Are you tired of trawling around the sock rack on Christmas Eve trying to find last minute Christmas gifts? "Should I go for days of the week or something funny?" you ask yourself while trying to remember what it is you bought last year. As the clock counts down, the rest of the family (already having bought their Christmas gifts) are back home getting ready to sit down to dinner. So you panic and grab anything. You return home only to realise as you're wrapping the Christmas gifts that the socks are either the wrong size or the same as last year or just generally not very interesting - even worse, they seem to be playing a jolly Christmas tune. You promise yourself that this is the last year you'll be buying pairs of socks for Christmas gifts. However, you know full well that next year you'll just do the same thing all over again! If it's not socks it will be some equally boring present, as shopping for Christmas gifts becomes increasingly hard and frustrating.

Christmas is supposed to be a relaxed time of year where you can enjoy time off work with the family. Be it by the fire listening to carols or just in front of the television catching up on the Christmas specials and cheesy films. However, Christmas has inevitably become more and more commercial over recent years. The stress of hunting down the latest gadgets for Christmas presents for your loved ones, only to discover they sold out two days ago, has made shopping for Christmas gifts an exhaustive process. Of course once you find them, you then have to think about the other Christmas gifts; the stocking fillers. Something small and cheap that's not a complete waste of money....it's a hard one.

Back in the time of our grandparents it was traditional to find an orange in your stocking on Christmas morning. The World Wars and rationing made certain foods and fruits exotic and rare Christmas gifts. Now we give socks, an everyday commodity. The originality and excitement of stocking fillers has been lost somewhere along the way. It's no surprise given that mass production, superstores and the Internet mean that everything you want is only the push of a button away. It is increasingly hard to predict what your loved ones are going to want as Christmas gifts, after all how do you shop for someone who can easily get anything they want on-line? So inevitably we end up back with the socks, pyjamas and other every day commodities. They may make boring Christmas gifts, but at least they're needed, they will get used.

And then of course there are the people receiving the Christmas gifts. There are only so many times you can un-wrap a pair of socks and feign excitement. Either they're too tight or they are too embarrassing to wear to the office. Without a doubt at some point during the year you are going to be running late and will mismatch your days of the week, inevitably leading to some office joke. Or perhaps they're just that little bit too bright. But it's Christmas so you smile, say thank you and make a mental note to store them at the back of your drawer. After all someone went to the trouble of going out and buying them. You just hope that maybe next year they'll have that bit more imagination with their Christmas gifts.

As the shopper, having exhausted your bank account on that one big present, you want something small and cheap to make the stocking look that little bit fatter. So what's the answer you ask yourself? Well first forget the oranges and socks. Why not try searching on-line and beat the Christmas rush to try and find Christmas gifts that are a touch more original. The credit crunch may have hit, but there are still plenty of affordable Christmas gifts available on the Internet. Most websites stock Gifts all year round and have plenty of hints and sections to help you find the perfect For Him or Her, For Kids, as well as a wide variety of Stocking Fillers.

For example if your loved one is a culinary whiz, instead of buying them more cookery books, you could try giving them a Hot Stuff Chilli Pocket Garden which will allow them to grow their own spices. Or for the more creative relatives you could always try something like Create your own Christmas Cards. While Internet shopping may seem impersonal there are plenty of sites that will let you personalise your Christmas gifts with little messages. There are plenty of alternatives, so just get searching! You should be able to find original Christmas gifts that will hopefully both please and surprise and all from the comfort of your own living room. Forget annoying salesmen, panicked shoppers and huge queues. Everything is just a mouse click away, you can't ask for much more!