Ok, so it isn't the 1500s, and you aren't William Shakespeare. Therefore, doting her by way of a romantic sonnet might not be what's in store for that special gift. What, then? Maybe you are teetering on caving into the idea of the ever-impersonal gift card ? ooh, better yet, a universal gift card that can be used anywhere.
Stop right there.
Sure, we all love money. But what most of us love even more, is to be thought of with deep consideration; to have someone know us well enough to choose a gift that is fitting for us, to know that someone cares enough to take that extra step.
Money is a fine gift for your favorite local charity. It is even of good character to drop a few bucks into the collection plate on Sunday. However, to give the gift of cash (even when it is disguised by an American Express logo) to someone with whom you personally interact, is socially inept. You may as well crumple up a fifty-dollar bill, slap it in her hand, and bark something to the effect of, ?Hey, go buy yourself something nice because you're not important enough for me to do it myself.?
Instead of giving someone an open-ended gift, why don't you take just a few extra minutes, and go that extra mile? The difference would be between giving a thoughtless gift and giving one with character. Give a gift that she will remember, not one that she will forget all about, as it becomes wedged between a credit card receipt and a flattened pack of Wrigley's, in the confines of of a Louis Vuitton.
Take, for instance, a chocolate gift basket. You cannot go wrong with chocolate. Research has shown that a moderate intake of dark chocolate has many positive health benefits. Firstly, it has been clinically proven to reduce LDL cholesterol. It can also reduce blood pressure in individuals with hypertension. You might even be surprised to know that dark chocolate stimulates the production of endorphins in the brain. (Just in case you nodded off the day Professor X covered this in Intro to Psychology class, endorphins give off the feeling of pleasure.)
Not only does chocolate have healthy rewards, it speaks a million different phrases in one universal language that everyone understands. It speaks in tongues, so to speak. Chocolate says, ?I love you.? Chocolate says, ?I'm sorry.? Chocolate says, ?Congratulations.? Chocolate says, ?Thank you.?
One of the greatest things about this gift idea is that, with most gifts, you can only give them one time, or else they will lose meaning. With a unique and sophisticated chocolate gift basket, you can give repeatedly, and the recipient will appreciate it just as much as the first time.
Maybe words don't flow from your quill quite like they once did from Shakespeare's, but that doesn't mean you can't give a gift that's even sweeter, and equally meaningful. The next time you are having a hard time finding the right words, let a chocolate gift basket do the talking for you.
