-Chocolate:  It should be in a gift basket or a decent sized box.  And when I say gift basket, I don’t mean fruit.  And the chocolate should not be Hersey’s, or Snickers.  It should be Lindt, Godiva, or at the very least, Ghiradelli.  Every once in awhile I see that Lindt makes lovely chocolate gift baskets.  Or a box of chocolates!  Please get a decent size & not one that has only like 6 pieces or something.  (Unless it’s a small gesture, she might think you’re cheap)  I think this is a great gift for either gender.  Check below for a website that sells lots of gift baskets, & Godiva boxes of chocolate you can pick up at your local Macy’s.

–Bath and Body products: Every woman will appreciate bath & body products.  Almost all women love a luxurious bubble bath, and nice scented lotions.  Women, more so than men, love to feel pampered.  There are also certain sites that sell bath & body products for women who are expecting.  Any pregnant woman would be delighted to have that.
Tip: Best to buy a set that has different scents for her to try.  i.e. let’s say you get strawberry scented.  What happens if she hates strawberry?

–Coffret or a set of rollerballs: this is great for all women unless they hate perfume.  Most women love perfume & the great thing about a coffret is that you don’t have to buy just one fragrance.  They have a selection for her to choose from!  I’ve given coffrets to my girl friends and they love them.

-Fashion no no: never buy a woman a large bottle of perfume unless you know it’s her favorite.

-Another no no: don’t buy women clothes.  It’s a very, very tricky area that you’re walking into.  Unless you know her size & EXACTLY what her tastes are, most likely you might offend the woman.  You’re better off getting her a gift card.

–A makeup set: is a great idea for most women.  I know my mom would love this one.  The only women you should not buy this for is if they hate makeup.

-Flowers:  What happened to giving flowers?  The only time I see flowers now really are at weddings. When was the last time you remembered seeing a woman getting a lovely bouquet of flowers?  Every Mother’s day I would call 800-FLOWERS and send over my mom flowers.  I also got a friend a bouquet for her birthday.  If you have a friend who’s feeling sad, send a small bouquet of flowers to cheer her up.  I don’t know why men don’t give flowers that often anymore; maybe because they will eventually die?  But who cares?  As women we can hang them to dry, press them into books, or make potpourri.

-Small, Designer items: I had a boss once that gave us all Marc Jacobs key chains for Christmas.  All women love designer things, but not all of us can afford them.  If you give a scarf, compact mirror, by i.e. Prada, it would be greatly appreciated.  And this makes great gifts for all of my girl friends.

-A gift idea: If you have to get a girl a gift, & let’s say you know her favorite color.  I used to have a friend whose absolute favorite color was green.  I got her a present of a green Shu Uemura eyeshadow, mixed in with a bunch of green earrings.  Ok, they were costume jewelry, but it was an expensive eyeshadow ($30 for 1 color!!) mixed in with other things she would like.  I couldn’t get her an expensive, expensive present, and this was my way of opting in between.  This could be a great idea for someone else you know.  Get one item that’s expensive, & mix it in with other things that she’d like.  Hair accessories would also be great here.  This is a great idea if you know her favorite color.

-Jewelry: and I mean the REAL thing.  Ok, this is really meant for close family, or your significant other.  This is for birthdays, Valentine’s day, anniversaries or Christmas.  Hey, if you really want to show your wife/girlfriend that you care, jewelry can come any time of the year!  The very minimum it should at least silver.  White gold tends to look better than yellow gold, but this a personal preference.  And it doesn’t really matter which kind of jewelry you buy: it’s the thought that counts.  Think about the woman that you’re buying for & her tastes.  i.e. if her favorite color is pink, then pick something with pink stones.

One of the ultimate presents: a new cell phone:  This is also reserved for close family, and your significant other.  This is a great present if your girlfriend/wife has just broken hers, or lost it.  This shows that you’re concerned & worried about her, & that you’re willing to make her happy.  I happen to know a guy who bought three Iphone 6s for his girlfriend, his sister, and his girlfriend’s sister.  But strangely, not for himself.  Of all the presents you could give a woman, with the engagement ring being #1, a new cell phone would be #2.

-The last resort: a gift card.  I would not do Starbucks gift cards unless she adores coffee.  And who says gift cards are only for men?  I love gift cards!  I specifically told my husband that I prefer gift cards over jewelry.  Great places for gift cards: Macy’s (or other dept. stores), and Sephora.  I think Victoria’s Secret makes a great gift card, but unless it’s your significant other, it implies other things.  You wouldn’t want to give a Victoria’s secret gift card to a co worker.  It’s like implying you want her to buy some naughty lingerie.

When giving women gifts: most importantly, listen to the woman that you’re buying for & the things that she likes.  The most difficult people to shop for are coworkers, simply because you might not know them very well.  But i.e. if this girl loves dogs, then get her something dog related.  If she loves tea, then get her a lovely tea set with an infuser.  I’ve given you lots of options of gift ideas, but always take into consideration the woman you’re giving it to.  i.e. My mother would prefer makeup set over chocolate any day.  If you have a special occasion, or holiday coming up, get the women in your life something NICE!!!

Links:

For chocolate gift baskets: http://www.aagiftsandbaskets.com/

Bath & body works gift sets: http://www.bathandbodyworks.com/family/index.jsp?categoryId=18375076&cp=12587013&cm_re=Gifts-_-Banner3-_-ggifts_40u_s15_none_ls

The body shop gift sets: http://www.thebodyshop-usa.com/gifts/view-all-gifts.aspx#/view-all-gifts.aspx

Victoria’s secret lotion & perfume sets: https://www.victoriassecret.com/beauty/gift-sets

Coffrets at Ulta.com: http://www.ulta.com/ulta/a/_/Ntt-coffret/Nty-1?Dy=1&ciSelector=searchResults

Coffrets at Sephora: http://www.sephora.com/search/search.jsp?keyword=coffret

Rollerballs at Sephora: http://www.sephora.com/search/search.jsp?keyword=rollerballs

Gifts at Sephora: http://www.sephora.com/gifts-for-her?sortBy=price%3A0%3A%3AP_PROD_NAME%3A0%3A%3AP_DEFAULT_SKU%3A1

Flowers: www.1800flowers.com

Custom photo m&m’s: http://www.mymms.com/utility.aspx

Personalized things at Walmart: http://www.walmart.com/browse/gifts-registry/personalized-gifts/1094765_133224/?cat_id=1094765_133224&facet=occasion:Valentine%27s%20Day

Personalized photo products at Walmart: http://photos.walmart.com/walmart/storepage/storePageId=Mugs