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Girlfriend, Wife - Birthday, Anniversary, Valentine Gift Guide

[In Progress - Last updated, Thur Feb 14th, 2008] I checked around with a lot of people, did some research on Gifts (no … seriously) and asked around at Yahoo answers and this is what I came up with. 

What makes a Great Gift for a Girlfriend?

1. A gift from YOU that shows your love for her, your uniqueness and your generosity.
2. A gift that she will LOVE, given her unique interests, passions and inclinations.
3. The Thought behind the Gift - it should be a well thought gift. Just clear your head for a minute and think of her and from her perspective what would make a great gift + would also show your thoughtfulness. When girls say - it’s the thought that counts they usually mean “He has taken the time to think of what I would like and put thought into it and I LOVE that fact”.
4. Pure Intention - This is easy to understand and a little tougher to implement. Buy something from the perspective of ‘her loving it’ and not ‘i would love for her to have this’.
5. In close conjunction with 3. is to be completely non-judgemental i.e. avoid any gift that shows any sort of judgement or desire to change/improve her - so no perfume, no clothes unless you’re 100% sure they fit perfectly and look really good i.e. her mother or best friend picked them out for you or you’re a metrosexual.
6. Surprise her - it’s really important to have some amount of mystery/suspense/surprise/out-of-the-ordinariness. You should be consistently inconsistent in the types of gifts you give her i.e. appeal to different sides of her, sometimes be generous, sometimes give a very inexpensive yet thoughtful gift, and so forth.
7. A gift that is an experience and creates memories or one that brings up old, good memories.

The 7 key elements are - a gift from you, a gift she will love, the thought behind the gift, pure intention, completely non-judgemental, a surprise, and creates or brings up good memories.

There are two very important things to keep in mind -

1. Don’t buy her a Gift to buy her Love. 
2. Give a gift appropriate to where the relationship is i.e.
   1. Don’t give her a ’girlfriend’ gift if she’s just a friend or you just started dating.  
   2. If you’ve been together a few weeks, unless she feels as strongly, don’t buy her a lavish gift.  
   3. Don’t give her a gift that will get her into trouble with her parents or at work.

 I will add that you should give her whatever the hell you want to - just be sure it’s for the right reason and that it’s not totally inappropriate.

There are certain Bonus Factors that you can add in to make the gift extra special -

1. A gift that indulges her. Something she wouldn’t normally buy for herself.  
2. A gift that takes her away from her daily grind (or the job she loves even though it is getting kinda repetitive) - A weekend trip, a simple spa trip, a night out at a fancy restaurant, and so forth. 
3. A gift for no reason at all/ outside of any special occasion. It’s important to not overdo this.

Top ’Things She will Cherish’ Gift Ideas 

The focus here should be on something that she will treasure. Yes, some of these are expensive - however, it’s the thought that makes them really count. So don’t forget to put thought into it and make it a unique gift from you to her. And please remember that if you don’t have cash to spare - don’t buy any of these. Be generous to a reasonable extent.

1. Watches - A watch is something she can wear everyday. Christopher Ward has some beautiful watches for women.
2. Jewellery - Astley Clarke have loving attention to detail and everything right down to the gift wrapping paper is immaculate - which i admire.  
3. Diamonds - We’re getting pretty expensive here and there’s a fascinating marketing story behind diamonds. However, like it or not, Diamonds are Forever - even little girls know that.  I’d recomend Blue Nile.
4. Cars are a popular gift from husbands to wives (and to be honest much less trouble than puppies). I know nothing about gifting cars so I’m not eligible to speak here.  
5. Clothes - Have her best friend or a female friend help you pick out something ’special’ for her. It has to be something that she can cherish and is a ’special going out cocktail dress’ or something similar.
6. Shoes - Same as above. It has to stand out, and you should be cognizant of what styles and brands she likes. Ask a female friend, ideally hers.
7. [More to be added soon i.e. in a few weeks]

