Holy winter weather, Batman! What the hail? Wasn’t it just ninety degrees a few weeks ago? Now there’s snow on the mountain tops. Wild. Anywho, the Christmas season is upon us, whether we like it or not. If you find yourself surrounded by holiday music for roughly nine hours a day, most days of the week, then chances are you could use some retail therapy and something alcoholic in shot form.

Since the season is twisting your arm to shop, you’re going to need a game plan. Depending on your list of dependents and people you actually enjoy having in your life, your lists may vary. So, I’ll create a totally fictional but possibly realistic outline for your hypothetical holiday shopping. Ready? Let’s go!

The Significant Other: This is the person you share a space and sometimes your food with. If your anything like me, then you may also share items from their closet as well. Or maybe they borrow from your side, and hypocritically you’d like that to stop. Solution? Buy them their own personal version of the thing they love to borrow and misplace/soil from you. Matching scarves and hoodies are always cute. I don’t care what your S.O. says.

Favorite Sibling: Having close ties with a family member makes it easier to assess what they need or don’t need in their life. You may not be able to stop them from buying another television they don’t need (thanks, Black Friday), but you can make sure they have enough warm socks to get them through the rainy season. Funnily enough, by the time we reach adulthood, socks are actually an awesome gift to receive. An ugly sock is still a functional sock.

The Parental Figure: They could be yours, could be your significant other’s, or maybe just the older, wiser adult-like figure you gravitate towards in life. In any event, shopping for this person can be tricky. There’s a closeness that’s implied by their proximity to you, but that doesn’t mean you can accurately guess their shoe size or wine preference. Gifts of nostalgia can be fun, or you can take the one fact you think you know about this person and find it in gift form. Is she a cat lady? Hello Kitty anything, bam! Kitchen full of rooster decor? Chicken shaped purse (it exists!)! And so on and so forth. Chances are the gifts you receive from them are equally as thoughtful. Take that how you will.

Favorite Coworker: This is the person who knows you better than most. This person has seen you on your darkest days, under fluorescent lighting, sick, hungry, tired, and sometimes in a combination of all of the above. Truly, this person deserves the best. While you would live to grant them three weeks of paid vacation so you can watch them live their best life via Insta stories, that just isn’t in your bag of tricks. Since they are on your “nice “ list, you’ll want to get them a little something (budget allowing). This is where your intimate knowledge of their wardrobe, personal preferences, snack predilections and personal style comes in handy. I suggest a bag/bottle of something you know they’ll like, and something you hope they’ll like, based on your astute observations. I know I wouldn’t turn down a stocking of mini Three Musketeers bars and some pentagram earrings. Sometimes, it’s the simple things…

Happy holiday hunting, RenFluencers!