Personally, for my partner I make it simple. I tell him what I want, but I give him a list of similarly priced items that work with our budget. Then, I let him decide which one he wants! For him, it's a bit difficult to decide because he always uses the line "you don't have to get me anything", which is frustrating! I can't stand it when people say that, unless they genuinely dislike getting gifts! It drives me nuts! I always threaten, either tell me what you want, give me some sort of idea, or I'll just get you something that you might not like! This year, we both chose gifts that we can both use! So it was a bit easier this year!

I try and get a general idea of what he wants or even a list of about five or six things but in the end if I see something I know he'd love more I just get that instead.

He usually does that same thing actually xD
Even outright asked me what I wanted this year and my stubborn self didn't tell. I prefer giving subtle hints and then just loving what he gets me no matter what.

I pay close attention to the things he talks about. He's pretty easy to shop for, really. He talks about the things he likes often enough, and I know him well enough to know what will mean something to him.

Sometimes we'll outright ask each other what we want. It works out for us just fine. For instance, we'll have a general idea of what the other might like, then let them make the final choice between two or three options.

I'm a little on the broke side, so I get creative. I make him something I think he'd like. We talk about it a little, but I mostly just pick up on things that he really enjoys. This year I drew him various pictures from Skyrim.

We don't get gifts for each other. We just don't like buying something, then wrapping it to leave it under the tree. We just go about our normal spending patterns this time of year.

We discuss it, my partner remembers just about everything I point out by taking a picture of it as we walk by secretly. (I just found this out today!)

I pick out things my significant other has talked about, or things I know he need, and otherwise things I think would be useful to him. I let him pick whatever he wants for me.

I know early what kind of staff my wife likes mostly, and I present it to her at occasions like holidays. But mostly I present a luxury perfume for her.