It’s gifting #SZN! Get hype and get ready to swipe (or insert your chip). Whether you celebrate Christmas, Hanukah, Kwanzaa, Santa Clause, or some other seasonal celebration, you will likely be tasked with finding a gift for someone near and dear. I always love this time of year because I have an actual shopping problem, but for many, the task of finding something for a loved one is not as enjoyable. I see this struggle most frequently when it comes to finding something for the boyfriend.

In general, men are so hard to buy for. Women may have initially earned the stereotype, but men have definitely been silently rising in the ranks of difficulty. Whether it’s your man-candy, your brother, or even your dad, it can seem impossible to find the right gift. For women, the options are almost endless: perfume, jewelry, clothes, accessories, shoes, tickets, books, beauty products, flowers, candles, chocolates, bags, gift cards, even nice wine…the list truly goes on and on.

And I can confidently confirm that most women will happily accept all of the above. We love presents, especially from our man. It’s the same reason why we love acquiring our shacker clothes — it’s a visual and tangible representation of the dude and an accomplishment of attaining one more item to add to our inventory.

Versus guys, who are not as dependable in their positive reactions. I cannot tell you the amount of times I’ve heard the “Ohhhh, wowww” fake ass response from my dad or brother (sorry, boys, ILY) to receiving a gift I scoured for weeks. And with boyfriends, you have to be especially careful because you can really freak them out if you go overboard. (You don’t wanna buy the bastard an Apple watch if you’ve only been together for 2 months.)

If you want to avoid the return and the less than genuine reaction, try and follow these tips and tricks:

If you want to get this right, no questions asked, then the best thing to do is to swallow your pride and ask either their best friend or (if possible) their sister. I know you’re Miss Independent and we do usually know best (#GirlPower and all that crap), but these two might have some decent insight that’s, at the very least, worth considering. However, do take everything they say with a grain of salt. Finally, the gift should be personal and something you would genuinely buy for them, even if their pal or sibling didn’t suggest it.

Then, utilize the timeframe of your togetherness to narrow down your options:

One month to four months...

Small, maybe related to an inside joke the two of you have, Definitely under $100.

Five months to one year...

Bigger, between $50-$100, clothes, accessories, and tickets are great here

One year...

Probably over $100, anything is fair game (queue the Apple Watch), works well to give something small and something big

Now, don’t fret if your budget does not match up with my suggestions. Any gift, at any price, should make his day and quite frankly honey, you are a gift in itself. So, happy friggin’ holidays baby, tie me up with a bow and call it a day.