When it comes to gifts we are always happy to receive them, but sometimes the thought of trying to buy one fills us with dread. There are only a handful of people who are easy to buy presents for, and those are the people who are happy with socks and soap on a rope.

Basically they are the people who will love anything you give them because they love you. Or at least they are very good at pretending they love it.

Birthdays, thank goodness are spread out, at the most you might have two or three birthdays in a week but there is time between birthdays to think of and then shop for a thoughtful present. The most difficult kinds of gifts to shop for are Christmas gifts.

Christmas gifts are difficult to shop for because you are required to buy a whole host of presents all at one time, for a range of people from family to friends to colleagues. For each of these groups of people who inhabit our lives on a daily basis we want to get them a present that will be meaningful and thoughtful.

This requires a lot of thought on your part, and a lot of time actually shopping. So especially when it comes to Christmas it's best to get as much shopping done before the time actually comes.