10 Holiday Gift Ideas For New Couples

Matt — Thu, 15 Nov 2007 09:40:00 -0800

Finding the right gift for someone you've recently started dating can be tough. You haven't quite learned all their quirks yet and the chances of giving a terrible gift can be terribly high. Here are a few safe ideas to keep you from defaulting to the dreaded starbucks gift card.

Thanks to Jen for her contributions to this article.

1. All that sparkles is not gold, but the bling is in the eye of the beholder.

Here's a tip, if you don't ever see him/her wearing jewelry, avoid this gift idea. Fellas, keep it simple. If you know she loves stars, maybe a pair of silver star shaped earrings, or a birthstone pendant in the same shape. Spending a small fortune is not necessary if you keep the pieces personal. Many men appreciate jewelry gifts also. Maybe a simple chain or a tasteful watch. Money clips are a great inexpensive gift that you could have engraved with their name or initials.

2. Deck the halls with boughs of holly – or photos.

An attractively framed photo or small group of photos can help to show how much you care about them. For best results I'd suggest limiting it to no more than half a dozen photos of good times. Try to leave out the drunken pictures in the club. His/her friends and family may see these, so when choosing the photo(s) to include, ask yourself, "would it be okay for his/her grandmother to see this?" Bonus points if you can come up with a flattering photo from your first date.

3. Clothing Optional.

Clothing is one of the hardest things to give as a gift. Lucky for you, the holidays occur during months that likely include some cold weather activities. Got a snuggly snow bunny you're buying for? How about a scarf and pair of mittens that match her snowboarding gear? For him, maybe a warm winter jacket that you can borrow on occasion. If you are unsure about size, don't buy it. No one likes to receive a gift they have to exchange. If you're a couple who are already very comfortable with each other, maybe something to wear UNDER the snow suit. A sexy nightgown or pair of boxers can keep the holidays merry.

4. Like He-man? Give the power of greyskull this year.

Figure out what their favorite toy was as a kid and find it on eBay. My brother once got a "My Pet Monster" for Christmas - best present ever.

5. Frame the music

Find out what some of their favorite albums are and locate media pertaining to one of those albums, such as the album cover or rare photos of the musician. You can just do a google image search for a lot of this stuff. Once you've found a tasteful photo, have it printed out on high quality paper and framed. Even a small 8"10 frame will do. Rare, interesting media works best - such as bootleg photos of the artist or artwork from inside an album sleeve.

6. To be continued…

Tickets to a future event sends the message that you look forward to spending time with them even after you've returned all the gifts they got you so you could get the new snowboard you've been drooling over.

7. Buy a documentary DVD

If you're going to buy a DVD and you're unsure what they like, buying a documentary is always a safe bet. Over the past few years there's been a big resurgence in the popularity of documentary films. If you're buying for your special lady, definitely consider March of the Penguins. If it's a guy, you can't go wrong with Murderball - an incredible documentary about quadriplegic rugby players.

8. Thanks for the memories.

Whether they are a sports fan, a movie junkie, or a band groupie… memorabilia can be your winning ticket. A hat or jersey from their favorite sports team, a pair of ticket stubs or playbill from a historic play or movie, or perhaps the Justin Timberlake doll to finish off her Nsync tribute wall.

9. A song for us.

As a child of the 80's, I remember putting together a "mix tape" for my friends. Hours picking out the right song and carefully copying them from one tape to another. Sometimes calling into a radio station to dedicate a song and recording the dj announcing your undying love to everyone listening. Maybe the mix tape artform is lost, but still today most memorable moments in life can be related to a song in some way. Maybe you even have an "our song". Putting together a collection of songs that you think describe your relationship can be a fun way to show you care. Burn them onto a disc and write a nice note to go with it.

10. Mix silly with serious

We've all had a Christmas where we knew exactly what we wanted and were quite shameless in letting everyone know. I know I've been guilty of dropping hints like "I sure could use a new iPod!" or "Those new iPods sure look nice," or "Please just by me a damn iPod for Christmas." Unfortunately, this often forces someone into buying you exactly what you asked for and it pretty much sucks out all the surprise and creativity. My advice: buy them exactly what they asked for, but throw in something fun or silly. One of my favorite things to do is create a grab-bag of random things such as space blankets, silly putty, CDRs (blank CDs), Legos, or adult-themed mousepads. It'll keep them happy because they still got what they asked for, but it'll also allow you to still have a bit of fun in your gift-giving.

Additional Stuff

If you're still stumped, check out a few of these sites to get some gift ideas:

Threadless - Awesome t-shirts submitted by independent artists. There's a shirt for everyone in here.
Thinkgeek - An awesome assortment of gadgets, geekery, and other fun and interesting gift ideas. They've even got caffeinated soap.
Amazon's Gift Central - This is a great part of the amazon site for getting gift ideas. They break gifts down according to price, relationship (significant other, father, etc) or personality type.
Ikea.com - You can't go wrong with Ikea. Browsing their website is an excellent way of finding gifts, plus if you decide to actually drive to an Ikea you'll have a better plan of attack because you'll know what to buy ahead of time.

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10 Holiday Gift Ideas For New Couples