Gift Ideas for Your Girlfriend

Christmas is coming, and you know you have to get everyone at least something for this holiday season. The spirit of giving is alive among us, and picking just the right gift for your girlfriend can seem like a perilous journey ending up in the dog house! So, being a girlfriend myself, I decided I'd write a little guide from memory lane of the best gift ideas for different stages of these relationships. Hopefully this gift giving guide can help you find the things you need to say what's in your heart.

0-4 months The Infatuation Stage

This is when the relationship is just starting, so serious gifts for your girlfriend at this time may be too much. Get her a fun flirty gift like a pimp cup from Spencer's gift shop, a Bath & Body Works gift set of her favorite fragrance, some perfume you know she likes, cute picture frames with pictures of the both of you together, or maybe a book you know she would like.

The getting-to-know-you phase can be tough, so stick to fun flirty girlfriend gifts like body wash, perfumes, gift cards from her favorite store, books or gift cards for books, flowers, chocolates, and a nice bottle of wine. Try to stay away from really specific gifts that may not be sending the best message. For instance, don't pick out any type of dieting cook book, or try to buy her underwear unless you know her exact size. (just picture her saying, "you think my butt is THIS BIG!?!"). If you still run into trouble picking out a gift for your girlfriend, don't fret! Ask her parents or close friends for some gift ideas of things they think she'd like.

5-11 months Falling for each other Stage

By this time you should probably know your girlfriend pretty well, and should have a general idea of things she can use as gifts. You should know by now whether she expects you to go all out and buy a really expensive gift, or if she prefers a nicely written card as a gift instead. If you don't have a lot of money, writing her a cute little song jack-black style couldn't hurt. Try not to make this song too serious or she might not take it the right way. Gift ideas at this phase would include: gift cards to Victoria's secret, maybe some naughty gifts like candy underwear for a laugh, Roses, her favorite bottle of wine, a gift bag of her favorite fragrance, her favorite movie on HD dvd, a book or cd she's been meaning to buy. Also this would be the time that spending a little more money on a bigger gift item would be appropriate. You should know what kind of jewelry she likes, and a necklace or earrings would be appropriate. However, in my personal opinion, you might not know your girlfriend enough at this point to be giving any kind of ring as a gift. So keep it simple and basic, but be specific enough to have it mean something.

1 year Getting Comfortable Stage

At this point you should be able to ask your girlfriend what she wants or needs, and possibly be able to figure it out for yourself. You should be spending enough time with her at this point to pick up on what she uses or wants to have the most. This is when its perfectly ok to purchase more serious items like jewelry, and taking her out to a very nice dinner while you give them to her is always a plus. You should know whether she likes silver or gold jewelry, or even if she likes jewelry at all. A sizeable gift card to her favorite store wouldn't be out of line, because almost every woman likes to pick out her own clothes since she's the one that's going to be wearing them. Also, doing something great for her like taking her car to be professionally cleaned, or a fresh coat of paint would be nice. Setting up a romantic dinner like they do on those cheesy romance movies is also a plus and a good idea for the long term girlfriend at this point. This stage in the relationship calls for really romantic sappy gifts, and also very useful personal touches that might not have been too appropriate before. For instance, sneaking into her house to set up a bed of roses with a bottle of wine chilling beside a bubble bath wouldn't go over too well if you'd only known her for 3 months, but after 1 year she should be ok with you coming over to her place. A really nice gift for a girlfriend at this stage could be a full day spa treatment and massage, but sometimes they can get pretty pricey so do your research!

2 years+ Sealing the Deal

By this point you should be pretty serious with your girlfriend, and know her particular favorite things as well as her ins and outs with what she purchases. You should know the type of car she drives, a few of her favorite stores, what computer she uses, and what she may need or want for her living arrangement. Any type of useful accessory and installation of these gifts will give a personal touch to your favorite lady, and save her lots of time and effort. Computer accessories are always a good idea! Some good suggestions are memory for her computer (internal and/or external), a hd dvd player, a subscription to her favorite magazine, personalized or embroidered items, paintings, her favorite movies and books, Ipods of any Gig or size, and paying for a class or lessons of something she has always wanted to do. A great idea, in my opinion: a vacation! Take her somewhere she's never been before, and go on an adventure! Hiking in the mountains, sunning at the beach, traveling through states and seeing the sites are always interesting things that anyone would love to have the chance to do if they had the time and money! Completely sweep her off her feet by planning everything you both would like to do together, and take as many pictures as possible along the way for keepsakes later. The romantic option, of course, is finding pictures throughout the duration of your relationship and having them framed or put into a scrapbook to share your memories of each other together.

These are some of my well thought out ideas for giving your girlfriend gifts throughout holiday seasons and birthdays. Christmas gifts and birthday gifts are always great ways to spoil your girlfriend and let her know how much you care for her. Keep her smiling forever with your thoughtful gifts, and impress her with your attention to detail!