Finding the perfect present for our first Christmas together: Setting some rules

Halloween is over and Thanksgiving is just a matter of days away.

We all know what comes next.

Displays have already emerged with the colors of red and green.

Multiple manufacturers have begun to distribute their goods in packaging printed with snow, decorative lights, tiny pointy-eared toy makers and a jolly fat man who can fly around the world in a single night.

*these things are friggin' AWESOME*

Shopping music has changed over from Top 40 to winter holiday themed Top 40.

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas. *or to be more politically correct, the holidays*

It’s a season of cheer. A season where it feels like society has taken a community drink out of an eggnog filled cup spiked with Prozac. The season of giving is upon us.

Bells are ringing. Children are singing. Cash registers are dinging.

The starting pistol has fired for purchasing gifts for loved ones, and not-so-loved-ones. Gift shopping is sometimes a major chore for me. Not that I don’t enjoy doing it. Quite the opposite really. I get a strange little gleeful kick from scouring the city, or Internet, looking for the perfect item that will bring a smile to someone’s face the morning of December 25th.

Over the last few years the person I found most difficult to shop for was my niece (whom this year is three). Obviously this is not because she is picky and has peculiar tastes. It’s because she is my niece and “just anything” will simply not do.

This year is a little different. For 2011 I have a girlfriend during this particular time of year; the first time in nearly six years. And I have no idea what to get her.

To make matters worse, not only does she know what she wants to get me, she has multiple ideas AND has informed me that she already bought her favorite of them.

Crap. Crappity-crap-crap-crap.

We’ve discussed how we wanted to handle our first Christmas together on a number of occasions. Some “guidelines” were set.

1.) We set a price cap. This took a while since neither of us wanted to come across as cheap. But, at the same time, we didn’t want to name a price that would make the other person uncomfortable (as she and I are currently budgeting our individual incomes as it is).

2.) We discussed whether we wanted to do stockings. I’ve always enjoyed stockings. The random little trinkets that you forgot you wanted, but love getting. Oranges. M&M filled plastic candy canes. Lottery Tickets. Hot Cocoa. Socks. Beef Jerky. *at my family Christmas morning I still get a large majority of the listed items in my stocking. Be jealous * 

3.) We discussed if we wanted to do various presents or just one (maybe two) “nice” presents. This is where things get a little tricky, for me at least. We agreed on the latter and will be exchanging one, perhaps two, wrapped item(s).

Velma has admitted that I’ve made it relatively easy on her since I have a number of little “fetishes” *her word not mine*. My interest in certain movie or TV collectibles. My ever-growing collection of Chucks. The complete library of Dean Koontz novels on the bookshelf. A passion for photography. A childish love for comic books, cartoons and Scooby Doo.

"Come on Scoob. Looks like we've got a mystery to solve."

The list could basically go on and on.

She doesn’t. She has things she likes and things she doesn’t.  I know that her comfort food is Pho, and that little soup-like dish will always brighten her mood when sick or sad. She loves reading but has such a wide literary range that there isn’t really a particular focus to set my eyes on. She is an artist (a freakin’ good one at that) but already has most of the needed supplies.

She’ll buy what she needs but doesn’t have a multitude of wants. In a way, I’m very lucky because of that. Though, over the last few months I have already picked up a couple of things I thought would be fun, and she’d enjoy. Items that I’ve clued in on from stories she’s told or reactions she’s made while we’re out-and-about.

4.) There could have been gifts the two of us could have “shared”. By this I know she was possibly considering getting me a Belgian Waffle Maker because I’ve been talking about one for a while. However she changed her mind because it would be something we’d both use and this Christmas is supposed to be focusing on the other person. An item solely for them and their use.

If we were looking for a share gift our options would really open up. Dinner and Movie night. Two tickets to the theatre. Two tickets to see a band. A short little trip away for a weekend (or couple of days that we both would actually have off of work).

There are a number of avenues I could have ventured down were I looking for a gift that we could enjoy together.

But I rather enjoy the idea of focusing on the other person this year.

Though her birthday was definitely relatively easy. Made her breakfast that morning. Gave her flowers, a t-shirt with a mummy made out of Asian noodles printed on it, and some other items that “symbolized” certain things from one of our first dates.

That doesn’t matter. I need something big. Something nice. Something long-lasting. Something meaningful.

Something to symbolize our first, out of the expected many, Christmas season’s together.

The trick, I believe, is to get out of my head and basically follow my heart. My heart lead me to her. My heart been that little flashlight guiding me through the unknown territory of a good, strong, loving relationship.

My heart has not led me astray yet. And I know she’ll love whatever I get her because it was given to her with all of the above put into consideration.

I just hope my heart can fight through all the other crazy shoppers.