Birthday Ideas for the Boyfriend or Girlfriend

I know sometimes, important occasions tend to clash, e.g. your boyfriend/girlfriend's birthday falls on Christmas or Valentine's etc. & it gets hard to decide what to get for them! So I'll do what I can & help you identify or come up with the best solution or suggestion!

1. What is your budget? & What is your spending power?
2. Is there any special occasion clashing with the actual birthday?
3. Ask yourself how well do you know him/her?

These should be 3 simple questions that you should have researched or found the answers to, to better facilitate this whole gift hunting/celebration planning process!

1. What is your budget? 

Relatively, everyone thinks that birthdays are a big deal occasion, which of course, I don't fail to agree, BUT, that doesn't mean you have to spend a bomb to make it worthy or memorable! I understand if this is the first birthday of his/her you are spending for but you have to think along the line whereby you both are going to have a long way ahead, a future together, & which that would mean that you both have plenty of birthdays to spend together! Also, if you are relatively young, say the teen hood or 13-19, I don't see why you can't be thrifty & spend lesser! Being a teen would mean less/no income & also, being a teen these days happen to spend more than teenagers back in the older days, which mean more expenditure, less revenue. Hence, if you are restrained by your spending power, you should work on areas such as the celebration as in the location etc to make it more 'extravagant' & not overspend! Thus, it is important to set aside a budget!

• If you have a relatively low budget(say this month you are tight on cash or whatnot), you may choose to an affordable gift say, a pullover, simple bagpack, perfume, cologne, or get creative & customise your very own vouchers! E.g. Free kisses for the entire night, 1 Night of star-gazing session, 1 Time use of 30 minutes full body massage.
• Making a scrapbook for him/her or even scrapbooking together is just as thoughtful and interesting!
• Having a photo album filled with photos of both of you, & messages can be an alternative to scrapbooking if you find it too tedious.
• Sewing/knitting for him/her may be tedious, but the outcome is pretty much rewarding! Wouldn't you love to be given something so thoughtful and practical? Of course, if doesn't have to be the entirely sewn, it could be stitching of the initials or name of his/hers, a knitted scarf(which my one of my girlfriends managed to learn within 1 week from watching a video on knitting).
• Baking a cake would be deemed as sweet and at the same time, relatively cheaper as compared to ordering a pretty cake outside.
• Without a low budget, you may choose to get that camera/gadget that he/she has been eyeing on for a good long time with strong determination to save up for!
• A good watch or necklace with engraving is practical and fashionable, a wallet that he/she has been wanting/dying to have is also a brilliant idea too.
• & for the celebration, you may choose to have a picnic by the beach or whatsoever, cause it's the thoughts that really counts after all! Water/land theme parks would be great too. Or you may even consider a home-cooked dinner, specially prepared just by you!
• If you have the ability to spend slightly above average, you may choose to consider throwing a party for him/her, say book a hotel room or a chalet, or make a reservation at the bar or whatnot(provided you are of age) and spend a great time there! Then again, you may choose to surprise him/her at your house or his/her house by decorating it too! Dining at restaurants can be simple at the same time, extravagant, depending on which sort of dining you can afford.
• But remember, you will be spending many birthdays together, so it's always not to set your benchmark too high & make it harder to achieve/meet/balance it the next birthday!
• Also, usually the couple would want to be fair for each other's celebrations, so it's important to not set the standards a lil too hard to match up to.

2. Any special occasion that is going to clash with the actual birthday of his/hers?

If the answer is Yes, what occasion? If it's Christmas, you may refer back to my post, here, to get a rough idea what to get and perhaps, fuse the idea with the few I've mentioned earlier on!
If it's Valentine's, you might want to make it seem more detailed or extravagant! Most girls by nature, MOST, love receiving flowers, not too excessively of course, cause it can actually defeat the entire purpose of giving, or may make it seem less significant. Otherwise, every girl deserves a rose or even a bouquet, on Valentine's! As for the guys, of course we girls aren't able to shower you with roses or flowers, BUTTTT, you can choose to give shopping vouchers for gaming, clothing or whatnot that they may be into, for additional gifts in replacement for roses!
But of course, having said that, these should be on top of the actual gift you are going to present to your loved one!

3. Ask yourself how well do you know him/her?
Firstly, you need to know if he/she NEEDS anything at the moment? Say, a defective bag, a smelly perfume, an ugly/over-worn hoodie or cap, that needs to be replaced? If yes, you should get it replaced! But of course, within the budget that you have set for yourself!
Secondly, if he/she has got everything that he/she needs, what does he/she likes/loves? Or even, has been eyeing on for? If it's that new pair of sneakers, or blouse that they really want to get, make sure you have their measurements clarified with you to prevent any changes of disappointment later on!
Lastly, if you happen to be unable to answer to the above questions....you should try getting a gift that is practical comparing to a gift that is presentable. Practical in a way whereby, it gets to be used, presentable is more of, a memory item whereby it has no useful functions but just for decorations. Generic gifts such as a  tumbler, t-shirt, water bottle, mug, puzzles etc can be great ideas too!
To make the generic gifts more interesting, customise them! You may choose to use a photo of yours to be a puzzle, or a favourite photo of his/hers to be printed onto the mug or tumbler! Engravings on pens or necklaces/bracelets etc are practical and stylish too!

I hope this post managed to clear some of your doubts or solve the headache for a few of you out there!
If you have any ideas to contribute, be sure to share! & of course, if you need further assistance, feel free to drop a comment!

Happy Holidays!

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