Gifts with Meaning

Shopping for the right gift for your significant other at Christmas or any time of the year is fun, but can also be challenging.  Sure, you have some ideas, you know what he likes and what he doesn't; but you want your gift to be special, to stand out and say I have put a lot of thought into this. There are two parts to figuring out what that special gift is: listening and meaning.

Listening to someone when they're speaking to you and really hearing what they say gives you a lot of insight into that person.  And that means paying attention to them even when they are simply talking about random things.  For example, it's December and your fiance hints around at wanting a new watch for the holidays. Easy enough.  But maybe back in the summer while listening to the radio he also mentioned how he always wished he could see a favorite musician live and as it happens you know (or you researched and discovered) that artist will be coming to town in the next couple months.  Paying attention to those cursory remarks gives you a second potential gift option.

Finding a gift that's meaningful sounds obvious. You want the gift to have special meaning, for the receiver.  You may love the symphony and think that a romantic evening listening to classical music will be a lovely and special gift. And it very well may be; however, before settling on your ideas think about your fiance's likes and preferences.  When it comes to gifts for him, put his likes first.  That may mean trading the symphony for a football game, but it shows that you want to make him happy even if you would rather be doing something else.   Of course, you shouldn't pick something you can't tolerate or feel good and comfortable about getting (i.e., the leg lamp from A Christmas Story comes to mind).

Put those two parts together-something you heard your significant other talk about and something you know he will find meaningful- and you've got a great gift idea.  Don't limit yourself to finding a meaningful gift for your fiance only. Giving meaningful gifts to family and friends alike shows you've been listening and that you want to do something special for them.