Holiday Shopping - Romantic Gifts

So you’ve started to think about the holidays and buying your special someone that perfect gift to convey the depth of your love.

This is probably one of the most difficult decisions you’ll make during the holiday shopping season and it’s not too early to start a list.

==New in a relationship==

If your relationship is fairly new and you haven’t gotten to know each other well enough to have a lot of gift choices, sit down and make a list of your new love’s likes and dislikes.

This will give you an instant list of what not to buy.

==Seasoned lovers==

It seems like this would be the easiest shopping of the season, but typically it proves to the most difficult for two reasons. One reason is because you’ve been together for so long and had so many gift-giving events that you’ve run out of ideas. The second reason is that you simply can’t decide because you have too many choices. It’s usual one extreme or the other.

For your two lists, make one header known and the other unknown. Under the known write down everything you’ve heard your lover say would be great to have. Under the unknown, write down items based on how well you know your lover that would make excellent gifts.

Before you know it, you’ll have a nice column under each heading.

==Still uncertain==

If after all of this you’re still uncertain there are a few things you can do.

• Take an hour to window shop through your lover’s favorites' file on the computer. Open the closet door and take a brief inventory of the most items there. Note color, size and style. Changes are this is a favorite.
  
• Same thing for jewelry inventory. If your lover is a woman, include cosmetics and perfumes. Is she running low on her favorite perfume you gave her last year.


• Ask the best friend as long as that friend won’t tell you asked.
  
• Look through your lover’s magazine stash. Anything circled? Any catalogs?

==Buying the perfect gift==

If you're like most people, you're looking for one main gift, oftentimes called the big ticket item. This is of course an individual choice, and in today's economy you may opt for a main gift that isn't considered a big ticket item. Whatever you choose, make sure you know your lover’s likes and dislikes.

Bottomline on romantic gifts, if you 're uncertain your lover will like the gift, ask a best friend. It won’t mean a lack of love on your part. It’ll mean you really want to buy the perfect gift for your lover and when it’s opened, you’ll be glad you took the time.

Romance is more than candlelight, music and wine, it’s all about the time you spend nurturing your lover.

(Read more romance articles by Sally at National Romance Examiner)