The holidays are a time of happiness and cheer. They bring people together and are a reason to give gifts to our favorite people like family, friends and significant others.

     But have you ever struggled to think of a gift for your significant other? Especially if they’re your boyfriend? Maybe it’s just me, but I am the worst at trying to plan gifts for any boyfriend, or any male member of my family or friend group to be quite honest.

      If I want to get my dad something, I have to save up a lot of money because the things he usually wants are expensive. The same goes for any male in our age range of 18 to 24. And when you ask this person what they want, it feels like it’s the same answer every time: video games, shoes, clothes or they don’t want anything specific.

     Video games can be over thirty dollars, men’s clothing (especially shoes) is expensive because they always end up wanting name brand items and then what else is there?

     I have plenty of guy friends and I know what they like and what they like to do, but when it comes to translating it into a gift, my mind goes blank. I’m not saying that gifts for women aren’t expensive, because they certainly can be, but there are a lot more options.

     Girls are extremely easy to shop for. We always accept any kind of makeup, regardless of what kind of item or brand it is, though we certainly won’t mind a higher end brand.

     Clothes are pretty easy for us as long as you know our style and sizes. Same goes for shoes.

     Women also have a tendency to start looking at what they want for Christmas months ahead and by the time you ask us what we want, we have the style, brand, name, price and nearest location where you can buy it. We’ll even do you one better and send you a link so you can order it online super-fast.

     There’s also the times where we just go with you to buy the items we want and we’ll show you exactly what the item looks like. The element of surprise is slightly gone but at least you’ll know that we’ll be super happy on Christmas morning, which is still pretty great.

    But if you’re still having trouble coming up with ideas for any partner, there are some good things out there that could make anyone happy. Everyone loves movies, so find out their favorite movie, director or genre and give them the DVD so that they’ll always have it and can watch it whenever.

The same can go for books. Find their favorite genre, author or book title and give them their own personal copy of it, if they don’t already have it, of course. And if they do, there are always special editions for books and movies and there are usually extras included. The same applies for music.

And if all else fails, gift cards. NO ONE would argue with a gift card to their favorite department store or anything involving food, because then you’re giving them the choice to pick what they actually want. Good luck this holiday season and remember: Gift cards are always your best friend.

Sierra Edwards is a senior English major. She is the Features editor for The Voice