Low Budget Gift

My girlfriend and my anniversary is the 26th, and we both agreed we’d spend only a little bit of money on each other this year.

Anyway, for a free (kinda) gift, I was planning on taking a stack of ‘post it’ notes and writing little things on them as if they were coupons.

I know this isnt an original idea, but I figured I can make it kind of original by giving her coupons for things that are special to her.

Anyway, I thought of some personal stuff, and then stuff like ‘one hour massage’ and ‘bubble bath’ and ‘night out to dinner’ and stuff like that.

Anyone got any other ideas for something I could make a ‘coupon’ for?

Thanks in advance.

How about things to make her life easier? Like

  1. One “free” load of laundry
  2. One “free” home cooked meal
  3. One free Car Wash
  4. One free house cleaning
  5. Movie passes? Make them for a movie at home complete with popcorn?

That’s about all I can think of right now.

rrjc,
Congyrats an the anniversery. Milestones like this help you reflect where you are coming from and dream about where you are going.

I hate to tell you that this is a bad gift idea. Yes, it is cute, as in 12 year old not being able to afford a gift for mom on mother’s day cute. As a stand alone gift, it screams ‘CHEAP’. Even if the g/f is not materialistic, I am willing to bet she expects more. That being said, it is not a bad secondary gift, something that goes along with a material item.

That being said, you asked for a few ideas, so here are some suggestions:
A Walk Down Memory Lane; recreate your first date, or early dates. Bring out any pictures.
Dinner cooked by you. If you don’t normally cook, this will be even more impressive, even if it is not good, it shows effort.

A viewing of a chick flick. I know you hate these movies as much as me, and that is exactly why she will love it (they like seeing us suffer on thier behalf).
Chores are always a winner.
Good luck, I hope it goes over well.

[quote]Hot AZ wrote:
How about things to make her life easier? Like

  1. One “free” load of laundry
  2. One “free” home cooked meal
  3. One free Car Wash
  4. One free house cleaning
  5. Movie passes? Make them for a movie at home complete with popcorn?

That’s about all I can think of right now.
[/quote]

This list is gold if you’re married or been living together for some time. You will be thanked in a special way for doing such things for her.

Sorry, I guess I should have stated that I’m 17 (and so is she haha).

Anyway, HOT AZ the car wash, home cooked meal, and movies were great ideas, thanks. The others weren’t so applicable to our setting haha.

[quote]combatmedic wrote:

I hate to tell you that this is a bad gift idea. Yes, it is cute, as in 12 year old not being able to afford a gift for mom on mother’s day cute. As a stand alone gift, it screams ‘CHEAP’. Even if the g/f is not materialistic, I am willing to bet she expects more. That being said, it is not a bad secondary gift, something that goes along with a material item.
[/quote]

Stand alone gift? Haha, come on. I arent that stooped. Anyway, she knows I’m not cheap, I’m just a little low on money right now considering I had Christmas shopping right now and she completely understands. For our one year I bought her a diamond heart necklace, for her birthday I took her to the city for a play then took her out to dinner at a very nice steakhouse (she loves steak, AKA shes a keeper.) I buy her a dozen or so roses for valentines day, etc…

I painted her a picture (and got that framed) of a beach scene of puerto rico (which is where she wants to go on her honeymoon) and I figured I would just throw this in to make it even more sentimental (for lack of a better term).

You two being 17 does clear things up a lot. No I don’t think either of you should expect elaborate gifts from each other. Honestly, since she is a keeper, she will appreciate gifts that come from your heart like the picture you mentioned.

It means something more than just a gift for Christmas. Plus, it seems she already has an understanding that you aren’t loaded, so I think as long as you get her something that has meaning to the both of you, it will be a hit.

I carved our initials in a tree in her yard

[quote]thabigdon24 wrote:
I carved our initials in a tree in her yard[/quote]

Did her Dad get pissed??

Nope. I suggested it to the parents and they wholeheartedly appreciated the idea and even went so far as to provide a map of appropriate trees.

[quote]thabigdon24 wrote:
Nope. I suggested it to the parents and they wholeheartedly appreciated the idea and even went so far as to provide a map of appropriate trees. [/quote]

That’s pretty cool actually.

[quote]thabigdon24 wrote:
Nope. I suggested it to the parents and they wholeheartedly appreciated the idea and even went so far as to provide a map of appropriate trees. [/quote]

hahaha thats awesome, pretty funny that they gave you a map.

[quote]rrjc5488 wrote:

I painted her a picture of a beach scene of puerto rico (which is where she wants to go on her honeymoon)…[/quote]

Her honeymoon? Is she going alone?

[quote]Loose Tool wrote:
rrjc5488 wrote:

I painted her a picture of a beach scene of puerto rico (which is where she wants to go on her honeymoon)…

Her honeymoon? Is she going alone?
[/quote]

what were you looking for? “her and her husband’s”? just becuase their dating when their 17 doesn’t mean theyre getting married.

Well, here’s my 2-cents -
This past year, for my birthday, my guy wrote me a poem. Granted, he got me a few other gifts along with it - but the poem touched me the most. He went out and chose a nice paper type, had it printed up and framed… and is presently sitting on my bedside table. I suppose it’s very similar to the painting that you made - the basic principle is the same.

Some girls are impressed by the pricey gifts. I’ve been there and done that - eventually one Prada bag is the same as a Gucci bag… a pair of Chanel shades is nice, as is a Louis Vuitton pair of shoes… Not to say that I don’t like nice (pricey) things…

However, IMHO, it’s a lot more appreciated by some girls (myself included) when you give them a piece of your heart.

Believe it or not, those are the gifts that get remembered… at least, it is by me.

I’m sure whatever you do will put a big smile on her face… cheers - and congrats!!