Choosing a great gift gets harder and harder each year, doesn’t it? I remember it being so easy when I was a child. All I had to do was scrape together a few pennies and toddle off to the shops to find my Dad’s preferred bar of chocolate, a bunch of flowers for my Mum, some sparkly bangles for my sister and that was my Christmas gift list sorted. Birthdays were the same …either chocolate, flowers or jewellery - depending on who I was buying for. Come to think of it, maybe I was just an unimaginative child! Perhaps all the other children saved their pocket money for ages and bought their parents the gifts they actually deserved.

Since my childhood, I have found that buying a gift has become harder each year. Especially now I’m married. What should I buy my other half each year for her Birthday? I also need to think of some Christmas presents, something for our Wedding anniversary and now we have a baby boy too so that means I’d better not forget to buy her a Mother’s day present and card as he’s too little to toddle off to the shops for himself. No doubt when he’s old enough he’ll do the same as I did when I was young. Hopefully he’ll be a little more creative than I was!

I like to make the effort when buying a gift. There is nothing better than giving the best gift ever and seeing a loved-ones face light up. The problem is that it is so easy to run out of ideas. Hopefully this list will inspire you so you never have to run out at the last minute to buy a box of chocolates again!

1. Print a photo on a mug. You have shared so many special memories with everyone you know. Many of your memories are even sitting right there on the hard drive of your computer so why not get a photo printed onto a mug and print a special message for the recipient on the mug too? I’m going to order a couple of these for my grandparents at christmas with a family picture on them…they will love it!

2. A Beach Bag! If you need to think of a gift for someone during the summer, a beach bag is great idea - and not too expensive. My mum is always on holiday and loves bags. Problem solved me thinks!

3. A box of chocolates. Only joking! A personalised teddy bear. Well, I suppose you could give a box of chocolates, and a personalised teddy! These are great fun and are sure to become any child’s favourite teddy. What I like about these is that they come in a range of colours. So if you are looking for a christening present then blue or pink would be the colour of choice.

4. A jigsaw puzzle. You probably know at least one person who enjoys a puzzle. My nan does - I remember sitting with her for hours trying to solve massive jigsaw puzzles. I’m sure she used to put the easiest bits near me though! You could even create your own jigsaw to make it extra special, or extra difficult maybe!

5. Dinner Placemats. When an old friend moves into a new home you always need a good housewarming present. When my wife and I moved into our new house we expected a bottle of wine from everyone who came to our housewarming…it goes without saying, doesn’t it? But if you wanted to give something a little bit special, how about a set of 6 photo place mats for your friend’s dinner table. Each one printed with a photo of a mutual friend that you wouldn’t mind seeing at your friend’s first dinner party in their new home!

6. A new mouse mat. Design your own mouse mat, or let your kids draw out a design and scan it into your computer. Then, print it onto a mouse mat. Maybe you could create a collage of photos, or your children’s ‘artwork’ and have it printed onto personalised mousemats to send to your relatives.

7. A new clock. I think a new clock is a great gift idea for housewarmings and Christmas. Whenever the recipient looks at the clock they will remember who gave it to them. It doesn’t have to be an antique either! A stylish modern photo clock will look good in any room of any home.

8. A new purse. This will cover any female in your family. I know for a fact that my wife, mum and sisters always want a new purse…even when they’ve only just bought one!

9. Personalised photo keyrings If I had been more imaginative as a child when buying gifts, even I could have afforded one of these personalised photo keyrings. What’s more, everyone in the family would have wanted one so there would have been no need for me to leave the house (had the internet been invented then!).

10. A slogan t-shirt Print a message or slogan onto a t-shirt for a bit of fun. These make excellent gifts for the best-man at your wedding, or even the bride and groom… - Ben Williamson