What's an appropriate amount to spend on a b/day present....

[ElizabethX]

...for someone you've been dating for 3 months?

Not much. A lavish gift says 'keen, needy and approval seeking'. A carefully chosen but cheaper gift says 'romantic and thoughtful'

I agree. A book or a cd would be thoughtful and about the right amount to spend. I would be wary of buying anything too personal, such as a tie.

I'd avoid buying a present altogether - what about offering to treat him/her to a nice meal out, cinema or theatre tickets, someting like that?

I was in this situation a months ago. I got my BF a t-shirt that was related to a band we both like and are going to see in Dec, a CD of same band, a cheap key ring off ebay and a glass from a charity shop that were both commemorating an event he has been to in the past.

All in all £20-£30 pounds spent and I cooked him a nice meal and made him a b'day cake.

It's the thought that counts, make it personal and relevant to him. Def not too extravagant.