Christmas Shopping for a New Love

Christmas is a magical time of year, especially for those of us paired off and in love. If you are in a new relationship, however, Christmas can be a bit unnerving. What do you get for your new love? How much should you spend? How personal should your gift be? These are questions that plague those in the honeymoon stage of their relationship and beyond. There really is no blanket system that will work for every relationship or every person, but here are some basic tips that may make your holiday shopping a little bit easier on you, your piece of mind, and perhaps your wallet.

(1) If you have just started a new relationship, buy a small but meaningful Christmas gift for your significant other. Pick out something that you know that your significant other would appreciate but would not necessarily purchase for themselves. Something like a CD that they have talked about but have not bought for themselves, a movie that you went to see together, or something that they would consider a luxury like a pedicure kit. The more personal, the better, and price should not really be a consideration with this kind of gift. If you find a book that your significant other has been talking about non stop for a month on the half off shelf, consider yourself lucky and maybe throw in a pretty bookmark.

(2) No matter how long you have been together, do not dwell on the price. You should not have to set spending limits. If you spend a lot of time together, you are most likely going to know what expectations are in that capacity. A very expensive but thoughtless gift is not, most likely, going to carry the same meaning as an inexpensive but very thoughtful gift. Just the same, if you set a ten dollar spending limit, but you have had your eyes on a DVD box set that your honey has been drooling over all year, it could cause an argument if you ignore the spending limit.

(3) Do not worry too much about what you think social expectations are in terms of Christmas shopping. Do what feels right to you. If commercials are telling you that your significant other wants a ride on lawnmower, but your gut is saying that they want a new movie and a night at home with you, or tickets to their favorite team's next home game, chances are that you are probably the one that is right. After all, you are the one that is in the relationship.

As a general rule, if you are not sure, anything that initiates together time or an outing/activity is a pretty good and a little bit unusual gift item. Think about planning a Christmas matinee to see that movie that your sweetheart has been talking about non-stop. Make a night of it with dinner before and maybe take-home dessert afterwards. Coupon books are another good idea. Be creative, be thoughtful, but most importantly be yourself.

Michael Contaro http://www.christmasseasonhq.com For All Your Holiday Gifts

Michael Contaro is the creator of http://www.christmasseasonhq.com For All Your Holiday Gifts

In The News:

Yahoo! News: Top Stories

Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, right, hugs his French counterpart Nicolas Sarkozy at the end of a press conference on Tuesday Jan. 6, 2009 in Sharm el-Sheik, Egypt. Sarkozy said Wednesday Jan. 7, 2009 that Israel and the Palestinian Authority have accepted an Egyptian-French plan for Gaza.   (AP Photo/Eric Feferberg/Pool)AP - The U.N. Security Council approved a resolution Thursday night calling for an immediate and durable cease-fire between Hamas militants and Israeli forces in Gaza. The U.S. abstained from the 14-0 vote.



Rep. Jack Franks (D-Woodstock) votes to recommend the impeachment of Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich to the House during an Illinois House Impeachment Committee hearing Thursday, Jan. 8, 2009, in Springfield, Ill. The committee voted unanimously to recommend impeachment putting the matter before the full house.  (AP Photo/Seth Perlman)AP - A key panel unanimously recommended impeachment for Gov. Rod Blagojevich on Thursday, setting up a vote that could make him the first governor to face such fate in Illinois' sordid political history. Blagojevich should lose his job for abusing power, mismanaging government and committing possible criminal acts, including federal allegations he tried to sell off a U.S. Senate seat, the special committee concluded.



President-elect Barack Obama speaks about the economy at George Mason University in Fairfax, Va.,  Thursday, Jan. 8, 2009. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)AP - President-elect Barack Obama's proposed tax cuts ran into opposition Thursday from senators in his own party who said they wouldn't do much to stimulate the economy or create jobs. Senators from both parties agreed that Congress should do something to stimulate the economy. But Democratic senators emerging from a private meeting of the Senate Finance Committee criticized business and individual tax cuts in Obama's stimulus plan.



