When birthdays, anniversaries, and holidays roll around, I’m often not thinking about what to get my boyfriend. We have just never really celebrated milestones like that with gifts.
Our first Christmas together we exchanged very small gifts. I gave him a candle, he gave me chocolate covered strawberries. And since then it’s always been that way. There have been no expectations of gifts on holidays, it’s just not really our thing.
In my past relationships, it was huge. I would be crafting, spending tons of money, racking my brain to find something my significant other liked.
But my relationship now is just easier. We don’t need things. If we are celebrating something, we’re usually going out and doing something together. Whether it’s travelling or trying something new, we prefer experiences over gifts. Even then, we don’t usually buy those things for each other. We plan and decide together what we want to do – after all, if it’s our anniversary or your birthday, why should I have all the say?
We also tend to sporadically buy each other things. I saw this on Amazon and thought of you. I thought this would really look good in our home and you would love it.
It works well for us and takes a lot of pressure off of our relationship. Giving gifts makes me more anxious than it does excited, so we have taken a different approach with showing each other how much we care.
We all know the traditional Valentine’s Day gifts. Flowers, a box of chocolates, and maybe a card. There’s no doubt in my mind that any girl would be happy to have a bouquet of sunflowers or any guy would be stoked to get a gift card to a steakhouse, but if there is any day to step outside the box it’s Valentine’s Day. You can buy flowers for five bucks any day (and trust me you should probably take advantage of that!) So here’s a couple ideas of what guys and gals would love to see from their significant other:
For the girl in your life:
1. Ditch the gifts:
You don’t need to necessarily go from store to store looking for some amazing and costly gift that your girlfriend probably won’t even like but will pretend to like. Choose something you can both do together and spend your money on something productive. Go out to a fancy dinner, movie (50 Shades of Grey!), ice skating, a concert, or anything you can enjoy together! She’ll appreciate it more than the over-priced hat some sales lady sold you.
2. Do-it-yourself
Okay, I’m not telling you to knit a sweater or modpodge a huge paper-mache heart, but a little thought into your present goes a long way! Try printing out pictures and making a scrapbook (it’s not as hard as it seems!) If crafting is in no way, shape, or form your thing try making dinner. Try your hand at her favorite meal and if that just doesn’t seem to work out, order her favorite pizza! The price of a gift doesn’t have to be high to be meaningful.
3. The traditional present route, but modified
If you’re willing to spend the money and actually know what she likes, buy the gift! Whether it’s a Michael Khors bag or ice cream – only go the gift route if you’re 100% confident in your purchase.
4. When in doubt: Food and Wine.
You literally can’t go wrong.
For the guy in your life:
1. Ditch the gifts
Guys aren’t all about the stereotypical Valentine’s Day presents. Tickets to a sports game, concert, or anything you can do AND enjoy together will be your best option. Even if you don’t enjoy the same sports, you could spoil him with a pair of tickets. Going out to a fancy dinner and movie together is also an option, as long as you both are enjoying each other’s company and spending as much as you feel comfortable with.
2. Alcohol
Instead of flowers, you can make a bouquet of airplane bottles! If you’re not trying to get that creative, an expensive bottle of your boyfriend’s favorite alcohol is guaranteed to make him happy. Craft beers and “Beer of the month” clubs are also a great gift for the man in your life.
3. Spice it up
(So, this may be a little R-rated). But sometimes the thing that makes your boyfriend the happiest isn’t something that you can buy! You could go out and buy cute lingerie, but the truth is you are probably enough. Spice it up in the bedroom! He’ll love that gift just as much as a teddy bear and chocolates.
