A wok sucks as a romantic gift idea!
| June 1, 2011 | Posted by doyouwoo under Buy 'em cool gifts! |
Best romantic gifts vs Dumb romantic gifts
Choosing the best romantic gifts and avoiding the dumb ones can be tricky. Think back to any Christmas or birthday gift you have received which sucked. Just take a minute…. now let’s think about WHY it sucked. Probably it was something that just wasn’t you. Something where you felt the person hadn’t put any thought into it, or showed themselves to not really know or understand you.
It’s not a story about one of the best romantic gifts but it illustrates my point – last Christmas my sister gave me a coffee mug with pictures of garden tools on it (my garden is a mess because I hate gardening), and a key chain with a character on it from a TV show I don’t watch or like. Ok, I’m not going to throw a tantrum because what I really wanted was a Millenium Falcon (well I actually wanted Dino Thunder Power Rangers, but I digress…), but it does just give you a feeling of “Why did you waste your money on this cr-p?”. You know they just went to the ‘Gifts For Men’ shelf at the department store and picked something at random, to tick your gift off the list.
Coming up with the best romantic gifts ideas
Well, when choosing a romantic gift, you’ll have the same temptation as my sister did at Christmas (hey I love my sister by the way, I’m even thinking of having a cup of coffee in that dumb mug now as I’m now feeling guilty for complaining…). There is indeed an aisle or two in every department store where you’ll find pink, cute and flowery stuff for girl’s gifts, and sporty, outdoorsy, after-shavey grrr-man type stuff for guy gifts. Avoid these aisles. We all know they exist, and if you get your partner something from there you will at best get a “Aww it’s the thought that counts” look, and at worst a slightly disgusted look like you’ve just presented them with a dirty diaper.
It sucks to think your partner put no thought into a gift, because it makes you wonder if you’re putting more effort into things than they are, and imbalances like that can of course lead to tension… Believe me, I know from past experience of buying last minute gifts for my partner, it’s better to buy nothing and take your time in finding the right thing, than to proudly present your wife with a cheap-ass wok <cringes at the memory>!
So let’s have a think here, what stuff should we actually be thinking about when planning on getting a cool romantic gift for our partner? Basically we want a non-cheesy, non-cliched gift that shows them that you know and understand them, know what they like, and of course love them. For example:
- A gift related to a hobby they have, which you know they will love cos you were listening to them talk about it. You were listening, weren’t you?
- A gift that reminds them of a shared, enjoyable, romantic experience you both shared in the past. Like related to when you met, your first weekend away together, your honeymoon, etc.
- A simple gift they can use every day that reminds them of you when they are using it, but which is also a cool gift (so not a t-shirt with your face on it that you tell them they can wear to the gym with their pals).
- Their favorite x – by this I mean if you’re getting flowers, wine, food, concert tickets, clothes, gadgets, etc – get them their favorites. They like tulips not roses? Get them tulips even if you’ve read roses are somehow inherently more romantic. They like thrash metal? Get them tickets to Cannibal Corpse’s next show, not tickets to a show you want to see.
For the best romantic gift ideas… use your ears!
And how do we know the specific gift to get? By listening to our partners when they chat to us. I see no shame in scribbling notes down when they leave the room so you don’t forget a juicy nugget they’ve just told you about what they love!
I’ve also had a good old ponder about romantic gifts for guys and romantic gifts for women, and interrogated my partner too, to be more specific for men and women here:
Certainly since I started thinking things through more, and listening to my partner, being romantic becomes so much easier, as I am so much less clueless. I’m sure you’ll have your own opinions on those two gender-specific posts on romantic gifts, so let me know your thoughts on those too!
