The festive season is not far from us once again as another year skips by towards a close. It is a time where people and families to be precise start to draft out what they are going to buy relatives, friends and partners. This particular holiday season tends to make us panic and stress with queues, hustle and bustle, dark dreary nights and bank balances quickly declining with all the costs, and even the most relaxed of us can feel the irritation and annoyance.

Even with the most recent money problems and the credit crunch, Christmas can still be achievable on a budget and will save you getting into any debt that is needless. Maybe one of the toughest challenges is buying a present for your parents, because mainly all parents normally have everything that they want, so inspiration is much needed on this part. Instead of buying for their house be more creative and think about what they would actually like for themselves, think about their hobbies as this will give you some initiative of what they could do with. However if you really are struggling and just don't know what to buy, think about neutral gifts that will go down well such as an aftershave set, champagne set or even an experience day out, playing it safe is always the best way in this scenario.

Then you have to choose between high street shopping and online shopping, online shopping is without any doubt the relaxed and less stressful way to do your Christmas shopping because you won't have to queue, battle with the crowds or haul about amounts of shopping bags back with you, you can simply sit in the comfort of your house and get all your presents delivered straight to your front door. However some of us do like the hustle and bustle of the high streets as its part of the festive atmosphere and beats sitting at a computer without anyone to share it with.

Chloe is a committed correspondent writing about how to plan for the holidays for Getting Personal