by Joan Inong

Created on: May 01, 2009

Finding the perfect gift for the women that you know is not as difficult a task as you may think. The key to any type of successful gift-giving is knowing the recipient well enough to give them something that is valuable or useful to them. With this in mind, when you want to give a woman a gift, think to yourself, "What do I know about her, and how can I translate that knowledge into a gift that she will like?"

The ideal gift for any woman is something that she will like. For instance, it is a stereotype of women that they like shoes and purses. But, you cannot base your knowledge of the recipient on any of these stereotypes. If your recipient happens to love collecting shoes or handbags, then a purse or a pair of shoes would be ideal gifts for that recipient. But, if your recipient could care less for either shoes or handbags, then you have to go back to the basics of gift-giving.

Each individual will have different likes and dislikes, and so it is not necessary to say that one gift will be a "great" gift for the spectrum of women out there. It is better to say that a dinner at a nice restaurant (or at any restaurant that your recipient enjoys) is better than saying that you should give your recipient a $50 gift card to Macy's.

That is not to say, however, that there are gifts out there that would please every and any type of woman. For instance, a basket of fresh, beautiful flowers (especially her favorite flowers) will wow your female recipient, and likewise might wow the woman next to her. Or, giving your female gift-recipient a foot rub (which is much more intimate than giving her a gift card to a massage therapy clinic) can be done for any woman.

If you are worried that your gift is too specific, you can always go with the trusty gift card. However, try to give her a card to a place that she will likely go. For instance, if your recipient doesn't like coffee, it would be useless to give her a card to go to Starbucks. Try to put thought into the gift card, even though gift cards themselves are impersonal.

And of course, last but not least, the type of gift you will give will definitely depend on your relationship to the recipient. If your recipient is your wife, your gift will vary than if she were your mother. But, the trick is to know your recipient well enough to give her a gift that will both wow her and make her excited to use it. As long as the gift has value to her, it does not matter whether it cost $50 or $200.

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