U.S. General David Petraeus, the commander overseeing military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, talks during a conference in Rome December 9, 2008. (Tony Gentile/Reuters)AP - U.S. policy to win in Afghanistan must recognize the poor nation's limitations and its neighborhood, especially its intertwined relationship with U.S. terrorism-fighting ally Pakistan, the top U.S. military commander in the region said Thursday.



Vice President Dick Cheney pauses during an interview with the Associated Press at the White House in Washington Thursday, Jan. 8, 2009. (AP Photo/Ron Edmonds)AP - Vice President Dick Cheney said Thursday that he sees no reason for President George W. Bush to pre-emptively pardon anyone at the CIA involved in harsh interrogations of suspected terrorists. "I don't have any reason to believe that anybody in the agency did anything illegal," he said.



Directors of the BART transit agency listen to public comments on Thursday, Jan. 8, 2009, in Oakland, Calif. Speakers criticized the agency for its handling of a New Year’s Days incident involving a BART police officer who shot and killed unarmed 22-year-old Oscar Grant. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)AP - In grainy cell-phone videos played over and over on the Internet, police officers force an unarmed black man to the ground and hold him face-down on a crowded train platform. Suddenly one of the officers draws his gun and fatally shoots the man in the back — then looks up.



AP - An anti-tax group will consider new legal action after a California appeals court tossed out a lawsuit that sought to block tax increases passed by Democrats in the state Legislature, the group said Thursday.

The east side apartment building where Bernard Madoff remains under house arrest is seen Thursday, Jan. 8, 2009, in New York. Prosecutors said Thursday that investigators found 100 signed checks worth $173 million in Bernard Madoff's office desk that he was ready to send out to his closest family and friends at the time of his arrest last month. (AP Photo/ Louis Lanzano)AP - Prosecutors said Thursday that investigators found 100 signed checks worth $173 million in Bernard Madoff's office desk that he was ready to send out to his closest family and friends at the time of his arrest last month in what is alleged to be largest financial fraud in history.



AP - A funeral home might be a place for eternal rest, but police say an Arkansas man saw an opportunity to build a methamphetamine lab undisturbed by the living. There was just one problem — the funeral home was across the street from the sheriff's office.

Florida's Tim Tebow (15) tackles Oklahoma's Gerald McCoy (93) after McCoy intercepted a Tebow pass during the second quarter of the BCS Championship NCAA college football game in Miami, Thursday, Jan. 8, 2009. (AP Photo/J. Pat Carter)AP - Heisman Trophy winners Tim Tebow and Sam Bradford traded touchdown passes to start the second quarter and No. 1 Florida and No. 2 Oklahoma were tied 7-7 at halftime of the BCS national championship game Thursday night.



Israeli soldiers take their positions during Israel's offensive in the Gaza Strip January 8, 2009, in this picture released by Israel's Defence Forces (IDF). Israel is bent on halting Hamas rocket fire on its southern towns. Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said the goal that 'quiet will reign supreme' in the area had not been achieved. A decision on further military action 'is still ahead of us', he said. More than a dozen rockets hit southern Israel on Thursday. (Doron Keren/IDF/Handout/Reuters)Reuters - The U.N. Security Council called for an immediate ceasefire in the Gaza Strip but Israeli warplanes launched intermittent attacks on Friday.



President-elect Barack Obama at a news conference in Chicago, December 7, 2008. (Jeff Haynes/Reuters)Reuters - President-elect Barack Obama warned on Thursday the U.S. economy could stay mired in recession for years without bold action and he urged lawmakers to work day and night to pass a massive stimulus plan.



People taking the Long Island Foreclosure Tour arrive at a foreclosed home for sale in New Hyde Park, New York in this May 17, 2008 file photo. Citigroup could soon agree to principles that would let troubled borrowers save their homes through bankruptcy, sources familiar with the talks said on Thursday, while industry groups are easing their opposition to the plan. (Shannon Stapleton/Reuters)Reuters - Financial giant Citigroup Inc will support a proposal in Congress to rewrite U.S. bankruptcy law to help troubled mortgage borrowers avoid foreclosure, Chief Executive Vikram Pandit said on Thursday.



Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich gestures as he announces former Illinois Attorney General Roland Burris as his choice to fill the vacant U.S. Senate seat of President-elect Barack Obama during a news conference in Chicago, Illinois December 30, 2008. (Frank Polich/Reuters)Reuters - A legislative committee on Thursday recommended the impeachment of Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, citing widespread abuse of power including allegations he tried to sell the U.S. Senate seat vacated by President-elect Barack Obama.



