Gift shopping can be very, very hard, especially if you want to surprise that special woman in your life. As a woman myself, I can tell you one thing for sure: we are all different in our preferences, but we all share the same desire to feel loved and appreciated by those who matter to us.
Rule of thumb is, a thoughtful gift is countless times more precious than an expensive gift. It truly is the case with every woman! If she senses the effort you’ve put into finding or creating her gift, you’ll definitely make her happy and she will show her gratitude to you.
Let’s face it: there is no universal answer to the never-ending question: What do women really want? When it comes to picking the best gift for her, there’s no magic pill or universal answer.
But, what I can advise you to do is, get to know her, listen to her, and take notes when she mentions that she needs or wants something. Pay attention to her wishes. Get to know the type of woman you’re dealing with 🙂
Here are 5 great gift ideas to get you started:
1. A Handmade Gift
If you like crafting handmade gifts and have a romantic strike about yourself, I think this one will be a no-brainer to you. In fact, I think you’ve probably done it before. But what if your girl is into handmade stuff but you’re not a handmade guy?
There are two ways to approach the situation: you either find a handmade store for jewelry, cards, little cute things to put around the house, or you think of a meaningful gift that will be special and unique.
I remember one gift my husband gave me a couple of years ago. It was a very cute coffee mug with a fox and a beautiful personal message. He always jokes around that I’m his ‘foxy lady’ because of my red hair. It wasn’t expensive and it probably wasn’t that time-consuming to find… but it was something he actually put the effort to think of and had a personal touch.
So, when it comes to handmade gifts, you can truly put your creativity to the test. You can order almost anything online; the important part is to think of a message that would actually make her smile + an object that she would appreciate (a mug, a card, a book, a candle, a stuffed animal, etc.).
2. A Luxurious Gift
If you want to splurge on your girl, I advise you to think of something that she’s already told you she wanted. Take a look at her closet: what type of things does she obsess about the most? Is she a fashionista, a hair kind-of-girl, a makeup junkie, or maybe a perfume addict?
If you’re buying for a specific occasion, you can also ask her some questions beforehand, or pay attention to where she shops. Here’s one of the best pieces of advice I can give you: if you’re going for something luxurious, you have to make sure that you get her the right gift. Otherwise, she might take it as a sign that you don’t really know her well enough.
So, how do you pick the right gift? Two options: either you plan it several months beforehand by paying attention about the kind of things she’s passionate about, or you buy her a generous gift card to her favorite store (example: Sephora, Nordstrom, Victoria’s Secret, etc.) and let her pick whatever she wants. Again, it depends on the type of woman you’re dealing with – but no one knows her better than you do, so trust your gut!
3. An Experience
For many of us, adventures are the best gifts out there. Whatever you choose to surprise your special lady with, you need to ask yourself one question: what type of experience would make her the happiest? If you’ve been with her for a while, you’ll most probably know what would make her feel special.
Here are some suggestions: book a table for dinner in her favorite restaurant; organize a surprise party with all of her best friends; surprise her with a skydiving experience, bungee jumping, horse riding; get her tickets to see her favorite band; take her to a spa; fly her overseas for a weekend away. Unleash your creativity, think about what gets her ticking, and the options become endless.
What if you’re on a budget? Well, there are always more affordable options: cook a meal for her, take her on a romantic date by the beach, cuddle under the stars, spoil her by doing all the chores around the house and taking care of the kids for a whole day while she takes a personal day off, and so on.
Gifting an experience is one of the most memorable ways to show the woman that you love how much she matters to you. More often than note, things get used up or forgotten, but doing something different and exciting will most certainly become a part of her favorite memories to look back on.
4. A Practical Gift
If your girlfriend or wife is someone who doesn’t like receiving presents or feels like gifts are a waste of money, you can think of giving her a present that she could actually use.
Say that she’s a businesswoman. Why not gift her a Moleskine notebook and a business pen that she could use in all of her business meetings? If she’s a homely person and loves to cook, buy her a book of recipes from her favorite chef. If she’s a musician, buy her a new guitar, or a new microphone.
Practical gifts are a true blessing to choose: you just have to pay attention to what she likes and what she does every day and go for it.
5. A Collector’s Gift
Some types of women like to collect things: first editions of books, vintage perfumes, books by their favorite author, rare wine bottles. If your girl is a collector, you won’t even have to think about it twice: you would probably be able to recognize her collection right away!
Those types of gifts can be quite tricky to get, though. Especially if she collects limited-edition things or she uses special websites to locate the items and sometimes buys them from foreign countries or on eBay.
If you really want to get her a collector’s gift, I advise you to have a talk with her first. If the area she’s interested in is not something you’re familiar with, you may ask her what she’s looking for, and tell her that you want to surprise her by finding it for her in the future. She will most certainly appreciate it.
I hope this list was helpful! If you have any gift suggestions, please leave them in the comments below!
Love,
