Wedding Blog
Every year, Mr. Kiwi outdoes me in the gift department. For Christmas, he manages to get me everything I want and things I didn’t know I wanted. Same thing for birthdays! For example, last year he got me two pairs of shoes, as well as a ton of cute socks. What’s so interesting about that? He got the sizes right and also managed to get me the cutest shoes possible. He also got me a manicure set and different nail polishes and removers. He picked the perfect colors!
What did I give him last year? A subscription to Maxim, socks, and a bunch of video games and new controllers. LAME. Every year it gets harder to get him something - he either wants something and then doesn’t, or what he wants is some crappy nothing like socks.
I’m tired of being the sucky gift giver. How can I get him something good, but not bank breaking, since we are saving for the wedding? Who gives better gifts, you or your fiance?
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I think we’re about even in the gift giving department, although he is DEFINATELY the harder one to shop for! I TELL him what I want, whereas, he says he doesn’t need anything, or to just give him money! WTF? This year, I have NO CLUE what I’m going to give him…possibly a magazine subscription, although, I don’t have the self esteem to give him one of Maxim, Miss Kiwi! LOL…possibly a PC magazine since he’s going into computer networking/security…but other than that, I have NO CLUE what to give him!
We set a limit every year so that we don’t bust the bank. It kinda depends on our financial situation that year.
I’m definitely the easier one to shop for since I love lots of things, but I always manage to find something super cool that he didn’t even know he wanted.
K, he asks for MONEY?? Hahaha, these guys are priceless. Speaking of Maxim, yesterday I was playing my DS in bed, and Mr. Kiwi is next to me reading Maxim- or shall I say gasing at Maxim? I asked what the heck he was staring at, and his exact response? “Hometown Hotties”. 
I looked at it and there were no WORDS!! Bad Idea, Kiwi. 
He is sooo hard to shop for. Dang.
mr. bee beats me down in the gift dept - he only gets gifts that are super thoughtful… but i say that’s partly because he’s the hardest person in the world to shop for! he really doesnt want anything whereas i’m a greedy little monkey that likes everything. its so hard to shop for him, i prefer not to give each other gifts at all! 
I have a question along the same lines . . . What do you guys do if your guy asks for something that you think is either a complete waste of money or you don’t want at all? For example, my FI is asking for speaker stands (~$300) or a Nintendo WII. I think $300 is waaay too much money to be spending, especially on speaker STANDS and well, I just don’t like video games. I think they’re a distraction and I can’t stand guys who are of legal age that still plays games! So what do I do? Just try really really hard to find another “cool” gift?
We’re both pretty good with gifts, I’d say. Though I tend to stress about them a lot more–finding *just* the right thing, etc. Mr. Blueberry just does his thing, and I’m always wowed! In the year and a half we’ve been together, he’s given me a $50 VS gift card (he said he tried to actually buy something, but the sizes confused him and he didn’t want to insult me by buying the wrong size in either direction), some earrings I’ve been pining after *forever*, a book I’d mentioned once and forgotten that I’d wanted to read, and a gorgeous sapphire necklace–he’s never let me down! I’ve given him a pocketwatch, a fedora (souvenir from Chicago), fun boxers, DVDs, tickets to see Journey in concert, a crocheted scarf, and other little odds and ends.
Wow…looking at that list, maybe he is the better gift giver!
Mrs. Bee, I am so wanting to not do gifts this year, except for one condition: I am a total gift-grubber. I want pressies! So I was thinking I’d just buy Mr. Kiwi a ton of movies and let him go ahead and make me look bad again. Ooh, another Ipod? Well, here’s your fossil wallet. So sad.
My fiance and I are pretty even in the gift giving skill area, unless of course I/he ask for stupid things, like underwear. Fiance and I have basically begun to avoid surprises because we’re never entirely sure if the other will want it or it might be the wrong color/size/version. So for bdays and Xmas we now pretty much tell each other what we really want and then the smaller, add-on gifts are usually a surprise. This year FI wanted a Nintendo Wii and I wanted an iPod Nano, so we both spent the same amount on that and then have extra gifts beyond the big gift. FI usually outdoes me in the $ spent but I also shower him with gifts/surprises all through the year because I leave the house for work and usually end up shopping on the way home (curse me for working north of Paramus NJ and having to take the busiest shopping road in the US home).
I have no problem getting video games for the FI because he’s the MOST responsible video game enthusiast EVER. He can totally get lost in a game but if more pressing responsibilities await he stops playing and then when he’s done working he “rewards” himself with game time. Very unlike my two brothers … who are forever lost in the gaming world.
hahaha, Miss Kiwi, you crack me up. 
Mr. Lemon is an awesome gifter. He buys them yearround for everyone though. In fact, he bought me an instant gift before taking my mom & I out to brunch (first official meal with a parent)…that sure wooed my mom!
I’ve found that it’s fun to give themed gifts - pick a crazy theme and go wild. It doesn’t have to be too creative… once it was “7 things that start with S”! Then you can buy useful and useless gifts at the same time!
Mr. Orange needs a list from me to shop. He’s clueless. And I willingly give him a list with options in every price range. But, we are saving big time for the wedding and so, we’ve placed a $100 limit this year.
We’re usually on par with eachother in terms of gift giving…i gave him the first ipod that came out, he gave me a diamond necklace, i scoured every single BR store until i found the favorite jacket that he lost and his dream putter (which was especially hard since hes a leftie), i get a trip to the Bahamas. That is, until last year when we decided to pour all our extra money into a wedding fund. So we agreed on no gifts but I got him a CD anyway and he gives me……diamond earrings. so its Him 1, Me 0. I have no clue about this year though…maybe a new computer.
