I know we’ve barely even made it to October and Autumn is only just getting underway, but soon the Christmas chatter will start. Talk of Christmas parties, decorations and badly behaved uncles will begin and perhaps most worryingly of all, especially for us men, will what to get for the women in our lives for Christmas!

From now until Christmas Eve we will be inundated with hints and cryptic clues from the women in our lives that simply don’t register with us given our lack of initiation and pig headedness.

However, don’t fear because I will provide you with that much needed sledgehammer of a hint so you won’t have to decipher any Christmas gift code this year and see your discarded Christmas gifts handed over to their friend or sold on ebay.

In my experience, buying clothes for women is a sure fire way to upset. You have to pick the right size; too small and they’ll assume your telling them to lose weight and to big and they’ll think accuse you of calling them fat. Also, most of us have little to no idea about buying clothes for ourselves so why should we do it for the professionals.

However, in the clothing world there is one exception that disproves the rule; accessories. The advantage of buying accessories for women rather than fitted clothes such as dresses and jeans is that the sizing issue never comes into it. Buy your loved one a scarf or a necklace and you won’t be chastised if it doesn’t fit.

However, one essential factor to remember is that the fabric of the accessory must be natural. In my experience, whenever I’ve given a gift made from a synthetic material such as polyester or nylon, it barely saw the light of day. Give a woman anything made from cashmere, silk, leather, pearls, gold, silver or diamond then it is a sure fire way to get out of the washing up after Christmas lunch. Although buying anything made from their fabrics and stones, it is an absolute guarantee to be received well.