Shopping for your significant others Christmas gift shouldn’t be treated like a chore to check off your to-do list. With just a bit of planning and consideration, you can impress the special woman in your life with a meaningful, memorable gift. So, this year when shopping for that special someone, get her something she’ll love. With that said, please avoid these Christmas gift-giving mistakes at all costs:
1. Lotions, Bath Oils, and Candles.
Lotions, bath oils, and candles are the classic cop-out gift. Nothing says it better than, “I couldn’t think of anything else to buy you.” Besides, chances are she already has a shelf full of these items she received from her girlfriends. If a woman really wants these items, she will get them for herself. Don’t give her another item that she’ll eventually re-gift.
2. Cheap Perfume.
If you’re purchasing a fragrance for a woman in a drug store or discount retailer, please don’t bother. Cheap perfume is even worse than lotions and bath oils. There is really no use for it, and you can’t even properly re-gift cheap perfume.
To avoid getting an unwanted gift for the special woman in your life, take her shopping and test out a few fragrances in the perfume department together. Then, when she opens her gift, she’ll be pleasantly surprised that you remembered the one(s) she liked best!
3. Fake Jewelry.
Do not, under any circumstances, try to pass off cubic zirconia as diamonds or silver-plated jewelry as sterling silver. Like the old adage—if it looks too good to be true, then it probably isn’t real. Fake, cheap jewelry may turn her ears or fingers green. Cubic zirconia will lose its sparkle and luster over time and end up looking like small chunks of glass. If the special woman in your life wants fine jewelry, then she must also know that she’s worth it for you to make the appropriate investment.
4. Knock-Off Designer Handbags.
Trying to pass off designer-inspired handbags as the real deal is just as insulting. If you aren’t going to purchase the actual Coach or Burberry bag she wants, don’t waste your money or time on a knock-off. Women know what to look for and will inevitably spot a fake. Even worse, what if her friends tell her it’s fake before she discovers it for herself?
5. Small Kitchen Appliances.
Like it or not, a mixer or a toaster oven often carries the implication that you’d like her to spend more time in the kitchen. Gifts like these send an unintended message that simply isn’t heartwarming. Even if it is the hottest, most amazing new appliance on the planet, a woman is likely not going to appreciate it as a gift.
6. Cleaning Products or Supplies.
Believe it or not, my father once gave my mother a vacuum for Christmas. What may be even more surprising is that they’re still married. Just as is the case with kitchen appliances, anything that purportedly makes cleaning the house or doing laundry easier is not a proper gift-giving item. It’s the kind of thing that you bring home from the hardware store on a random day just because. Even then, you should tread lightly.
7. Weight Loss Programs or Gym Memberships.
Like it or not, one of the worst gifts to give women is membership in a gym or weight loss program. This is the opposite of the message she wants to hear—that she is beautiful no matter her size or shape. She may drop hints all the time that she wants to lose weight or tone up, but, like many of the gifts on this list, this is something she will have to invest in herself, on her own time, when she is ready. The same can be said about home exercise equipment. Unless she has specifically asked for weights or a treadmill, don’t risk insulting her with these gifts.
8. Gift Cards.
A gift card specifically shows exactly how much money you spent on the recipient. The potential for insulting a woman is high, as it sends the message that you simply could not come up with anything to purchase. It also shows a lack of interest or laziness on your part. If you want to give a gift that cannot be wrapped or must be purchased in the future though, why not create your own gift certificate? For example, a night at her favorite restaurant or a weekend getaway (just make sure that the gift is about her taste, and not yours). A gift certificate to a football game or a weekend fishing trip would likely be additional gifts not to give a woman.
