I love Christmas because I love giving gifts to the special people in my life.
Sometimes, that can be a bit tricky though.
Some people are just tougher to shop for than others - especially the men in my life.
This year I started my Christmas shopping early and compiled a list of gift ideas - for everyone! Even the those men who seem to have everything.
I always have a hard time finding gifts for my father.
He seems to have everything he wants! One thing that my father loves is hot and spicy food.
This year I went to gourmet food store and bought large jars of pickled okra, peppers and cauliflower.
I plan to take him to dinner as well, but I'm going to keep it simple.
He already has enough tube socks, shirts and slippers so I plan to get him an edible gift this year.
I think great gift ideas for older people are edible ones, or gifts that do not create extra and unwanted clutter.
For my husband, who is a total technology lover, I purchased him an iPad.
It is a bit expensive but I saved all year.
If I did not have the money to purchase the iPad I probably would have purchased him some iTunes gift cards for extra apps and CD's.
I also bought him some funny tee-shirts as he is always wearing them under his sweaters and cardigans.
For men I think great gift ideas include: clothes, technology, and gift cards.
For my sister, who loves to knit and listen to music, I purchased her a lot of knitting supplies and iTunes gift cards.
The key to shopping for hard to please people is to purchase something that will go with their hobbies or things they love to do! For women, I find gift cards, edible gifts, and gifts that add to their hobbies and passions are the best to give.
For my niece I decided to buy her some comfortable clothes and cute accessories.
She is easy to shop for as she is a pre-teen and loves lots of things.
Kids and pre-teens seem to the be the easiest to shop for.
They have no problem letting you know exactly what they want! For my boss and coworkers, I'm simply giving them Christmas cards and making sweet treats such as: lemon bars, haystack cookies, snowball cookies and chocolate chip cookies.
I am putting them in decorative tins and wrapping with a big bow!