Christmas gift ideas for everyone on your list

Every family has one. Ask what they'd like and you get "ah, don't be buying me anything", which is no help at all. If they want something, they've usually gone and bought it themselves in November, so whatever you pick tends to end up as a second version of something they already own. A third scented candle, another pair of good gloves, a book they read last summer.

So don't pick the thing, let them pick it. The All-in-1 Choice Gift Card runs from €10 to €500 and lets them decide where it goes: a new jumper, a dinner out, a few bits for the kitchen. You set the amount and add your own message. It comes as an e-gift card by email within minutes, or as a physical card in packaging if you'd rather have something to hand over on Christmas morning. At checkout you choose whether it comes to you or goes straight to them.

The same card works for the people you barely know. Buying for a colleague's other half or a brand new in-law is a guessing game, and this takes the guessing out of it. If you'd like Christmas on the card itself, the Merry Christmas Gift Card does the same job with a festive design.

Unique doesn't have to mean strange. Something they'll actually use beats a novelty that goes into a drawer on St Stephen's Day and never comes back out. Have a look through our Christmas gift cards to see the designs.

It all gets a lot easier once you start from how someone spends their week rather than from what's in the shop window. Think of this as a short guide: four groups, two cards each, and all eight start at €5 or €10.

A night in. For the pair who'd pick the couch over the pub any Friday, a Just Eat Gift Card covers the curry, the pizza or the chipper on the night nobody wants to cook. The Milano Gift Card, used in-store only, is the same idea with a table, a bottle of red and someone else doing the washing up.

Clothes. The Penneys Gift Card suits the person who loves a good root around the shops for pyjamas, fluffy socks and a new top for going out, and it's spent in-store only. Zalando is for the one who'd rather order trainers, a winter coat or new jeans from the sofa.

Gaming. Roblox is for the young one who's on it every evening and knows exactly what they're after. The PlayStation Gift Card covers a new game or an add-on they've been going on about since the summer.

The house. IKEA for the spare room that's been half finished since the spring: shelves, a lamp, a new duvet. Homesense, in-store only, for the cushions, candles and throws that make it look done.

That's the whole trick. Buy the category, not the item, and let them sort out the detail.

Not every name on the list needs the same budget, and that's grand.

A big present works best when a few of you go in on one thing. Brothers and sisters clubbing together for your mam and dad, or the whole office for someone retiring in the new year. If your parents have been talking about a night away in Galway or Kerry for three years now, a Hotelgiftcard puts one on the table and lets them pick the hotel themselves. One card from five people lands better than five small ones, and nobody ends up with a fourth bottle of bath salts.

At the other end, cheap presents get a worse name than they deserve. A €10 card with a message you actually sat down and wrote beats something twice the price grabbed in a panic on the way home. Nobody remembers the amount. They remember that you thought of them, and fair play to anyone who writes a proper message, because it's rarer than you'd think.

Christmas comes with the same problem every year: too many names and not enough December. Split the list into big, medium and small on a Sunday afternoon and you'll save yourself a fortnight of dithering. If you want cards that cover a mix of shops in one go, have a look at our multi-store gift cards.

Right, time to get that list down to nothing.

The best Christmas gift ideas are the ones you can sort today, so start with the Christmas gift cards and work through the names in order. Easy ones first. The tricky ones get easier once the pressure is off.

Left it late? The last minute Christmas gift page is made for the week before, when the post is too slow but an inbox isn't. An e-gift card arrives by email within minutes, so there's nothing to chase. It works just as well for Nollaig na mBan on 6 January, when your mam and the aunties have done all the work again and deserve a treat of their own.

Still looking for more ideas? Our top 10 gift card choices in Ireland has plenty more to go on.

Pick the amount, write the message and cross another name off the fridge!