Romanticism in Gifts

Romantic can mean a lot of different things, for different people and for different types of relationships. The type I’m going to focus on is the type of romanticism in gifts (like the upcoming holidays) to loved ones.

I thought of this idea from thinking about the differences between my best friend and me; what she finds romantic vs. what I find romantic in gifts.

Her “wish list” of gifts for her birthday, graduation, and Christmas each year always contain the same things (not in a bad way, but seriously). She has a pair of really expensive Uggs, really expensive necklace, very expensive perfume, and a few other expensive accessories she would like to add to her room on the list. Key word: expensive. She finds a lot of value and personal satisfaction on name brand items that require a lot of money.

My wish list is always personal, and different depending on the friendship/relationship. I don’t just want a gift card to target – that’s great and I’ll use it – but that doesn’t have nearly the sentimental value of per se getting me my favorite movie Baby Mama on DVD, or something that is my favorite color of teal, or a soccer poster.

The sentimental value is what’s important to me – I would rather have a home made card than a cliché Hallmark one written and given to thousands of people each year. A loved one for Christmas last year got me very cute cheap earrings, a scarf with my favorite colors, silly bands, Miranda Lamberts new CD, and a stuffed Tigger. Each one of those items had a personal connection, or inside joke with him and those gifts were much more important to me than an expensive watch or pair of shoes. It was the best gift I’ve ever received. It means a lot when you see the gift five years later and still know exactly whom it was from and what it relates to; that’s romantic (to me).