Choosing a gift for anyone is never super easy and often requires a lot of searching and thinking, especially when choosing the perfect gift for your significant other. Whether you’re searching for a new boyfriend, old girlfriend, or long-time loved one; you will certainly find some great information here. No matter what you’re looking out for, it’s important to weigh all of your options.
Every relationship is different, and there’s no right or wrong way to give a gift. Using the following information, formulate the perfect way to give a gift to your significant other this year! Here is a list of 12 gift-giving ideas for various relationship types and styles. Take a minute before you continue reading to think about exactly who you and your significant other are, then take a look at these gift ideas and other information that is essential to understand when buying a gift!
Finding the Perfect Gift
Honestly, in our best experience, the perfect gift doesn’t necessarily exist or if it does, it’s not the same for everyone. It’s really all in the eyes of the beholder and it depends on how well you know your partner. Sometimes when birthdays, holidays, and anniversaries come around, it’s easy to get lost in the gift buying experience and lose sight of the real reason for buying a gift.
Knowing and understanding the sole reason why we give gifts is super important for any gift-giving endeavor we set into our lives. So what is the purpose of gift-giving? Well, the American Stationery gives us a beautiful reason and definition of what gift-giving actually means; “Gift giving is actually a way to invest in a relationship . . . It is a social lubricant, a way to celebrate life, love and friendship and become a better partner, spouse, friend, employer, and person.” Using that motto for your future gift-giving experience should help you to be both more excited and you can learn how to make your gifts more personable.
It shouldn’t be another task to check off your list. That’s why this list will be essential to help you decide what the best gift really is and all of the options out there! When reading through the rest of this article, keep in mind that you want to enjoy finding a gift. Let go of any gift-giving anxiety.
Gift-Giving Anxiety
There’s no doubt that everyone suffers from gift-giving anxiety at one point or another. It could be during the Holidays when you get Uncle Jimmy in the Secret Santa and literally haven’t spoken to him since the last family gathering. Or, it could be for your 15-year-old niece who literally has everything and is not afraid to tell you that she doesn’t like your gift (face it, we all remember how it felt to be 15 and open that beautiful sweater from Aunt and Uncle Charlie). There are so many different reasons that gift-giving can cause some real anxiety and stress.
It might seem like it’ll be easier to buy a gift for your significant other, but sometimes it’s just not. If you’re an empathetic person, you’ve probably spent hours and hours putting all kinds of thought into gifts just for people not to like them. Which triggers all sorts of anxieties when trying to buy something thoughtful for your loved one. It’s important to know and understand what triggers these anxieties and try to face them head-on.
Here Are 3 Ways to Shake Your Gift-Giving Anxiety:
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Recognize That It Affects You
No matter what the problem is, recognizing that it is a problem should come top of your list. GIft-giving anxiety affects more people than you’ll ever realize. So just admit that it’s something you struggle with and learn the best ways to cope with it.
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Set Some Boundaries
It’s important to set some boundaries, whether that be with your partner or with yourself. Honestly, one of the most stressful parts about buying gifts for a significant other could simply be that you don’t want to spend more or less money than them. It’s important to have a conversation about how much money you want to spend. If you are super into giving a practical gift, this conversation could be a perfect time to chat about some practical things you both need.
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Give Yourself a Break
Spending hours on the computer searching for the absolute perfect gift is not necessarily the best idea for your gift-giving anxiety. Mostly because the perfect gift in someone else’s eyes may not be super great for your boyfriend or girlfriend. Knowing your partner is crucial when it comes to gift-giving. Rather than searching the internet, take a minute, sit back and think about what they really want or need this holiday season.
Psychology Today provides some great advice for combatting gift-giving anxiety; “Rather than worrying obsessively over choosing the right gift . . . we need to find comfort in our own good intentions, even when they are twisted and twirled by others into something unfair or unrecognizable”. With that in mind, gift-giving should be a fun and exciting task, so keep yourself on track. Have fun with it! If your partner is true and genuine, they will be happy with your intentions no matter what.
Thoughtful Gifts Outweigh Expensive Gifts
Communication is honestly one of the most important parts of any relationship; “Good communication is one of the most important aspects to having a healthy relationship”. That doesn’t change during gift-giving times. Chatting with your partner and setting boundaries is super important for the stress of shopping and after giving the gifts. For some people, not purchasing as expensive of a gift as their significant other can have them feeling pretty down for a while. Therefore setting boundaries and sticking to them is very important.
In that case, let’s chat about why thoughtful gifts tend to outweigh expensive gifts. It all comes down to showing how much you care. During the holidays with family, you might be expecting to get that new kitchen set you were just dying to have, but when it comes to significant others, the expectations change a bit. The more thoughtful the gift, the more special it’s considered. “In the end, a thoughtful but inexpensive gift trumps something expensive but less than useful every time. Not only does thoughtfulness show that you care, it also saved you money.” Showing you care should probably come before the saving money bit, but I mean, come on, who doesn’t love to save a little money?!
3 Practical Gift Ideas
Practical gifts can be a great idea when buying things for your significant other. Including a hand-written love letter in the package might just make this the best gift they’ve ever received. Practicality is great because every time your lover uses the gift, they’ll think of you! It’s kind of a win, win for both sides.
Here are three super practical gifts that will fit almost any relationship. Even if you’ve already gotten them something super meaningful, add this to the package.
