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Tis the season...

Tagged as: Big Questions<< Previous question   Next question >>
Article - (1 December 2010) 6 Comments - (Newest, 22 November 2011)
A male United States age 41-50, dirtball writes:

Hello Everyone. Here at Dear Cupid we receive many requests for help. Some are serious relationship problems, others aren't quite so serious. One such question is "What should I get my significant other for Christmas?" I intend to give you some guide lines that you can use in your gift giving. It is also my hope that others will chime in with tips and stories of things that have worked for them. So without further delay, here we go.

Dirtball's guide to Christmas shopping.

There really is no special trick to finding the right gift for someone, but it can be a great way to show someone you know them. There are some things that you should think about first.

Do they have any hobbies?

Do they like to read? Watch movies? Play video games?

Do they have a favorite anything (author, artist, director, musician)?

Once you start thinking about these questions you may come up with some answers. Then comes the next step. Is there anything special you can find that is related to these things. For example, I got a dear friend an autographed copy of her favorite book one year. I had the author address the autograph to her specifically. All told it cost me $20 and some time, but you should have seen the reaction.

I suppose that brings me to my last point for now. A gift does not need to be expensive to be perfect. I've often found that thoughtful gifts are far better than anything else. A gift that shows you know the person has a lot of meaning to it. That's why strangers are of little help when coming up with a good gift. Sure, we can offer generic advice, but we don't know the person you're shopping for. All we can offer is the same thing you can get from watching some commercial messages on TV.

If you decide to write a question about this topic, please include details about the person you're trying to shop for. Their likes, dislikes, hobbies, etc. Basically answer the questions I posted above in your question. Only then can we offer any real help.

Again, it's my hope that people will add their own input here. I might add more if I think of it. So please everyone, share your advice! There are a wave of people who need it.

Happy Holidays,

Dirtball

View related questions: christmas, video games

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A female reader, Tisha-1 United States +, writes (22 November 2011):

Tisha-1 agony auntYou can also go to this page: http://www.dearcupid.org/search

and type in "Christmas present ideas" or "gift ideas needed" and you'll get plenty of posts too!

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A female reader, Tisha-1 United States +, writes (10 December 2010):

Tisha-1 agony auntI have a great thread to post here for people who might need a lot of ideas: http://www.dearcupid.org/question/what-kind-of-a-christmas-present-can-i.html

Thanks for keeping us merry and bright. :D

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A reader, anonymous, writes (8 December 2010):

I hate christmas. But seem as I don't mind buying gifts and I'm in a relationship at the moment thanks for the words of wisdom!!

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A female reader, CindyCares Italy +, writes (4 December 2010):

CindyCares agony aunt Dirtball is right, in fact he is so right that my advice is : if you don't know the person very well yet, and have no clear idea about his tastes and preferences, it's safer to skip the gift altogether and just take them out for a nice dinner ( everybody eats ). Otherwise you risk a blunder.

I have a cousin who is a very elegant woman with an unique,original sense of style. She is a big shopper in vintage clothing stores. She buys cool stuff, Chanel and Dior suits and accessories, stuff like that. One Xmas she bought a rather expensive vintage something for her new stepdaughter. The girl did not seem very impressed, she said a very dry thank you, that's all. But , no big deal- until the following day. The girl reciprocated the gift with a box containing a pair of her old, dirty gym socks and an accompanying card that said : I thought that since you are so fond of preowned stuff, you might like to have these.

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A reader, anonymous, writes (4 December 2010):

If you want to buy that special someone clothing there are some simple guidelines.

Notice if s/he has a particular style. Try to stay within that style. No one likes to be told by someone they like that they should change their "look".

If you can't figure out what his/her style is then go by color and type of clothing. Does s/he normally wear bright or dark colors? Jeans and t-shirt or semi formal? Does she wear dresses? Does he wear shorts?

Find out what his/her size is. Some people are insecure about their weight. Getting something too big or too small can be upsetting. If you can't find out by other means then ask him/her directly. It might ruin the surprise of what type of gift you're getting but they still won't know the exact item.

In short pay attention to what s/he normally wears. Don't buy what you want to see him/her in, buy what s/he would want to be in.

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A female reader, tennisstar88 United States +, writes (1 December 2010):

tennisstar88 agony auntI'd like to add if you've only been with your boyfriend say a few months, then it's rather silly dropping a lot of $ on gift. What happens if you get him that awesome new iPod nano and he gets you a $30 gift certificate to the mall? Doesn't add up. I suggest setting a spending limit.

You can't go wrong with the following..in no particular order

1. mP3 player, I suggest getting him a cheap to decent one. People drop and break things.

2. Boxers, this is a great gift for you girls who are strapped for cash.

3. Hoodie(s), guys can never get enough of these.

4. Sweat or lounge pants, again guys live in their sweat pants on the weekends at home. I recommend a fleece pair.

5. A nice framed picture of you 2..The older the picture, like when you guys first started, dating the better.

6. Cologne, I recommend anything Armani..And for the younger crowd Abercrombie's Fierce.

7. Beanie, or a baseball cap if their's is falling apart, filthy, or looking unraveled. If you are blessed with knitting skills then make him one with love.

8. Bake Christmas cookies, or brownies for him and add a card with a personal note.

9. Whatever video game they have been raving on and on about. Right now the hottest game on the market is Call of Duty: Black Ops. You can't go wrong with Grand Theft Auto 5, Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood, LittleBigPlanet2..If anything ask the salesperson the top selling games of the season.

10. Taking him ice skating on Christmas (yes the rinks are open) and sip hot cocoa at the concession stand. Preferably an outdoor rink.

11. Tickets to an up an coming concert of his favorite band, comedian, sporting event, or even race. Those Monster Truck Jams don't cost that much.

12. If he is responsible enough to care for it and loves animals..then I like the idea of adopting a cat or dog from the animal shelter. Makes a Merry Christmas for the animal as well.

For those of you that haven't a cent to your name, it's not about what you give the person it's about the time spent with them, your family, and maybe even their family on this special day. And of course watching the awesome Christmas movies, who doesn't love that cute little Heat Miser?

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