Tuesday, December 12, 2006

Put Some Records on While I Pour

The blue-eyed guy keeps asking me what I want for Hanukkah, and I was just simply not raised that you tell someone what you want for Hanukkah! What am I going to say? "I want this thing from this catalogue, which I've highlighted for your ease of buying it for me." That seems so tacky, not to mention totally unromantic. So I always just tell him, "I just want your affection." (He'd said, "What if your girls ask you what I got you for Hanukkah and you say, 'his affection.' How would that go over?" Touche.) But the joke of it all is that when we were in Las Vegas together, browsing the Forum Shops after dinner (God. I love. Vegas.), we were both picking things up and admiring them, and describing out loud what we liked about them and why. After a while, I felt a little cheap, because I thought it was so obvious that we were each earmarking stuff for the other to buy as a gift for the holidays. The next day, I went back through the Forum Shops while he was at his conference, and wrote down all the stuff he'd wanted on a yellow Post It so I wouldn't forget. And then he said, "Baby, I need you to tell me what you want for Hanukkah! I gave you plenty of hints, and you didn't give me any!" Ahem, what was that whole exercise about then? Like, when we stopped in every jewelry store on the Strip, and I fingered every two-tone ring and necklace or earrings would be great too? Dang. Fortunately, I'm gainfully employed and can buy my own stuff like Destiny's Child, because my guy seems to be nuance impaired.

5 comments:

Unknown said...

i had to laugh when i read this. i've been with my boyfriend for three years (yikes). i tried to hint about a gift in this catalog. his answer was, order it and i'll pay you back. that's about the least romantic option i can think of.

Dubin said...

This is a for-real email I got from TJ. Needless to say it's not helping me find a real gift.

"For gift ideas for TJ, see:

http://www.handlebarclub.co.uk/faqsf.htm#cup

:)"

Erica said...

I've never understood the point of telling people what you want for gifts; the point of gifts is to try to please the other person, not simply to exchange monetary expenditures.

Besides, my theoretical boyfriend should know what I want without being told.

Megan said...

Does he want you to give him a handlebar moustache, or does he want permission to grow a handlebar moustache, or does he want a handlebar moustache curler?

Sheila Tone said...

If I want a present from my husband beyond flowers, I usually have to pick it out myself. I have to handle the gift-getting for the family, or else we'd be giving everyone hideous clothes and jewelry yanked frantically from the mall sale racks on Dec. 23.

I've noticed that guys who tend to be very good present-pickers for women are often overly materialistic and superficial. At least that's what I tell myself.