Let's face it guys, your ability to buy appropriate gifts for your lady partner is a joke. They have commercials about it, mass forwarded emails about it; you gotta be wondering what the Hell you're doing wrong.
First of all, it's not always just the gift that sucks. It's what the gift says about your relationship. If your girlfriend is frustratingly dyslexic and you buy her a copy of East of Eden, this could say one of two things.
1. You're an ass and you bought your dyslexic girlfriend a copy of fucking East of Eden. Did you forget she's dyslexic? What else have you forgotten about her?
2. She likes challenges and you know that. In an effort to support & encourage her you bought her one of the ultimate classics.
This is why buying gifts can be tricky. You have to actually know the person you're buying gifts for. If you bought the book but aren't sure how she will take it, buy her a card in which you write "I know you get frustrated, we can read this together" or something sappy and togetherly. If you forgot she's dyslexic then lets hope she IS the kinda girl that likes a challenge. Otherwise you're boned.
Okay, back to the process of buying gifts. Think about your girlfriend. Picture her awesomeness in your head. She would have to be awesome, otherwise why date her?
Think about her interests. Does she like reading? What kind of books? Do you know the name of her favorite band? If it's Taylor Swift then it's okay not to buy your woman the new cd, I wouldn't want to encourage that either. Does she collect anything? Is she outdoorsy or does she play video games or both? What kinds of things can you do together?
This is another area where guys go wrong - you think the present has to fit in a box. Why not take her somewhere? She's your girlfriend, so she likes being with you, work that angle! Picnics are nice because she feels like you're being romantic and you get to eat. Not only that, but she'll probably get cutesy and feed you like you're some kind of Greek deity. Bonus.
Some girls wont ask for perfume even though they'd like you to buy some. Here's why:
They want you to think they smell good.
Girls think about you when they are buying their shampoo/lotions/perfumes. They wonder if you'll think it smells wonderful or if it reminds you of your ex. Or your grandma.
They can't ask you to buy them perfume, it's expensive. They probably don't ask you to go shopping with them to help them pick something out because you guys hate shopping. So take the initiative and go buy something with a fragrance that you love. Make sure you are not just using your nose, use your head. Does this perfume remind you of your ex? Or your girl's BFF? Don't buy a perfume that makes you think of someone else. Buy a perfume that smells wonderful and makes you think of your lady.
Lingerie is not necessarily a NoGo. It depends on your relationship. Does your girl get magazines from Victoria's Secret or Frederick's? Peek through the pages, is anything marked? Next time you catch her looking through the magazine, ask her what she likes in it. The nice thing about talking to your girl about panties as that it will likely lead to a private showing.
If you're trying to think of a gift that she'd really really want; don't think back and remember how frustrated she gets with her old vacuum cleaner. That's not a gift, that's like filling her car up with gas for her birthday. Now, if you also got it washed & detailed after installing a badass new sound system then okay, you can fill it up with gas. Toasters and vacuums are domestic necessities, they can be bought any damn day of the week and for no good reason. Plus, remember the domestic part? Avoid gifts that say domestic. Unless it's pearls, because your girlfriend might absolutely love pearls.
There you have it. The secret to giving good gifts is knowing your partner. You even got a few gift ideas from that.
If you have a special occasion coming up, feel free to pick my brain. I'm good at this kind of thing. In fact, I'm one of the better gift givers that I know.
For your viewing pleasure, and to illustrate how the wrong gift can go terribly, terribly wrong: http://www.ebaumsworld.com/video/watch/7175/
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