Of course, the answer to this - as one of the wags (by which I mean joker, not someone going out with a Villa player) in our office suggested - is to stay at home and not do any.
But it is the season of goodwill, giving is better than receiving and all that... so prepare yourself for the annual joy that is Christmas shopping. At times it can make the Rugby World Cup look like a tea dance.
As with an army going to war, preparation is the key - though hopefully you won't need the tanks and aerial support, but you never know...
Hopefully you'll already have been making a mental note of subtle hints relatives and friends have been dropping as to what they'd like; picking up stores' Christmas gift guides; noticing when the kids get particularly excited at a TV ad for this year's must-have toy.
Next, decide on a budget for each present; even if/when this goes out of the window, you have some kind of guideline to go by.
Secondly, draw up the all-important list of who you're buying for - and ideally a list of possible gifts. This will change as you're going round the shops and see something better/cheaper/easier, but at least you can start with good intentions.
Don't try and do all your Christmas shopping in one go; I did this one year and still wake up in a cold sweat thinking about it.
There is the other extreme, where people tell you in August how they've already bought all their Christmas presents - do the decent thing and strike them off your Christmas list, delete them from your phone book and never speak to them again.
When it comes to the shopping expedition(s), plan, plan and plan... if you don't, you could end up wandering aimlessly around a big shopping centre for hours, buy nothing and go home tired, frustrated and with less Christmas spirit than Scrooge in the first pages of A Christmas Carol.
If you're camped out at somewhere like the Bullring for a day's shop, take plenty of breaks - to take bags back to the car so your arms don't start asking to leave the sockets, for coffee, a beer or lunch... if you don't, you'll resemble one of those Uruguayan rugby players who got stranded in the Andes...
Toilet visits may sound obvious too, but you'll think far more clearly without a bursting bladder - and Paula Radcliffe-style breaks outside the front of Marks and Spencer aren't a good idea.
If all of that fills you with dread, you're not alone - and there is always, don't forget, the internet...