Usama al-Kini, Al Qaeda's operations chief in Pakistan, is pictured in this undated FBI Most Wanted photograph. Al-Kini, also known as Fahid Mohammed Ally Msalam, and a top aide are believed to be dead, a U.S. counterterrorism official said on January 8, 2009, in what appeared to be the latest results of a campaign targeting the militant group's leadership. Operations chief al-Kini was thought responsible for attacks, including the bombing of a Marriott hotel in Islamabad that killed 55 people in September, and an unsuccessful attempt to kill former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, who was later assassinated in a separate attack, the official said. (FBI/Handout/Reuters)Reuters - Al Qaeda's operations chief in Pakistan and a top aide are believed to be dead, a U.S. counterterrorism official said on Thursday, in what appeared to be the latest results of a campaign targeting the militant group's leadership.



Reuters - Some friends of accused swindler Bernard Madoff considered him a "warm and charming" man, and one of his alleged victims praised him just before his death in 2005, Fox Business Network reported on Thursday.

Virginia Governor Tim Kaine (L) delivers remarks after being announced as the new Democratic National Committee chairman by U.S. President-elect Barack Obama in Washington, January 8, 2009. (Jim Young/Reuters)Reuters - President-elect Barack Obama named Tim Kaine as head of the Democratic Party on Thursday, rewarding an early supporter with a high-profile political post even as he continues to serve as Virginia governor.



A man works near a pressure gauge at a district heating plant in Skopje January 8, 2009. (Ognen Teofilovski/Reuters)Reuters - Europe on Friday looked for a swift restoration of gas supplies, after striking a deal with Moscow on monitoring gas shipments via Ukraine that have been halted by a rancorous pricing dispute with Kiev.



US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice speaks to an unidentified aide during a Security Council meeting at the United Nations. The UN Security Council voted to call for an AFP - The UN Security Council voted to call for an "immediate, durable" ceasefire in the Gaza Strip leading to the "full withdrawal" of Israeli forces, but the United States abstained.



A man carries firewood in the suburbs of Sofia, Bulgaria. Hopes for a quick resumption of Russian gas supplies to Europe were rising Friday after Russia agreed on the terms for the deployment of monitors in Ukraine.(AFP/Dimitar Dilkoff)AFP - Hopes for a quick resumption of Russian gas supplies to Europe were rising Friday after Russia agreed on the terms for the deployment of monitors in Ukraine.




Fathers Day Gift Ideas for Dad!

Father's Day...Father's Day only one month away! Father's Day is Sunday, June... Read More

5 Tips to Reduce Holiday Depression

While war and poor economic conditions begin to affect people all over... Read More

Hassle-Free Holiday Baking: 6 Easy Days to Perfect Christmas Cookies

Like many people, I love the idea of making a large assortment... Read More

The Origin of the Christmas Tree

Have you ever wondered why we decorate a tree for Christmas? What... Read More

It?s Time to Start Thinking about Mothers Day

Mother's Day is approaching fast. This year it falls on Sunday, May... Read More

Important Chinese Festivals

Chinese New Year/Lunar New Year (January/February)It is usually in the winter of... Read More

Corporate Holiday Gift Ideas Start With a Possibilities List

Plan ahead this year for your corporate clients and associates holiday gifts.Now... Read More

Colored Contacts For Halloween - Make Sure YOU Dont Go Bump In The Night!

