I once attended Sunday school regularly because I’d been told people with good attendance got a Christmas present.I admit that it wasn’t very spiritual but I was eight, and that was my motivation.As it turned out the gift was a bottle of perfume that you kept stashed in a green styrofoam frog.Eau de Froggy. I was thrilled. I took it to my grandmother’s house and somehow managed to unscrew the bottle top just to try it out, and spilled the entire bottle across her living room table. The table, and indeed, the entire room, smelled of Eau de Froggy for a very, very long time.I say this to point out that if you can’t give books, electronics or money, there’s always perfume.Trying to pick out the best perfume can be a little confusing, especially since over 600 new perfumes were released this year, so here is a run down.Earlier this month AS Coopers uncorked what it deemed to be the 2012 ‘it’ fragrance.Called Swarovski Edition, it’s apparently an addictive fruity floral. Sadly, it does not come with a green styrofoam amphibian. The promotional literature says that Swarovski Edition was used exclusively by the stars of the Cannes Film Festival, the Academy Awards and the Toronto International Film Festival.One of the most expensive perfumes on the market this year was Victoria Secret’s Bombshell Fantasy Fragrance which debuted at a price of $500,000. Apparently the original bottle came decked with jewels. Luckily, you can find a more affordable version of it for around $30 (without the jewels).This year Harper’s Bazaarmagazine voted Chanel No 5 Premiere as the best all-occasion perfume because they felt it was elegant but not too over powering for every day spritzes. Fendi Pallazo also received their all-occasion vote.Of course, for some people it’s more about the bottle than the smell. After all the bottle will probably sit on your dresser for a long time. Earlier this year singer Nicki Minaj tweeted that she was going to reveal a big secret. Everyone waited with bated breath for her to say she was going to be a judge on American Idol. What she actually tweeted was a photo of her new perfume, Pink Friday. The bottle targets teens and is about as elegant as the bottle I won when I was eight years old. It’s fashioned in the shape of Minaj’s head, is a shiny gold colour and has pink plastic hair. If that isn’t enough for you, Katy Perry also has her line out in the shape of cats called Meow and Purr. This would do nicely for the cat lover in your life.If you would like to get a bottle of perfume for your man, the website Luxpresso has voted Moschino Forever as the best of 2012.Here’s a hint though, don’t call it ‘perfume’ when he opens it. Luxpresso also gave their vote to Prada Luna Rossa. It is named after a sailboat team. You can use that in your explanation when they look at the bottle in horror, realising they didn’t get the iPhone or golf clubs they requested.The 1980s are gone, and a time when frogs bear perfume will hopefully never come again, but if you are looking for something equally tasteful for the toddler crowd, consider that my five-year-old daughter Stephanie and I recently come across perfume by cartoon characters SpongeBob and Dora.We had a sniff and apparently SpongeBob does not at all smell like a wet sponge, as one would expect. Stephanie was most impressed. It got her vote.