine why not talk to you father and siblings and get everyone to chip in for a weekend away at culinary school? There are lots of bed and breakfast packages that include cooking classes at a local restaurant and your mother is guaranteed to never forget this Christmas present.

Step 4) Start google-ing. The Internet is a fabulous shopping tool not only for on line purchases but because it holds a wealth of information. You can visit your favorite department store and peruse there most popular Christmas gifts in minutes instead of walking around aimlessly for hours. A great shopper is a clever shopper. Using the Internet you can compare prices on everything from the latest i-pod to rare comic books without leaving the comfort of your couch. It may also be that you stumble across something really special. It could be said that to buy a little girl a Barbie is the most stereotypical thing you could do at Christmas however if your niece likes playing with dolls why not search eBay for a vintage Barbie, wrap her up in funky 1950's paper and include a framed Wikipedia history of the world's most loved doll. With a little forethought and planning even a stereotypical present can be turned into a one of a kind gift for someone you love.

Remember that shopping for gifts should be about the person who will receive it on Christmas morning not about what is the easiest and quickest thing to buy during the last minute Christmas rush. Buy earlier in the year when you won't get stung buy the excessive Christmas prices and most importantly buy something that means something. A potted rose that grows tall and blooms each year will have more lasting pleasure for someone special than the latest celebrity fragrance. And if your son is into sports don't feel like a clich because you bought him some baseball tickets or a new basketball hoop, sometimes things are stereotypical because they are popular.

Learn more about this author, Fiona Cook.
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