Ok, the end of October is approaching, and you desperately want some... Read More

Unique Gift Ideas -- The Gift Of Fitness

Well, it's almost that time of year again ? the holiday shopping... Read More

Happy Holidays? It?s Up To You

The Holiday Season. Does time seem to compress, or is it just... Read More

Birthday Gift Ideas

Birthday celebrations date back as far as biblical times, when celebrations among... Read More

The Bloated Bar Mitzvah Celebration: 6 Ways to Take It Back

Bar Mitzvah celebrations have grown exponentially in size and scope in the... Read More

Fourth of July Safety

Of all the holidays throughout the year, the Fourth of July typically... Read More

Christmas Mourning

Deecember is a cruel month. Christmas sales, decorations, advertisements -everyone seems so... Read More

Easy Costumes Kids Can Make

The kindergarten class I was teaching was scheduled to perform a dramatic... Read More

Some Valuable Steps On Applying Clown Makeup! Seriously, Were Not Clowning Around Here

Who doesn't love being a clown? It's a great costume idea for... Read More

Animatronic Halloween Props - Cardboard Carpentry

One of the most inexpensive ways to create stonewalls in your home/haunt... Read More

How to Reduce Your Stress this Christmas

In theory Christmas is a time that is filled with joy and... Read More

Christmas Gifts to Last a Lifetime

Do you know what you are giving to the children on you... Read More

Alone for the Holidays?

Being alone is a challenge for many people. This challenge may loom... Read More

The Magic Of Gift Giving At Christmas

Regardless of age, almost everyone can remember at least a few magic... Read More

Contact Lenses for Halloween

It is never too soon to begin planning the perfect Halloween costume,... Read More

Dont Want Another Carpet Sweeper This Year For Christmas?

Unique "Drop-A-Hint" Plan Sends Your Gift Wishes Via E-mailSure, they love you... Read More

How to Put Some Sizzle in Your Summer Parties: 5 Ways to be a Gracious Host and a Great Guest

Now that the hot weather is finally here, we are looking forward... Read More

Free Christian Ecard and Christian Ecards

A free Christian ecard is comprised of inspirational quotes, musical greetings, messages... Read More

Three Steps to Reduce Holiday Stress for Your Kitty

The annual holidays can be a very stressful time for your cat.... Read More

Valentine?s Day Ideas for Singles

Maybe your significant other is overseas in the military. Maybe you have... Read More

Christmas Lights Add Sparkle To The Holidays

Electric Christmas lights have been around since the 1880's. It is no... Read More

Thats the Christmas Spirit

Last Christmas, Uncle Albert promised his neighbor, Wilson, to find a way... Read More

Kid Birthday Party Game Ideas - 7 Proven Winners

Here are 7 classic kid birthday party game ideas that are always... Read More

Are You Going To Survive The Holidays?

Admit it! You promised this year was not going to be like... Read More

Holiday Dieting: A Sweet Way To Cheat!

If your diet is making you a humbug this season, there's some... Read More

5 Ways to Having the Happiest Valentines Day Ever (even if youre alone)

The thought of Valentine's Day conjures up romantic evenings, a candlelight dinner,... Read More

The Last Laugh: Parental Pranks for April 1

The exact origin of April Fool's Day is uncertain, but popular belief... Read More

The Only Way to Turn New Year Resolutions Into Reality!

So you ate, drank and spent too much over the Holidays. Now... Read More

Jewelry As A Father?s Day Gift

It is widely known that many men enjoy fine jewelry. So, why... Read More

Choosing Childrens Birthday Party Supplies and Decorations

Birthday party supplies and decorations can bring that necessary magic to make... Read More

Top 50 Christmas Quotations

"Let us remember that the Christmas heart is a giving heart, a... Read More

Top Ten Tips To A Terrific Valentine?s Day - For Men in Relationships

Okay guys, so this is a great opportunity to get back in... Read More

Fathers Day and Flowers

Father's Day is about to be celebrated in Australia. The first Sunday... Read More

Christmas Tree Topper Ornaments

From my childhood memories, pride of place on the top of Christmas... Read More

Seven Valentine?s Day Tips for Spouses in ?Less-Than-Perfect? Marriages

Valentine's Day can be a depressing day when you're in an unhappy... Read More

How to Make a Gift Basket

Gift Baskets are an ideal gift for nearly any occasion. Gift baskets... Read More

Sweet 16th Birthday Party Ideas

Is there any party more delightful than sweet 16? If you're stuck... Read More

Christmas Gifts For Bird Lovers

Choosing gifts for any animal lovers can be quite a pleasure, as... Read More

Nine Questions To Ask Yourself Before You Head To The Office Party

One thing you can count on during the holiday season is the... Read More

Legends of the Christmas Tree

The Christmas tree is a much loved symbol iinstantly calling up images... Read More