Daviot Kelly, Staff Reporter
FROM THE purely commercial aspect, Christmas is also about gifts!
Women are better at buying presents. There I said it! Guys, we're not experts, admit it. Buying gifts requires a certain style and method which, unfortunately some of us of the masculine gender don't have. And the ones who do, maybe aren't so masculine but let's move on.
In defence of the gender, a woman in an appliance store or buying male cologne looks less strange than a guy in a cosmetics store or the women's clothes section.
So anyway, Flair wanted to find out from the fellows if they ever got it right with the Christmas gifts. (Rare occurrence we found out).
"Well, a weekend for two was nice! She really enjoyed that," said Chuck, a known lothario. Well done old boy, but for those of us with a little less length of pocket (or connections), there are more affordable ideas that absolutely bring the smiles out.
"It was her 18th birthday (birthday is in December) so I bought her a purple bag (her favourite colour) with 18 chocolates, 18 ounces of grapes (her favourite fruits) and 18 roses. It was relatively cheap. She loved it!" says Bobby, my next-door neighbour. Now that sounds like something I can afford.
By the way the ladies related some of the worst gifts they've got for the season and quite frankly, these guys are pathetic.
"I got a second hand card. I mean, you could see that he used correcting fluid to take out some of the words," says Shawna.To make matters worse, he even gave her a second-hand teddy bear which apparently he had washed and dried the night before handing it over.
Andrea8 was a little worse off actually believe it or not. Her gift?
"I've never got a Christmas present from a guy," she said after some minutes, yes, minutes of thought. Either these guys were cheap or not too adventurous.
JEWELLERY, STUFFED ANIMALS?
But like I said at the outset, women are better at gift buying. But Bobby suggests jewellery and stuffed animals for the ladies.
"They love that stuff; you can't go wrong," he says.
But lest we have a bunch of women walking around with enough earrings to set off a metal detector and enough teddy bears to open your own store, here are a few other ideas.
Keep it personal: No matter what you get her, personalise it! (Like Bobby)
Probably the most important tip is to know what she likes. Not what women in general like; your girl might not follow the crowd. Further every woman (indeed every person) is unique anyway.
If you don't know what she likes, then ask her friends. you might be spending the festive season watching "Home Alone" on DVD! Oh, and get something within your budget; remember Valentine's Day is around the corner.
* Names changed on request
