Written by Peter Brooker in Competitions on the 1st December 2017

I have no mettle for Christmas shopping. It's arduous, it's costly, it's an upheaval. When I was a lad I'd challenge myself to do all my Christmas shopping in one day on my local high street. It was frenetic, it followed no logic, it was the epitome of nomadic consumerism for consumerism's sake. That said, there is some merit in shopping last minute. It avoids shopping first minute and giving away early Xmas presents which is an act of futility. My Brother has already dished out his Xmas presents, giving one sibling a set of alloys that lasted 5 days before being stolen.

Nowadays I have a little head start when it comes to shopping for friends and family. The spare room in my parents’ house has since been swallowed with gifts from brands and sample products. Bags, suits, endless grooming products. I've managed to cull some of the load on eBay recently, but the dregs will be wrapped and dispensed with accordingly. Some of the bigger gifts will go to the people I need to keep sweet. Last year my tech guy got a £200 AVI 8 watch from me, which smarted my girlfriend no end.

She's the hardest to buy for - the old adage of what to buy someone that has everything. Last year I failed miserably and got her a handful of books from Waterstones. I did learn the Russian National Anthem on the piano, but as Bond would say 'A book and a piano recital, it's hardly Christmas is it?' This year I'll need to invest more than a modicum of thought. Perhaps I could ask her retinue of colleagues and close confidants at our next house party, though they might scoff heartily when I mention the budget.

Now doubt this will be like any other where I'll fall fowl to procrastination. Instead of getting everything signed and sealed in the first week of December I'll be scurrying around the aisles on Xmas eve, already in the quicksand terroir of my overdraft, desperately trying to find a stocking filler for someone I speak to twice a year. All the while I'm gob smacked that this charade continues to haunt me in the name of good will and tradition. The relatives will get the arbitrary Christmas card and scratch card within. My sisters’ kids will get whatever my sister tells me to get them, Dad will get the perfunctory Chubby Brown DVD and my Mum will get some sort of book on art.

Then it's the pets, we can't leave the pets out can we? At least the pets are easy to shop for. The dog; anything but a toy that makes a sound when bitten. The cats; something to encourage them to use the cat litter tray. And we're done right? For another year? Not really. Once you rest for a minute at the summit of Mount Christmas, you must carefully traverse down with more luggage than you carried on the ascent. All the unwanted presents now have to be sold online or given as a present to someone else in the future. You'll have to do a dozen laps on consumer rights when returning goods to the independents. The missus will dragoon you into joining her for January sales shopping too. It's perpetual misery right? Yes, but it's Christmas. Enjoy it folks. 

The Competition 

We've partnered with Boots to give away £200 worth of male beauty products to one lucky winner. We want to know what would be on your Boots gift wish list this year? They have tons of great Christmas gifts for him online so head over there to get inspired and start making your selection. To enter please leave your answers in the comments section below and our favourite comment will be picked as the winner on the 12th December 2017 at 3:30pm. The prize bundle of 12 items has a total value of approx. £200 and each prize will be revealed via our Instagram page between Dec 1st and Dec 12th so make sure you follow @menswearstyle to be the first to find out what the prizes are.

Our lifestyle editor reveals his xmas gift buying stories for this Boots collaboration competition to win a gift a day for 12 days worth £200.