Archive for the ‘Guys’ Category

In my last post about my partnership with American Living for the Made for 12 Days of Giving campaign, I mentioned I chose a sweater from the holiday collection for one of my colleagues at the day job.

As promised, here’s a photo of Daniel and how he wore it. In other words – this is how a preppy hipster rocks a holiday look, putting cheesy Christmas sweaters everywhere to shame. Nice work, D, and thanks for being a good sport about the santa hat…and the sparkly decorations I put on your desk…and…I guess it’s no wonder I picked you to be the recipient.

Don’t forget to check out the collection for the rest of the sweaters and other gifts. Also, to follow the other 12 days of giving picks from other bloggers, look up the hashtag #MadeForGiving on Twitter.

Mario wants to know. Not really, but a friend of mine asked this on Facebook today and I thought it’d be interesting to open it up to others. If you recall my post over the holidays about the top 10 gifts a guy should never by a girl, every gift sends a message. When it comes to women, sometimes it doesn’t matter how pure a guy’s intentions are. SO…what do you think?

Is it socially acceptable to give a Groupon printout as a Valentine’s Day gift?

I haven’t decided on my answer for this yet. Convince away…and I’ll make sure to pass on your wisdom to Matt, the person who asked. Oh and those of you “it depends” peeps – please be specific.

Photo credit: david_a_lea via Flickr

This one is for the guys out there facing the girlfriend gift shopping dilemma (even if you don’t realize it yet), which I know most of you are probably planning to tackle on December 24. As the daughter of a man who has only cut his hair with a Flowbee for 15+ years and once bought my mom an automatic car starter for Christmas so he wouldn’t have to get up early to warm up her car every morning, I’ve seen my fair share of gift failures. I’ve also learned that regardless of good intentions, it’s pretty easy to send the wrong message to a girl inadvertently hurting her feelings, or better yet, calling her “fat.”

The following is a guide of 10 types of gifts to stay clear of when shopping for girlfriends/wives because sometimes it’s just as important to consider what NOT to buy.

1. “Are you calling me fat?!”

Steer clear of these types of gifts unless you’re prepared to answer YES when she asks the “fat” question.

• Wii Fit
• Personal training package or gym membership
• A fancy new scale or exercise equipment

His Intention: I know she cares about getting in shape and it makes her happy. Why wouldn’t I want to buy a gift that makes her happy?

How We Twist It: I knew it, you think I’m fat. You’re just positioning it as wanting to see me happy to avoid hurting my feelings.

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