You know it's the thought that counts. But let's face it, there are some gift-buyers who just don't think.

And if you're the recurrent victim of one of these rush-in-and-buy-it merchants, you probably end up feeling a bit cheated on Christmas Day.

After all, you've spent weeks scouring the shops to find the perfect gift and he's come up with a giant bottle of bath salts, a frying pan and a set of embroidered hankies.

So this year, take a little time to channel his energies into the right directions by following our Blackmailer's Guide To Christmas.

Don't feel guilty; even a small gift, carefully chosen, can be brilliant. And you ARE stopping him from wasting his money on things you'll never use...

1) Start as early as possible. When out window shopping, drop obvious hints such as pointing, gasping and nudging.

2) Spend Sundays curled up on the sofa with your man and a pile of home shopping magazines pointing, gasping and nudging.

3) He hasn't got the point yet? Tell him your friend has got the item you really want. Coo: 'I'd do anything to have one of those.'

4) Rope your mate in. Get her to take Mr Dim aside and TELL him what you want.

5) Better still, get her to take him shopping (this is strictly for non-jealous, non-flirtatious people, of course. You don't want to lose your lover for the sake of a good gift. Unless it's a fantastic gift and he's a luke-warm lover, of course).

6) Best of all, send him shopping with your mum. She won't let him get away with a thing.

7) If he's a bit stingy, tell him how much you intend to spend on him, but double it. The laws of guilt mean he'll feel that he has got off lightly if spends three-quarters of that amount.

8) If he remains stubbornly deaf, be obvious. Write a Christmas wish list to give him, but soften the blow by buying him a box of chocs, eating your favourite and rolling the note into a ball to fill the gap.

9) Tell him you'll leave him if his gift is rubbish. But make sure he still wants you first, or he'll see a pack of embroidered hankies as an easy get-out.

10) Dress up in a sexy Santa suit and ask if you can sit on his knee and whisper in his ear. Will he listen? He'd better.

There's nothing like an unsubtle hint, so mark your choices in shopping mags and make sure they're left lying around