Sunday, May 31, 2009

Gifts etc

An article in today’s newspaper was something in the vein of “Least romantic gifts a man could give a woman” and it listed out five points, or five items.

1. Tools. This includes anything that involves her breaking a sweat. It doesn’t matter if she hates the vacuum or needs a new hand mixer for holiday cooking; they are still associated with work. Work is never romantic.

I wouldn’t mind being gifted tools. I like tools, they are helpful, especially for people like us who like doing things themselves and wouldn’t call an electrician or mechanic unless everything is completely disembowelled and there is no hope of putting it back together.


2. A stuffed animal. Unless your partner is in high school, or insane, a stuffed animal is tacky. Especially the kind that comes with sets of perfume, chocolates or any product that doesn’t need a stuffed monkey to make a sale. Flowers are incredibly romantic. Flowers held by a dog with a heart on his chest that says “I Ruff You” is a crime against common sense.

Completely agree with this one. I think stuffed animals should not be sold to people above the age of ten.

3. A pet. While a pet is an incredibly cute gift, it’s also a huge responsibility – which is why it’s one of the least romantic gifts, when you think about all the work a pet entails.

A pet as a gift would be wonderful – I've always liked animals. But our current housing situation does not allow us to keep pets so I'm not keeping any. If and when we move to an independent house I would think of getting one.

4. A self-help book. She doesn’t want the one she loves to present her with a book to solve all her problems. You are supposed to think she is perfect. Regardless of whatever personal issues she needs to walk through, she doesn’t need to be reminded of them on her birthday or on your anniversary.

Amen.

5. Gift Certificates. A gift certificate is a great way to say: “I know nothing about you, so here; go buy yourself something from a store I think girls like you would shop in.” Do you really want your girlfriend or wife thinking you spent three minutes on her gift?

A gift certificate is light years better than a gift you hate, eg clothes/jewellery you know you'd never wear but you have to smile happily and ooh-ah at the right places because it’s a gift after all and you don’t want to look ungrateful. Oh by the way, for all you gentlemen, if you're gifting jewellery, don’t give fakes. If you can’t afford the real mccoys, buy something else other than jewellery.

18 comments:

  1. im the first! yaay..:-)
    i still love stuffed animals, one of my friend gave me a white one for my last birthday, and i fought with my youngest niece (age 1 and half) for it the other day *evil grin* and i won!hihi.

    A pet: of course! i love pets too! i actually gave a pair of lovebirds and a pair of golden fish to two of my friends. A cute puppy with a red ribbon tied on its neck is another gift im thinking about.. hmm.. who would be my next lucky friend..hehe, or wud i be lucky enuf to receive one?;-)

    as a whole, id appreciate any gift that comes from a man. coz i know how much they hate shopping! Him just sparing few minutes of his time to buy me a gift, is already a special enuf for me, however silly the gift may be.

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  2. Lovebirds and goldfish - very nice gifts indeed, the persons who received them must have been very special. I sure hope you receive the puppy-with-red-ribbon-around-it's-neck very soon, it sounds sooo cute.

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  3. I'd love a stuffed animal or a soft doll any time. Pets or plants are hard to keep. Flowers are romantic but you feel bad when they whither.

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  4. Tools - well i like to be practical, so u can expect something like tis from me
    A stuffed animal - too expensive for my pocket (on the basis of my assumption that it will be stuffed in some old trunk along with a few others) unless its 2nd hand
    A pet - naah u cant do that, parents may object, hence u have to get their consent 1st.....element of surprise fizzzzz
    A self-help book - if i may repeat myself--Why do so many people need help(advice), life is not that complicated. You get up, go to work, eat 3 meals, take 1 good shit and go back to bed - George Carlin
    tho, personally i feel a book is a safe bet when u arent sure
    Gift Certificates - why not cash?hehe

    U cant go wrong with chocolates....in my humble opinion

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  5. I'll take an impractical OTT I Ruff You gift to practical but ewwww items like self-help books or tools any day. Eats are nice too. Back in my school days, guys would go out on Town days and bring back boxes of pastries for their gfs. Never received any though waaaaaah :((

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  6. mesjay - yes, nothing more romantic than flowers. And yes they wither very easily, kind of like some romances, what?

    Op - you and your George Carlin :)I totally agree you can never go wrong with books and chocolates. Cash? That is sooo unromantic and sooo unimaginative..gives me the shudders...

    J - I Ruff You gifts are tooo corny, as per my reasoning. But if it makes you happy, good for you then. Eats are very good, you can't go wrong with food (unless the giftee is dieting or very picky about food).

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  7. its ok as long as he could figured out what to give. Its horrible when they don't know what to give... :(

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  8. hihihi... the craziest gift I've seen my fren gift his girlfriend was a dildo. She dumped him immediately. lolzzzz.

    But I heard such gifts work sometimes too... is that true? Me, I'm so clueless regarding this. I usually buy them perfumes. Is that a good idea?

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  9. Varte - if only they'd know what to give all the time! wouldn't that be wonderful?

    Kima - lol dildo.. now that is insulting. Perfumes are good, very good, but you'll have to know what kind of fragrance she likes. If you don't, give her one that isn't too heavy/strong.

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  10. I usually go for Escada :) Always seem to work... ahemz... :)

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  11. always? does that mean you give all your gf's the same perfume? playing it safe, eh?

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  12. Copied. Pasted in Notepad. Saved. I'll memorise it..hihi. A chocolate and a rose always wins.. in fact, the fragrance of a rose lies in the hand that gives the rose.

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  13. agreed, Joseph. 'tis not the fragrance, but the hand that giveth. A cactus from a loving hand is worth much more than a rose from an enemy. (ang ve tho em?) Yes, you'd better memorise them, you never know when you might need them.

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  14. "oh yes we do. all the time" - suckers! (Both parties)

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  15. OP, it takes one to know one, hahaha...

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