I'll give you all I got
to give if you say you love me too
I may not have a lot to give but what I got I'll give to you
I don't care too much for money, money can't buy me love
Can't buy me love,
everybody tells me so
Can't buy me love, no no no, no
from Can't Buy Me Love by the Beatles
Do you really HAVE to give someone a B I G expensive present to show that you care? When girls think of presents from that certain someone they usually think of jewelry or flowers (we're talkin' roses here Honey!) or at least a special CD. Did you catch that "at least"? Usually we feel that someone doesn't care very much if they don't spend at least a certain amount on us.
Even Hallmark says... When you care enough to send the very best
But what IS the very best. Is it the very best present you can get for the most money you can afford to spend? OR maybe is it perhaps a present for your Sweetie that you spent so much of your funds on that you have to get a little no-account-punky-gift for your friend!?
That is NOT what gift giving is
supposed to be about.
It's supposed to be about expressing your affection, caring, or even, GULP, love!
So how can you get across that you really care about someone if you have little
to no funds to spend on their gift? Here are some great ideas that will show
that you thought about AND cared about the person you are
gifting...
Get-Out-Of-Jail-Free Cards
Everyone loves to get a Get-Out-Of-Jail-Free card when they are playing Monopoly. It's nice to know that you can get off the hook, no questions asked. What if you made up some beautiful Get-Out-Of-Jail-Free cards for your Sweetie, friend, or family member? You could use your free-hand artistic skills or desk top publish them. Here's how they work... Say you give five of these wonderful cards to your Sweetie; that means that he (or she) has five times that he can hand you a card when you are REALLY ticked off at him and you'll shut up INSTANTLY. Now that's a good present. One that will cost you A LOT in self-control, but very little in real cash!
Say your intended (that's the person you intend to love or in this case, maybe just intend to give a gift to), is way interested in the Beatles or some other old group, or in horses, or Corvettes, or whatever... Go to the Web and over several sessions do exhaustive searches on that topic. Find info sites, product sites where he (or she) can buy calendars, photos, gadgets, etc., fan clubs, history, newsletters, chat groups, and all that kind of wonderful stuff! Organize the URLs of these places into categories or topics, weed out the not-so-hot and really awful ones and present it on a disk or via an e-mail card complete with graphics about the subject! He or she will appreciate the TIME you put into this gift and will really love that you chose a topic so near and dear to their heart. And don't worry, if you put URLs on the list that he already has, he'll probably just say something like, "Cool, that's one of my favorite ones!"
U-Pick
This is very similar to the Get-Out-Of-Jail-Free cards. Make up cards that are U-Picks. Each time a card is handed to you, you have to let the other person pick or choose. Say you want to see a chick flick and he wants to see an action-hero-spectacular (OR visa versa!), if he pulls out a U-Pick, HE gets to pick. But be careful! U-Picks must have fine print that states that they are NOT good for anything that is harmful, unsafe or that goes against your beliefs or value system. Otherwise ENJOY!!!
I'm sure YOU can come up with way more ideas that would make your Sweetie smile. Go for it, Girl!
In Mary Stolz's book, The Noonday Friends, a little boy whose biggest wish is to stay up ALL night is given a ticket from Friday Night to Saturday Morning from his poor, but loving parents. They put his brother and sister to bed and read to him, take him out for a late night walk, buy him a snack, and let him stay up ALL night with them. It's the best present in the world as far as he's concerned. Find out about other great books in Girl Zone's Into Words section.
For lots of interesting info on ways to use your computer check out Techno Girl.
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