Dear Editors: So, I’ve just started dating a guy. Yay! Christmas is coming, which means gifts. I’ve only been seeing him a little while. What are some good small, hey, you’re cool, but we’ve only been dating a month, gifts?
The editors converged in our Secret Backroom of Answering Things, and we’ve come up with a lot of great ideas, several of which involve food. We all need to eat, and your editor team is a big fan of eating. Also, geek toys.
Hattie: Something small but still referential to a date you’ve had, or maybe an inside joke. Did you find out you both love whiskey on your first date? Buy him a small bottle of a mid-level whiskey.
Maybe not the best example, but a non-mushy callback to a fun time or conversation you’ve had in your short time together would keep it light but still show him you’re paying attention.
Sara B. (who answered at almost the exact same time as Hattie): Consumables are good in this situation: candy, booze or some other food thing he has said he likes. Depending on what he is into, something small and goofy will also work. I would set myself a $20 spending limit and look for something fun that shows you have been paying attention when he talks about himself.
xfafafabulous: ThinkGeek! There is something for everyone there. The best gifts are things related to offhand remarks someone makes. For example, I mentioned one day that I wish I had a plant that I couldn’t kill, because I am notorious for forgetting to water plants. My next birthday, my boyfriend ordered me like five flip-flap plants, these solar-powered plastic plants that flap their leaves when sitting in the sun, from ThinkGeek.
queSarahSarah: If he doesn’t have a copy of his favorite movie, a DVD of that. Or a new book by a favorite author.
Meghan: Music, dinner out, a bottle of some fabulous Scotch, and anything not too committed but experiential (the zoo? a concert? a hike? also not in the too distant future) are all good ideas. More importantly, steer clear of: anything wearable (guys I know tend to have a thing about women picking out their clothes for them), anything hand-made (too sentimental, unless it’s disposable, like food), and anything that is too significant (pressure for commitment when your gifts are all based on in-jokes). It’s not that thoughtfulness isn’t great, but when it’s still early, and you’re only trying to say, “I still like how you smell,” instead of, “I want to have your babies,” sticking to things that are Just Kind and Fun instead of Serious and Full of Feelings is generally a good rule of thumb. What does the dude like? Also: I’d set a budget that’s really, really reasonable.
Anonymous Editor(s): Sex.
SallySassyPants: A nice bottle of booze or making dinner is always nice. I think ThinkGeek is a great option for easy, not-too-personal gifts. I think a first holiday, you might just agree together to skip the gifts and spend time one-on-one. In bed.
Coco: Cheese.
Selena: Not a sweater.
4 replies on “Ask the Editors: Gift Ideas for a New Person in your Life”
Cheese. Can’t do wrong. Except if he’s aggressively allergic to it, like a friend of mine (which saddens me every time I think about it. He misses out on cheese!).
Gee to be on topic .. I think the first things we gave each other were books. He got me an arty one, I got him a computer geeky one.
The Mister and I hit our first gift occasion after just a couple of months of being together. We were in a long distance relationship at the time, and he would show up to my apartment on weekends with a change of clothes and a toothbrush jammed into a plastic grocery bag. I got him a duffle bag with lots of neat little zipper compartments. It was cheap, practical, not too mushy and personal, but something we could laugh about between the two of us. I don’t think I’ve ever picked out a more perfect gift for him, even having been together much longer. HA!
A gift card to a restaurant you want him to take you to, with enough money on it to pay for both of you.
Conniving and fabulous. I love it.