Unless you’re a total Grinch, you know how satisfying it is to give someone a gift they absolutely adore. It is sometimes better to give than to receive. That is, if you choose the appropriate gift.

Finding the perfect gift for your significant other, on the other hand, can become complicated—even stressful. You’re stumbling around a department store, wondering, “Is this too cheap?” What is the limit of how cheap is too cheap? Is jewelry going to put me on the fast track to marriage? Do I even want to get married yet? Or you could fool yourself by questioning whether to get her anything at all. Suddenly, you find yourself breaking out in a cold sweat, contemplating whether your gift (or lack thereof) will make or break your relationship.

If this sounds like you in a nutshell, take a deep breath and relax your shoulders—I’ve come to bring you very good news! Whether you and your girlfriend have been together for a couple of weeks, a few months, or one year and beyond, this brief guide will show you what gift to get your better half.

Less Than 2 Weeks

So, you and your significant other have been together for a couple of weeks now. Good for you! Right now, you and your girlfriend are at the lovey-dovey stage, where almost nothing can go wrong! We say almost because there are some things you can that will make her turn her heels and leave out the door.

At this stage, you should keep your gifts relatively simple. Try getting her a bouquet of flowers or a box of chocolates. We know—it sounds cliché, and you’re probably thinking to yourself, “Wow, how creative,” with a hint of sarcasm, but listen up. At this stage in your relationship, if you’re truly honest with yourself, you don’t know a thing about your girlfriend. Nothing.

Right now, the best thing you can do is to play it cool and neutral. Flowers and chocolates show that you care, but they’re not long-lasting commitments, like showing up at her door with a new puppy.

1 Month or So

At the one-month mark, you should have a pretty good idea of what your girlfriend likes and dislikes. Still, your relationship is blossoming, and you don’t want to scare her off with your inner weirdness just yet. You have to be careful with what you present her as a gift, but it can’t just be a simple bouquet (unless you’ve already potentially messed up your relationship).

So, instead of giving her some flowers, give her some flowers along with breakfast. Homemade waffles or pancakes are ideal, but if you’re not particularly handy in the kitchen, you should take her out to her favorite breakfast diner.

Alternatively, if you’re celebrating your one-month-or-so anniversary in the middle of the day, why not take her out to the park and enjoy a beautiful picnic? It won’t hurt to take a bottle of classy booze with you on your day out, but just make sure neither of you lovebirds is driving.

2-6 Months

You and your girlfriend have been together for about eight to 24 weeks now. That’s between 60 and 180 days of romance shared between the two of you. Surely, it’s time to ditch the breakfasts and picnics and get into the more serious gifts, right? You’re absolutely right.

But don’t shell out on expensive jewelry just yet! By now, you should have a good idea of each other’s interests, but that doesn’t mean you have to spend a hefty chunk of your life savings on a diamond necklace! That comes a lot later! Instead, you should take her out to a fancy dinner. By fancy, we’re talking about a top-echelon restaurant that has a certain dress code.

Now, spending a few hundred bucks on a lavish night out can be a dream, but if you really want to make a good impression, why not present her with a small gift? And by small, we mean flowers.

6-12 Months

At this point, you and your girlfriend already have cute pet names for each other that your friends are sick of hearing. You’ve probably had your first huge fight and made up with a night of passion that your neighbors weren’t too happy about hearing from the other side of your thin apartment walls.

But one thing is pretty clear here: that you and your significant other are getting pretty serious. And why not prove to her that you’re in it for the long run by getting her an elaborate present? A nice dinner and flowers would be nice, but if you really want to up your game, swap the flowers out for a pair of nice earrings.

Over 1 Year

At the 12-month mark and beyond, you really shouldn’t be coming to me or anyone else for gift advice. You should already have a deep understanding of what your girlfriend (maybe soon-to-be-wife?) likes and dislikes. After all, you’ve only been dating her for at least one year!

After dating for this long, there’s really nothing you can do wrong. Even showing up at her home or apartment with something as silly as windshield wipers would probably put a smile on her face. But if you really want to make an effort, you’ll want to give her what she actually wants.

I’m not alone in saying that women, in general, care immensely about their personal appearance. After dating for a year, offering her something like a bottle, tub, or vial of skincare lotion won’t come off as weird, and (hopefully) she won’t take personal offense to it. I know for a fact that a cleansing gel can mean a lot, especially if she doesn’t have the time to shop for the stuff on her own.

Final Thoughts

Look, it’s important to treat every person as an individual. While some women may want jewelry on the first date, others will be more than happy to just sit on the couch and binge-watch Friends for the umpteenth time next to their boyfriend. We’ve only provided a few suggestions that we think your girlfriend will love, but in the end, it’s on you to come up with the right gift for all occasions.

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