It's a common complaint; women find it difficult sourcing suitable gifts for their husbands, boyfriends or male family members. You can go down the road of gadgets, gizmos and novelties, but sooner or later the novelty wears off and these items will end up in the next garage sale, and that's a disappointment all around, and quite honestly a total waste of time, effort and resources.

Functionality, durability, value, are three things to consider when choosing, after all, you want him to appreciate your efforts for the long term, so something that holds value will be more satisfying than novelties. Your efforts will also be rewarded with each appreciating moment over time, so value is across the board.

I don't want this to sound like a solution to a business plan, or a jumble of clichés, just pointing out some important steps worth consideration in your endeavours to locate suitable gifts year after year, without the risk of boring repetition.

Try to avoid the obvious choices of socks and hankies, these are more like disposables and can be bought any time with out much thought. Sure they're functional, but offering as a gift will only portray your lack of effort; "I didn't know what to buy you, so I got socks and hankies" he's heard it all before.

Organising and documenting thought; think in terms of categories, i.e., work, office, home, hobbies, favourites, interests, function. Once you have listed some keyword categories, you can start sub-listing descriptors, i.e.

Work
Office
Desk
Clock, time, photo, pen, security, picture, card, holder, silver.

It' s always best to make lists in an organised manner, you'll save a lot of time in the shopping malls and the whole experience will be more enjoyable, rather than a laborious obligatory task. The pleasure of giving should be equal to receiving.

Working with your organised lists, you can do a little research online, over the phone or cruise shops the old fashioned way. Your effort is more focused because you have direction and set goals.

Let's take a look at one scenario on the list; work, office, and desk. A thoughtfully designed clock will serve much useful anonymity. If your man is the boss then perhaps a ships clock will suffice. "Put yourself at the helm with a ships clock, "tell the time don't be told", "you're the boss". "Strategically positioned, you can discreetly keep an eye on the time during closing minutes of meetings". "The rest of the time this stylish device will add a little sophistication to any existing collection of desk top decoration". You could even dream up similar quotations to insert in the gift box.

Or a bright enamel swivel clock, with matching card holder; Portray your business with style and confidence, an elegant flip lid business card holder engineered to with stand the rigors of every day use. These little boxes make ideal corporate or individual gifts and come in colours purple, blue and green. These are just three functional, stylish gifts we found via organising thought and making lists, it only took a few minutes and opened up a labyrinth of different kinds of office desk time pieces.

Often overlooked are two very obvious items, silk ties and the first choice of jewellery for men, cufflinks. The styles are infinite and one size fits all. They'll become little treasures with your name imprinted, how can he forget? By not wearing, would be one way, but you're the boss, so insist.

Oh and finally lets pay homage to one of the most functional accessories for men, the trusty old leather wallet, a place to capture memories of family and loved ones, secure notes and coins, organise credit cards, drivers license, smart card, receipts, train tickets. There are some lovely choices available now that wallets have been brought out of the dark and into the light.