WHAT TO GIVE WOMEN AS PRESENTS!!! (Feel free to send the men in your life this link)

What to give women as presents…
I’m writing this post for I feel like a lot of men are clueless what to buy women.  And it is a challenge!  It’s always difficult shopping for the opposite sex.  And many factors come into play, whether you’re friends, family, coworkers, or it’s your significant other.  Feel free to give the men in your life the link to this post to clue them into what they should be giving you.
This past Christmas we had secret santa at my job.  I gave someone else a lovely luggage bag, whilst I got a ratty looking gray scarf that looked like it was $5.  Another coworker of mine said SHE got a xmas ornament that said, “The world’s best firefighter”.  I just wanted to shake my head.  And it’s what inspired me to write this post.I will give you the best gift options for women:

-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.

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-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.

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-Wallets, or bags: These always make nice presents.  I know a girl who gave her bridesmaids wristlets as presents after her wedding.  And a girl could always use a new wallet when the old one starts to wear down.  A decent wallet should cost at least $20.  A decent bag should cost $40 or more.  For good quality bags, you should get Michael Kors or Tory Burch.  (Or higher) However, a Michael Kors’s bag will set you back like $200.  However, for me, when I get a bag I’m looking for quality, because I’ve had too many cheap bags fall apart.  However much you feel like spending on a present is up to you.
 

-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.

-Cell phone cases: Everyone adores cell phone cases!!  The only stipulation here is that you must know what kind of cell phone she has.  As a present someone gave me several cell phone cases; & I returned the favor to someone else.  Tip:give a few so that she has some options to choose from.   Not every girl loves “blingy” cases.  And do not give this to grandma especially if she doesn’t have a cell phone.
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-Personalized gifts: This greatly varies upon the person you’re giving it to.  If you go to Walmart.com, they have a personalized section where you can i.e. get pictures printed on t-shirts, coffee mugs, etc.  Now they have all kinds of personalized gifts for every occasion.  I once gave a friend, a mug with a photo of her, her husband & child printed on a coffee mug.  They quite adored the gift.  And they’re not expensive, they could cost starting like $12.  You could get your girlfriend m&ms with your faces printed on them.  Or as a wedding present to your wife (or another couple) else you could get your (or their) names engraved on a photo frame.  (The frame below is on Walmart for only $25.  Not so expensive.)  If you have a close friend, i.e. for example who loves London, if you could get a photo of her there (maybe off Facebook or something) and have the photo printed on a mug for her.  It would be a personalized gift, something unique, special, & most likely no one else has given her.  And she would probably adore it like my friends did.  Check below for links.
-Scented candles: if you’re giving them as a gift, this is NOT the time to hit the dollar store.  I have a co worker who received a rose scented candle that she loved & adored.  Most women like candles, to have in the living room/bathroom.  Lavender is said to be relaxing.  For a romantic night, light up the whole room with candles & have a romantic dinner at home.  She’ll never forget that.  Who says that romance is dead?

-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.

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-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.

Exception: If you have a friend/coworker, and her birthday/xmas is coming up & she adores costume jewelry, then by all means get some for her.  In terms of costume jewelry, hair accessories always make great gifts.


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.

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-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

Shu Uemura products: http://www.shuuemura-usa.com/Special-Offers/special_offers-beauty,default,sc.html?gclid=CjwKEAiA0uGmBRDwj7mE1v-LlCYSJADxH16OF67f0W4UN65YPaUzL1kPUWSAyOdqNlb1UHXUjnxUmBoClQvw_wcB

239 thoughts on “WHAT TO GIVE WOMEN AS PRESENTS!!! (Feel free to send the men in your life this link)”

  4. Great gift ideas! I can find many things on that list that I would love. Love the small vials of perfume, such a great idea versus a large bottle that they may not like. Thanks!

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  5. It really is difficult to buy for the opposite sex and can be a challenge to buy for a woman if she already she lots of things. Gifts of jewelry are always appreciated and chocolate anything. Flowers? Not for me. Very nice post.

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  6. I seriously don’t understand why guys think it’s so hard to shop for girls.. just get us something that we normally wouldn’t treat ourselves to! Makeup, candles, soap, anything extra hah! I know I’m not picky! It’s the thought that counts!

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  10. I totally agree with this article as I like to put time and effort into selecting a gift for someone and refuse to buy something cheap. What I really dislike is when someone regifts something to me that I have no interest in and obviously neither did they.

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  14. Excellent thoughts here. I would be glad to receive most of the things listed. I especially like your suggestion to buy sets of perfume or makeup. Usually there will be something that is liked, if not everything, so, to me, it is always a good idea to buy sampler sets. I think I’ll show this page to my sons and husband. Thanks!

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  17. I love these ideas, especially the phone cases! It’s like an accessory for women and I would love to get a few new phone cases for Mothers Day!

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  19. So many great gift ideas. Myself, I’m happy with just about anything from flowers to tech but mostly chocolate 😉

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  22. What a great post! There were several things on your list that I would love to receive that I hadn’t even thought of suggesting for gifts.

    Every year my dad buys my mom some kind of kitchen appliance. No lie. I need to print this for him.

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  26. Good choices, especially the chocolates. I also like getting gift cards so I can choose exactly what I like.

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  28. Pingback: The Most Elegant DIY Gifts! – fashionistabudget

  29. I personally would love these gifts but I know many women who would hate chocolates and flowers … Can’t please them all, they’ll want something they can return

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  30. I always love to get perfume or gift cards… Flowers are always nice too! Jewelry would be awesome, but I dont have that kind of guy lol

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  32. I think gift cards are a great idea to give as gifts. I give my Mom a gift card to our local mall and she loves it because she can pick out anything she wants.

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  34. I personally love all these gifts. I do love flowers, but oh my goodness they can be pretty pricy. I have the worst time buying gifts for my husband. He’s not a handy guy, so no tools, he doesn’t love his car, he’s not overtly geeky or nerdy (but this is what I tend to get him). I don’t like doing gift cards. It is just difficult. Maybe it’s just my husband? Anyone else have this issue, what do you give the men in your life?

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    1. It IS hard to shop for men. And I think mainly because there aren’t that many gifts that are universally liked. For every man you should take his interests into consideration & then go from there. (Like I said about women) i.e. my man is a big Yankee fan, so every year for his birthday I get him tickets to a game. He’s also a chocolate lover & for Valentine’s day I got him a case of Nutella! (which he loved!) I got a friend of ours once, mugs with pictures of his family & kids printed on it. (From the link that I provided above to Walmart’s personalized gifts) Sometimes it’s the thought that counts, not how much you spent on it. Every year I try to plan something for my man’s bday, & invite all his friends. Usually he’s usually very touched by the gesture & thanks me at the end of the night. I hope this answered your question & has helped you out!

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  35. I’m now following you on here. And I love this post and will definitely give this link to the couple of clueless men in my life who are always having a hard time shopping for gifts for women in the family. Thank you!

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  38. These are all really great ideas! Definitely need to send the men in my life this link – they all think I’m so difficult to buy for, but how hard is body products, bling, and chocolate! :p hehe

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