I usually take note throughout the year of things the FI talks about needing or wanting and then I get whatever is the most affordable, so that last few gifts I gave him were a PSP, a new suitcase and CDs that he’s been wanting. He either gets me new gadgets that come out or things he things I need, so it’s sort of hit or miss. His most recent gifts to me were a DS (which I love), an iPod (again, I love) and…. an electric toothbrush. 
Well, Mr. Kiwi’s gifts are always soo expensive, like the first ipod. And my nintendo ds, and perfume and things like that. I get him wallets, sunglasses and watches, all are mid-range price-wise ’cause I’m po’. He definitely gets paid more than I do, and I must say it pisses me off because I feel like a real schlub, he’s saved about 5k more for the wedding than I have. I am such a loser. Then again, I DO have to buy for 16 people and he only gets a few. So I totally end up spending more. I hate spending our hard earned wedding money!! But I DO love buying presents, it makes me feel good!
fi always gets me 12 gifts for christmas: some jokey, some serious. i always get him one very nice thing. overall, i think we are both very good gift-givers.
we declared a moratorium on gifts until the wedding, which is so hard for both of us!
My fiance is definately the better gift given. I’ve been suprised every time for my birthday and christmas. Last christmas i did the 12 days till christmas idea and gave him 12 smalle gifts with a note attached telling him much i loved him. In return he did the 3 wise men and presented me with a framed Magritte painting (for our future apt.), g.c. to Bliss and a cd that was more of an inside joke between us. How sweet… I am in the same quandry again this year. I’ll probably end up getting him something fun and small and save the surprise for his birthday/anniversary week in February. I am planning on wisking him away for the weekend to Toronto (he has never seen Niagra Falls).
i always have trouble finding stuff for the bf. mainly because he says he has everything he needs. and then the things he talks about wanting, he suddenly doesn’t want them anymore. aye. though i can be hard too since i never really know what i want. we’re a perfect pair.
one of my favorite gifts i gave him was a scale model of his favorite sports car. he later said he wanted the real thing that he could actually drive it so i told him he needed to be more specific next time. good times. my favorite gift he gave me was our promise ring.
he’s somewhat clueless as far as gift giving.. I wonder if it’s just a general guy thing to just go for the “safe” gifts like the Tiffany’s Return to Sender bracelet or pearls? I mean, most girls would prob. love that, but it’s really not me.. and he’s slowly figuring this out after however many years now..
bless his heart, he does try hard and stresses over what to get me, because I’m hard to shop for.. sometimes, I don’t think he realizes that it’s not about the amount you spend on a present but more about how much thought you took into personalizing that present…
Well, in general I would say I’m probably the better gift giver. He hates Christmas shopping so I typically give him a very detailed list of what I would like, and where he might find it. I always get something I want, and ever now and then he’ll surprise me with something not on the list. He now gives me a better list, but in the beginning it was like pulling teeth to get any ideas out of him. Some of the best gifts I’ve gotten him have been just little things that I noticed he could use, but he never bothered. I got him a set of 3 handkerchiefs a couple years ago, and figured he probably wouldn’t care much, but they were just $5 and he could use them cause his nose runs often. Well, all 3 of them have finally disappeared in the wash and he often mentions that he misses his handkerchiefs, so I’ll be getting him some more this year.
All this talk of gifts is making me want to shop! Anyone feel up to x-mas shopping with lazy Kiwi? 
We’re boring - we tell each other what we want so there are no surprises or disappointments! But that way we both get exactly what we want
my fiance is pretty good about getting gifts. he pays attention to the littlest things i forgot that i mentioned and i’m always surprised that he remembered. i try to do the same, though sometimes he asks for things that i can’t afford right now, like large electronic items that will have to wait until after the wedding. but most recently i was able to get him a rare movie that he had loved when he was a kid and he was so excited when i gave it to him. so i think we are about even in the gift giving.
mrs. bee, you crack me up! i too am a greedy little monkey that wants everything, hehe.
Have you tried http://www.gifts.com? It gives you gift suggestions based on his personality. I just tried it and it suggested something pretty good that I probably wouldn’t have thought of on my own.
Glad to know I’m not the only clueless one with a fiance (or bf or hubby) who listens to me when I whine about wanting something!
Philly, thanks! I can’t wait to go there!
graciette2: give selflessly. isn’t that the point of gift giving? to give that person something that they really really want? i guess you could always buy him something else he might want (and which is more “acceptable” to you), but if you asked him and he suggested 2 gifts he’d really love, i’d give him that if you can afford it!
i would pat my FI on his back for being a very thoughtful & generous gift giver, but i would like to give myself a pat on the back as well! *pat pat* haha…i think we’ll have to adjust our gift giving budget due to upcoming wedding expenses~
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Mrs. Kiwi, Los Angeles
Age and Occupation in 06: 27, Bookkeeper
Fiance's Age and Occupation: 27, P.E. Teach/Coach @ private schools in LA
Engagement Date: March 31, 2006
Wedding Date: November 3, 2007
Venue: Radisson Hotel
About Me: I'm a bookkeeper who failed high school algebra. I'm currently living in Los Angeles, literally a street over from where I grew up with Mr. Kiwi, my honey of three years. We have a jumbo mini-dachshund (seriously, he's huuuuge), and we're planning an autumn themed wedding on a shoestring, paid for by ourselves. The wedding date is my late grandma's birthday, I needed her there somehow, and that seemed like the best way for us. I can't believe I'm a Bee! I couldn't be more proud!
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