Socks
Honestly, the number one practical gift to give has to be socks. There wasn’t a statistic on that but come on; it has to be true. Getting your significant other cute, fuzzy, and comfy socks are a great way to show you care. They’ll also be a little bit shocked at how much they love this gift idea.
To-go mugs are the absolute best, and there is no doubt that everyone uses them. You can even get one that you can engrave a sweet little message into. Then every time they use that mug, they’ll think of you; it is overall a really sweet gift.
You can never go wrong with candles. Boyfriends and girlfriends absolutely love getting candles! No matter the special occasion, a few great-smelling candles will be raved about for years to come. Shutterfly offers great options for customizing candles. Write a cute love letter or add a picture to spice up this practical gift.
3 Personalized Gift Ideas
Personalized gift ideas are great because they can be both practical or thoughtful gifts. They’re pretty special for any relationship. They also can be taken anywhere, and your significant other will always remember how much you care. Here are three of the best-personalized gift ideas.
If you’re shopping for your girls, a personalized makeup bag is both unique and personalized. There are even personalized makeup bags that you can put pictures on available! Honestly, she’ll absolutely love to take this on her next girls’ trip and show off how amazing and sweet you are.
This is great for both boyfriends and girlfriends. You can even get matching ones with your names on them! Bathrobes are super practical and great for lounging around the house. It could also be a sexy gift that your significant other can’t wait to try out.
The best gift for that new boyfriend could possibly be a customized watch with your picture on it. If it’s too soon to put a picture on it, maybe add a quote that makes you think of him. It also might be a good idea for a new relationship to put a picture of something your significant other loves, like their pet.
3 Unique Gift Ideas
Unique gifts come with all different kinds of perks; they also come in all different types. A unique gift is sort of considered to be something that is unique to your relationship. Whether you’re travelers, hikers, hunters, animal lovers, or bookworms, there is a unique gift idea out there! Here are three favorites that won’t steer you wrong.
This is great for those couples that plan to travel the world together! You can even customize this map to say your names on it with a little blurb about your plans and life goals together. This is a super unique gift that will travel with you throughout your entire journey.
This is seriously one of the cutest gift options out there. Get a cute book that either you fill out alone or a blank one for you both to fill out together. It’s something that you’ll use in your relationship, and it might even help to build your communication skills.
This is unique and perfect for those sweet hunters we have in our lives. Upon opening, your significant other probably won’t even be expecting these bullet ice cubes.
3 Romantic Gift Ideas
Romantic gifts can honestly be some of the best gifts you’ll ever give. Mostly because they’re usually pretty fun for both of you! I mean, giving gifts is all about showing your love for the other person, right? According to Mind Body Green, “It shows the person was thinking about you while you weren’t around and wanted to find a way to make you smile.” How sweet is that? So what’s better to make your partner smile than some sexy romantic gifts? It’ll also help to spice up the bedroom love life!
Vouchers and coupons are both super simple and super cute! Your significant other will love getting a gift like this and using them too! Whether they’re for sexual favors or house chores, you can’t go wrong with creating or buying these vouchers.
A sexy gift box screams romance and a hot and steamy anniversary night. Whether you make it yourself or you buy it premade, this box will have your man or woman squirming with excitement to get into the bedroom.
This is a super cute little gift to add to a bunch of other gifts, or if you listened to this article and set boundaries and have a budget! This will honestly be a sweet gift for both boyfriends and girlfriends. It will also make a super cute addition to the house.
Finding the Right Gift
All in all, finding the right gift really depends on your relationship. There are so many factors to weigh out before you even start shopping! Maybe you could even think of the perfect gift before you start scrolling. One of the most important aspects of gift-giving is to remember the essence of what it’s all about. Which is really just reminding and showing someone else you care and are grateful to have them in your life.
Here are a few more tips on how to find the right gift:
Show that you know them, understand them, and care about them
Whether the gift is personalized, unique, or romantic, the main idea is to remind your significant other that you really do genuinely care about them.
Know Their Personality
There’s nothing worse than loving animals and receiving a hunting tool as a gift. It’s super important to know and understand your significant others’ personalities and what they like before buying a gift.
Know Their Hobbies
Sometimes, the perfect gift is something you can do together. If you share the same hobbies, get something that has to do with those hobbies. If not, it’s super important that your significant other knows that you support their hobbies and likes. Giving a gift to show that could be monumental to their comfort levels of showing off their hobbies.
Show Your Creative Side
A homemade gift is beautiful and seriously cherished. Not only for the aspect of it most likely coming out amazing, but also because of the time and effort that went into creating a beautiful project, like a scrapbook, picture, or even a handwritten poem.
There are a ton of different things to consider before you’re able to find the right gift for your significant other. Those are just a few that might be important before investing in a gift.
Conclusion
In conclusion, choosing a gift for your significant other doesn’t have to be a stressful journey. In reality, it shouldn’t a stressful journey. It should be something you enjoy and look forward to! Heck, you might even buy a gift 4 months in advance because you’re literally so excited to show your love and appreciation. That’s great!
For those who struggle with some gift-giving anxiety, it’s time just to take a step back and breathe. If your significant other really, truly cares about you, the gift you give will be amazing no matter what. Just keep that in mind and remember that there is no perfect gift for everyone; there’s just the perfect give for you and your relationship.
One last thing to keep in mind, every relationship is different; therefore, if you’ve been searching for different ideas on Pinterest or Google Images and haven’t found anything, then maybe you’re relationship is so unique and tailored just to exactly who you are, that is totally okay! It’s time to be creative and figure out what will be the perfect match to exactly who you both are.
