Everyone knows the classic idea of bringing home gifts for
the family, when you have to go out of town on a business trip. Tourist traps
and especially airport shops depend on this; knowing that business travelers
who are going away can be expected to be a little freer with their gift buying
money than they would be otherwise. So, they jack their prices up to take
advantage of that feeling of moment’s desperation when we say “oh no, I’m heading
home and I don’t have anything for my family.”
Now, I’m not saying that you shouldn’t be willing to buy
nice gifts for the kiddies and especially that you shouldn’t be willing to buy
a nice gift for your wife. After all, she’s had to put up with the kids and the
problems all by herself while you were gone. She’s definitely worth whatever
you’re going to spend.
I just came home from a 10 day trip out of the country. In
the airport I bought my wife a piece of jewelry (always a good gift idea). It
was a rather unique necklace, in a Victorian filigree flower design, which
definitely spoke of her personality. Not only was it a nice gift, but it was something
that was definitely made for her. Had it not been so special, I probably wouldn’t
have been willing to pay airport prices for it.
On the other hand, remember the scoring rules for this game;
if you buy your wife an expensive gift, you get one point and if you buy her an
inexpensive gift you get one point. Of course, if your gift is too cheap or not
a romantic gift, you’re not going to get any points at all.
Let’s apply a little strategy to this gift-giving issue and
see if we can maybe come up with a way of getting a little more bang for our
buck.
First of all, I’d suggest avoiding all those cute little
trinkets that they sell in the tourist traps which say “Miami” or “San Francisco.”
Not only are they really cheesy gifts, but they’ll serve as a constant reminder
that you went someplace interesting without her. Not a good plan. That doesn’t
mean that you shouldn’t buy her something with a regional flavor, especially if
it’s something that you can’t get at home.
It helps to make sure you put shopping time in your
schedule. Now, that’s really easy for women to do, but rather hard for us guys.
We’re missing that shopping gene, which automatically attracts us to stores.
However, you’re going to spend much less money in a regular store, than you are
in the airport.
It always helps to keep a list of romantic gift ideas in
your personal organizer. That way, when you’ve got to find a gift in a hurry,
you don’t have to worry about your brain lock. Little things that your wife has
mentioned she’d like, things that you’d spotted before and know she likes, and
classes of gifts which have received really good “reviews” from her in the past
are all good candidates for this list.
Another way that you can save yourself time and money on
this gift buying spree is to pre-buy your gifts. Now, I realize that some women
might consider this cheating, but who says she ever has to know? I’m a big fan
of shopping on the Internet. Not only does it save me time in the stores, it
saves me money as well. So, all I have to do is pre-select the gift I want to
buy for my wife (and even for the kiddies), and have it shipped to the hotel
where I will be staying. That way, when I get there, it’s waiting for me.
I suppose an alternative to having the gift shipped to your
hotel would be to have it shipped to the office and pack it in your bags. That
would save the same amount of time and still insure that you have a gift ready
when you come back. Just make sure that she isn’t packing your bag for you.
Remember, this is supposed to be about thinking about her.
So, it’s important that you choose a gift that shows that you’re thinking about
her; otherwise, you’re not going to get any points in the romance department.
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