The best ideas are the gifts that you pick out on your own. Meaning, that you just have to pay attention to her interest and listen to the subtleties in her conversation. My boyfriend has wowed me many times with the gifts that seem to really reflect who I am and what my interest are. For our first Christmas, we had only been dating less than a year so, he looked around my home and saw that I liked candles, books and I am a woman that he was fond of. He bought me a unique candleholder, a book on "How to Nurture Yourself", a satin gown that was more feminine than sexy and a CD of music that we both shared an interest for. A Hit! I think that the book got me the most because of the title and the fact that he noticed my interest in the short amount of time we had been dating. The gown was nice too. It was pretty, which made me feel pretty, but it was not fitted or skimpy, which made me respect him.

As our relationship has developed and we have acquired interest together, he has had many opportunities to outfit me with the proper gear for our activities. We like to kayak and after he realized that I was serious about the sport, he bought me a nice life vest and a paddle. I am proud of those and the fact that he already had nice equipment and bought nice equipment for me made me feel that we were sharing something he loved and building a foundation of interest. So if you do not want to send the message that you want a future with someone.....be careful about buying gear for activities that she might only share with you.

Loving books as I do and always having them around prompted him to purchase me a handheld FranklinTM electronic device that you insert different cards in. It is a traveling encyclopedia, dictionary with games, address book, etc. Awesome gift! Since the FranklinTM was such a hit, he has since bought supplement cards for other interest he has noticed. While watching television we heard mention of a book on "Bartlett's Familiar Quotations", so he bought the card for my handheld device. Quotes on demand. I was taking a college Spanish class and he bought me a Spanish translator card for the FranklinTM electronic handheld device to help me in school. Great gift! It really helped me through those classes.

We hike often so he has bought me thermal wear, a rain jacket, rain pants and a huge box of instant hand warmers. The hand warmers were a small gift that was very thoughtful because I am cold natured. He bought me a book on mushrooms and butterflies because he watched me look for them in interest when we hiked. He has bought me an ipod and a subscription to SIRRUS radio because I love music.

Always give a card here and there, because your words are priceless! Gifts that remind her of the time you share or gifts that are all about her will let her know that you are paying attention and want to be in a relationship with her.

Now the big step. While all these thoughtful, practical gifts are great and I love the effort my boyfriend has put into reading me and enhancing my interest, most girl's love jewelry. It can be a simple necklace, earrings, or a ring with a colored stone. But eventually, for most girls, a diamond says you mean it.

Learn more about this author, Kim Patty.
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