Hi everyone,

Its that time of year when you start realising not only is Xmas and new years coming, but also that you have no clue what to buy your girlfriend or wife for Xmas.

So I wanted to start a thread for all those people (like myself) that are in some need of good ideas. I have always done nice things for my wife, got nice presents but I wanted to do something original.

I was going to put some details of how much I wanted to spend etc, but thought this thread could be for all different people with different budgets so lets just get some good ideas up.

So the floor is open...... ideas?

Good idea for a thread - I completely lack inspiration for Christmas pressies.

For girlies you can't go wrong with jewellery, perfume or vouchers for beauty treatments.

My husband kept buying me the next piece in the Samsonite collection of luggage for every birthday and Christmas until I asked him if he was trying to get rid of me.

Having said that there was method to his madness because one Christmas he surprised me with tickets for us both to go back to England for a long weekend - so the luggage came in handy.

Well i'd like to be more înventive than jewellery etc and my wife is not so into material things......

I once did a treasure hunt around our house for my ex. He had to follow all of the clues to find his presents............he loved it and it made it more fun The present wasn't anything that special just a box set of his favourite dvd's.

Well the treasure hunt is a good idea, makes it more fun. I will do that. Now I just need some idea's???

Is there no help out there?

What can I get a woman if she doesnt want material or beauty products?

I'd be gutted... all that work for some DVD's!!!!

Make her a nice meal... run her a bath with rose petals... turn on some candles... play her favourite: "the magic of the panpipes"... cucumbers on the eyes... and when she's all relaxed

you can settle down with a couple of beers and the footie.

I tend to be very hard to buy for, I don't need any more jewellery, I already have two rings and a pair of earrings. I am not a fan of being pummelled and rubbed and buffed up and I would throw saucy lingerie back at my husband if he got me some (he knows better!). For me, the best presents I have ever had were a photograph album - (it has to be a real one with tissue paper and mountings) that he had compiled and a picture our daughter painted that he had framed.
Goodness knows what I'll get this year and even worse, what I will get him.

Book a session at Migros Hammam for you both - it's great. Or give her the gift of language: book her into a course to learn a language she doesn't know.

Or, you could sponsor a child in a developing country. There are probably websites where you can set this up.

How about some vouchers where she can claim a massage from you whenever she want or have you cook dinner etc. ? I think you can buy these but it's also easy to make yourself. Obviously you can put vouchers for things you know she enjoys which are more personal to her. Another thing I love is to give someone a stocking with lots of little small gifts in it. It takes you straight back to your childhood

I like getting experiences more than material things. Opera tickets in Zurich, a weekend trip together somewhere she likes (I've loved both Edinburgh and Paris) or a wellness trip for her alone. My boyfriend took me to the Knie Circus the first year we were dating. It was very romantic.

Or buy them things you'd like

"I'm sorry darling, I thought you'd always wanted a Playstation 3"

Good idea, sucks I already bought it in March!

A bowling ball with HOMER written on the side went down well with Marge in the Simpsons.

How about a nice day out or weekend away somewhere?

Don't tell her where you are going just make it a complete mystery tour. Me and my ex used to do that all the time.

An example being...

Last summer he took me to Oxford for the weekend. He made me book the Friday off work and didn't tell me anything except to pack for a weekend away, something nice for dinner, swimwear etc.... He even told me to pack my passport just in case to try and keep the location a secret! We got in the car and still he wouldn't tell me where we were going... I was randomly trying to guess by which motorway we were on and which direction we were going.... And he was highly amused and not giving in to me asking for clues!

He'd booked us into a really nice old manor house just outside of Oxford. We checked into hotel lazed around in the pool, steam room, and then had dinner. Saturday he then told me we had plans that evening but he still wouldn't tell me what we were doing so spent all day guessing... We drove into Oxford, wandered round for the day and I was frantically trying to work out what we were doing looking round the city for inspiration (theatre posters etc).... It was only at the last minute that I found out as our aimless milling around wasn't quite as random as what it seemed and we suddenly turned up outside one of the University colleges. He'd booked tickets for outdoor Shakespeare in the University Quadrangle. We sat drinking Pimms watched the performance and had a great time.

Sunday he drove us to Blenheim Palace (again he wouldn't tell me the plan for the day) where we spent the day wandering around.

So, my idea is that you take her on a mystery weekend to somewhere she'd like to go and fill it full of activities she likes, but don't tell her anything until the last possible minute. The guessing makes it much more fun! OK some aspects of the gift may be material such as hotels, restaurants etc but you also get to spend time with each other and its so much more personal if she knows you've spent time and effort planning the whole thing.

That's a good idea. i have done it before a few times to Milan, Montruex and its hard to arrange like that for xmas because of the weather but its one for list.

I am with the poster about personal experiences, used to be called a a red letter day or something like that. Something that they have always wanted to try or something unusual. And I would love a spa day or weekend somewhere nice. Hope my DH is reading this. Of course a great new piece of clothing would work too like a new gorgeous coat or pair of nice leather boots. Ok I am drooling here.

I DONT at ALL do household appliances for birthdays and xmas. Like a friend of ours, bought his wife a BBQ set for HER birthday, what a joke and another friend who bought his wife a new vacuum cleaner. I would divorce my husband if he even tried that!!!

How about a night in an igloo??? Its something different!!

That could be very cool, boardering cold

Totally off topic but I am so homesick now after reading about my hometown I wish my boyfriend would do that for me! anyone who knows him please drop hints for me........