It's the holiday season, and that means a lot of giving and exchanging gifts. You've got to get a thoughtful, obligatory present for your roommate, boss, sister or brother, and your parents.
You can put little to no effort in the purchase of these gifts. For the most part, these are the people in your life that will love you not matter what.
Your significant other, though?
Well, your significant other will probably be paying special attention to what gift you buy.
We're not trying to stress you out, we're just telling you that's how it is. You don't want to buy too extravagant a gift if you haven't been dating that long, but if you have been dating for a while, you want to make sure your gift is caring enough.
What we're saying is, sometimes buying this particular gift is a struggle. Read on to commiserate with what these struggles are.
1. Deciding whether to buy the gift
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It doesn't matter how long you've been dating. Actually, we take that back. It does matter how long you've been dating. Don't buy your hookup a gift. That is totally unchill.
However, if you've had The Talk and you've agreed to be Boyfriend or Girlfriend, or Boyfriend and Boyfriend, or Girlfriend and Girlfriend; if you're in an official, committed, monogamous relationship with a person, you need to buy that person a gift.
That's the end of the argument.
Failure to buy your significant other a gift will land you in very hot, potentially boiling, break-up water.
2. Pondering what to buy
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In our very humble opinions, buying a meaningful gift is better than an expensive, emotionless gift.
So if you're wondering whether you should drop hundreds of dollars (money you don't really have) on a piece of jewelry using your credit card, or whether you should spend hours making a photo album instead, our vote is definitely for the photo album.
Here's our advice on the gift itself: Utility is usually a plus. If you've noticed your significant other complaining about the lack of an attractive, handy bag, buying them one is probably the move.
If you know your significant other loves the Giants, getting that person a Giants jersey is probably the move. This is the time for you to recall your conversations, scan through them, and remember if they've complained about the lack of something in their lives.
3. Choosing the item
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Now that we've gone ahead and cleared that up, you're browsing whatever mall, holiday market, book store, or department shop you've chosen, and you're searching for a gift.
This decision can happen in the store, while you're browsing the racks, or it can happen before you even enter the store. Actually, it can happen outside of a store completely while you're shopping online.
Buy your significant other a gift that will fill a void in his or her life, with style. Buying your significant other Bose or House of Marley headphones will definitely illustrate more caring than iPhone headphones you snagged at the Apple store in Grand Central on your commute home.
Do you see what we mean? Buy them something meaningful, but buy them a nice version of that meaningful thing.
4. Buying the gift
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We're going to go back on our words for a second here, because we know we told you to de-prioritize expense, and we're going to give that a different spin. Definitely prioritize caring over cost, but now that you've chosen a gift, you should buy a nice version of that gift.
You shouldn't experience any hitches while buying the gift if you do it as soon as you can.
You should buy the gift as far in advance as possible. You do not want to be sprinting down Fifth Avenue looking for a specific item on December 24th, is what we're saying.
We know it seems like there are plenty of weeks until Christmas actually comes, but the more you put it off, the faster Christmas will come. That's how time works. It knows when you're putting something off, and speeds up accordingly.
Just decide what you're going to buy and then go buy it already.
,5. Wrapping the gift
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Getting the kind people working at whatever store or market you've bought the gift in to wrap it is probably your best bet here, but sadly, this is not always an option.
Inevitably, you experience the following struggles while wrapping the gift: the wrapping paper you've cut is either way too small, or way, way too big and you've got to start over.
Actually, we skipped a step. Choosing the wrapping paper is key.
Don't use tacky "Happy Birthday" wrapping paper to wrap your significant other's holiday gift. If all you have is tacky "Happy Birthday" wrapping paper, then cut up a magazine or newspaper.
Wrapping the gift with a magazine or a newspaper makes you look way more swag than using the wrong holiday's paper. Also, we know you're going to bunch up the wrapping paper, rip it, and scuff it up. Don't worry. This happens to the best of us.
6. Writing the card
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Writing the card can be fraught if you make it that way. Let us rephrase: Signing the card might be fraught, if you haven't yet said those three little words to your significant other.
No, we're not talking about "pass the pizza," though, those are significant too. We're talking about the three words everyone makes such a huge deal over.
If you have said, "I love you," to your partner, then no fear. Feel free to construct a lengthy diatribe about how much that person means to you. Feel free to sign it, "Love, (your name)." Actually write your name. Don't write "your name."
If you haven't said "I love you," signing the card with the word love might not be the right moment to bring the big L word up. So maybe just draw a heart and sign your name under that.
7. Giving the gift
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The best advice we can think of for the advice of giving the gift is to do it as close to Christmas as possible.
What we mean is, you should buy the gift as far from Christmas as possible, and then give it as close to Christmas as you can. If you've bought the gift on December 10th, resist the urge to give it to your partner on December 10th to brag about how responsible you are for buying the gift early.
Another key piece of advice is to give the gift in private. If you've bought a really thoughtful, caring gift, odds are your partner will be feeling extra amorous toward you.
If you give the gift in the middle of a crowded restaurant or theatre or something, your partner won't be able to act on this amorousness. If you do it in the comfort of one of your apartments, however, that's a different story.
Check out 8 Unique NYC Souvenir Gifts You Won't Find in Times Square.
[Feature Image Courtesy Lab42]