Top Easy to setup Gift Ideas

1. Chocolates - I’d recommend Hotel Chocolat. Make it specific to the type of chocolate she likes and py attention to the packing and the attention to detail - that’s why I recommend Hotel Chocolat.  
2. Roses - 12 Roses stands for unconditional love and roses are the traditional flower for passion and love. I’d recommend Bunches in the UK.
3. Orchids - Orchids are actually a better gift since they’re unique (like her ;) ) and stay beautiful for weeks. Flowers Direct have some great Orchids.
4. A proper ‘going out’ dinner. Pick a type of food she loves or is intrgued by, and a restaurant that has a nice romantic setting (and no sports on tv or beer specials ;) ). You have to take her to a place where she gets a chance to dress up (cocktail dress, heels, et al).
5. A teddy bear or a stuffed toy. Either a small cute one or a big teddy bear she can hug.
6. Champagne that you can have together. Ideally with a meal that you cook for her (or secretly steal in ;)). Get some proper glassware for this. Candles, especially scented ones, add a great touch. 
7. Liquor Chocolates - a big hit since they’re something she probably hardly ever gets. If they’re from a far away country like Belgium or Switzerland - perfect. See the Hotel Chocolat advert below.
8. A coupon book full of passes to go see a chick flick, go iceskating, get a massage, candlelight dinner, etc. Adjust according to your her preferences.  
9. A couple of books of the type that she loves. You picking it out for her is the whole point - no gift certificates - EVER! If she likes to cook - buy her a cooking guide for some food that she loves. Something specific to her.
10. Make her a mix tape of great songs that she loves or songs that describe how you feel about her. Either is good. You can also buy a few CDs to go along with the ‘personalized for her’ mixtape.
11. Sexy lingerie. You better be very sure about sizing though. Victoria’s Secret in the US. La Senza in the UK - New Code for La Senza : 15% Discount when you spend over £50 plus FREE standard UK delivery and a FREE gift box - VC15 or Fifteen La Senza Details
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Top Thoughtful Gift Ideas

I’m quoting a few examples the girls from Yahoo Answer gave and then adding in a few things I’ve heard girls mention -

1. “He set up a scavenger hunt around the house with pictures from our previous dates.. at the end of the night we made a scrapbook together… along with the pictures were cute little things like a teddy bear. roses… coupon books… chocolate”  
2. “My favorite gift was when my boyfriend had a candlelit bubblebath waiting with my favorite cd playing, a glass of champagne next to the tub, sexy lingerie to slip into afterward and a candlelit dinner waiting for me after the bath. When dinner was over, our bed was sprinkled with rose petals, more candlelight, soft & sensual music in the background……fresh fruit and chocolate next to the bed with more champagne. He gave me a hot oil massage and plenty of LOVIN’…………IT WAS PERFECT!!!!!!!!!!!”
3. Also from Yahoo answers (chosen as best answer - btw it’s all one answer) - Take her out to dinner and to a movie.
   Give her a picture of the two of you in a cute picture frame.
   Write her a card telling her how much you love her, put a lot of thought and time into it.
   Give her a dozen roses. Have a small note attached to each rose. On each note write a reason of why you love her. Something like ” I love you because….”
   Bake her her favorite dessert.
   Buy her a necklace and/or earrings. 
4. A trip/vacation - girls absolutely LOVE to travel. This is very specific i.e. does she like road trips? the beach? mountains? hiking and camping? shopping? Personalize a trip with things that she loves - so if i had to take a girl who loves shopping and food I’d probably pick NYC (a million places) or San Francisco and take her to Matt’s and Burma Superstar and Haight Ashbury.  
5. Make her something she can carry or keep with her. This is actually much simpler than you think - if you can write, write her a poem or a song. Build her a small memento or a scrapbook or something that she can keep.
6. A day at the Spa for her to just rest, relax and spruce up herself, and then a great dinner that you cook for her or at a fancy restaurant so she can get all dressed up.
7. A picnic and an outdoor concert or a short roadtrip or drive and a theater show. Something that shows you thought about it a little and that you chose something she would love. Things like ‘her favourite genre of music’, ‘her favourite band’, etc. make it even better. Sometimes stringing together 3-4 things she really likes works really well i.e. favorite restaurant, favourite icecream, a walk along the beach, star gazing (at the beach, at the planetarium), and so forth.
8. Write her a love letter (guess when’s the last time she ever got something like that??). Write it yourself on some love letter appropriate paper and add in some chocolates or roses. If you’re crazy enough to pin prick your way into signing it in blood - actually i really don’t know about that - i’d do it. i’m reluctant to recommend it.