Dear Boyfriends of the College,
The holidays are coming, and your girlfriends — though each one remarkably individual and non-materialistic and sweet — are waiting with perfectly-coiffed eyebrows raised for their presents, which by definition are required to sweep them away with their thoughtfulness, grandeur, and love.
This is, understandably, a moment for panic.
Perhaps you have a grand total of thirty five cents in your bank account, or perhaps your birthday gift to her — which came in the mail three days after her birthday — was a flop (**cough cough not over it**). Or maybe you’ve never even gotten her a gift before, and this one present will be the one to determine it all.
Here at HC, we understand your worries: as girlfriends and ex-girlfriends, we know gifts can make or break not only the holidays, but relationships overall. That’s why we’ve put together this list of easy gift ideas (literally, just click and order — even the most scared of boyfriends can do that) to ensure that at least in the most basic way, you impress your lady love. Just please, whatever you give, on this list or not — make sure you wrap it. Always, always wrap it.
For the Athlete or ARP (athletic, regular person):
The Garmin Forerunner 10:
A fairly cheap, incredibly useful gift that any woman who runs will appreciate. The watch is super easy to use and, for both beginner runners and women on their fourth marathon, it makes running easier to track. As a bonus, the watch is pretty small for a GPS watch and comes in multiple colors, so it doesn’t look awkward or tacky or horrendous when worn in normal life. You can buy them full price from Garmin for $130, or at a dope deal on Amazon for $60. Just do it (lol athletic jokes).
Patagonia (aka “Patagucci”) Snap-T Pullover:
Maybe your job is to keep her fuzzy and warm, but with winter break coming up, you won’t always be on hand to do that. That’s why you should get her one of these dope fleeces to take over your role while you’re away. Any woman — from the mountain climbing extraordinaire to the thesising lamonster — would dig one of these. So just pick either a fun print or a pretty solid, and you’re on your way to thankful kisses and fuzzier cuddles. Whoop whoop! Buy one straight from Patagonia or snag a bargain on a website called Moosejaw.com.
For the High Key Nerd that you Love the Most
Book of the Month Club:
Generally, I think subscription services are really dumb. This one, while still dumb, is a bit of an exception because it would make an especially cool gift. Get your gal a year of books shipped right to her dorm for a pretty decent price. It’s creative, clever, touching, and it gives her a seemingly unlimited supply of fun, non-school related books to read while she curls up in bed at night and (hopefully?) thinks of you.
Matching Flannel Pajamas:
Let’s talk about sets, baby. A matching ensemble of flannel on top and flannel on bottom will keep your nerdy lady smiling and styling this Christmas. But you must get one for yourself as well, so dorky and strangely emotionally touching instagrams can ensue. To get real flannel here is admittedly a little pricy. However, if you buy from somewhere overpriced yet lovable like LL Bean, your gift will be guaranteed to last for life. So when the crotch runs out as you start aging and your thighs get bigger and bigger, you can always replace the jammies with fresh new ones.
Pretty Sh*t Everyone Wants
V Cute Little Backpack!
This is a scientifically proven fact: everyone wants a v cute little backpack! Get one for your lady, and watch her face alight like a Christmas tree. It’s kind of something no one needs but everyone wants, like a boyfriend. So it’s ideal.
ANYTHING from Anthropologie
The store is very pretty and sparkly and VERY expensive. It’s the kind of store your girlfriend walks around and sighs but could never imagine buying anything from, so it’s the first place to head if you want to get her something cute and pretty that she’ll like but you don’t know what. Skip the clothes, but check out the knick-knack and scarf sections for soft things she’ll love. Even buying an expensive picture frame and sliding a picture of you guys in would be special and nice and probably go over v v well. My best suggestion? A cute little ornament that is some inside joke about you guys. I wud like that very much myself.
If You’re Broke AF
SUPER freakin thoughtful letters:
This gift idea is admittedly a little tacky but it’s really cheap and just takes time, and since time is love it takes love and gee that’s just really nice. What you do is buy a bunch of envelopes and sit down with your bad self and think about your girl and things that might happen in her life. Do you have a reflection for that? Write it in a letter! Then, come Christmas, you can give her a box full of these letters and she’ll just melt and open them forever when she needs one or when her life lines up to one. Well done, v well done.
Jewelry Wine Cork Board:
This is really crafty, which tbh is pretty impressive. Plus, to make it you just have to drink a lot of wine! You girlfriend will hopefully be touched by the thought and effort that goes into this gift way more than she would be by anything similar you might buy, and she’s likely to keep her jewelry stuck in it forever. Bonus points if you give it to her with some sweet piece of jewelry already on it.