IHT exemptions for gifts out of income

Inevitably, the season provokes thoughts of gifting and receiving gifts. The tax consequences, especially the possible Inheritance Tax (IHT) consequences, of the donor failing to survive for seven years, may be thought more appropriate for the post festive period. Could gifts made just once a year, however, qualify for the exemption for gifts, which are part of the donor’s “normal and reasonable exemption”?