Search Results: gifts for girlfriend

Been dating a female for about 6 months… We went on 1 date & spent quality time with each other twice… I was approached by this female saying she liked me and wanted me for years once she found out i was no longer in a relationship… We texted everyday… The chemistry, charisma, & sexual tension was definitely there… She told me she was single when i asked about her ex fiancé who she was engaged to… she said for a year & 43 days which I’m assuming it was due to him being incarcerated… he is the father of 2 of her kids… She said they still had love for one another but they decided they were better off as best friends… when she got overwhelmed & overstimulated with personal issues she would push me away & shut me out for days at a time… Her distancing herself started to bother me so i communicated it to her which she said if we communicated things would work out between us so that’s what i did… she became angry at me… she said how she eventually wanted to be my girlfriend and had future plans with me in them… she said she could see herself falling in love with me because im a good person but then we had a disagreement because the distancing became more common than ever… so she said i was suffocating her because i didn’t believe anything she told me so we friend zoned one another… Then she kept texting me i told her to stop texting me… she texted me one day saying she missed me… So we were back in good graces… Then i planned something special for her because i knew she was going through some personal issues and i had Christmas gifts for her… So on Saturday we had sex after she seen her romantic gesture and gifts but that same day she said her baby father was coming home soon… she texted me Sunday thanking me for the best few hours she had in a long time & she kept admiring her flowers while smiling so hard… Then after that things got weird she only texts me in the mornings now… my assumption is he’s home…

I was shocked yesterday when my girlfriend expressed that she thought it was weird that I give a gift AND a card for Christmas, birthdays, etc. (I’m not talking about the generic “Happy Holidays From Our Family To Yours” courtesy cards, I’m talking people you’re close with and exchange gifts with.

I was taught to always buy a card to accompany the gift, and that the card and it’s sentiment is more important than the gift. And when receiving a gift, I was raised to read the card first, take in what’s written in it, and thank the giver, before even opening the present (upon doing so, I’d then thank them for the gift).

In her world, cards are just something you give if you’re not exchanging a gift with someone, just an acknowledgement. If you’re giving a gift, an additional card is unnecessary, unless it’s something like cash or a gift card. And she asked me if I had ever noticed her family doesn’t give me cards with my Christmas gifts, and I guess I haven’t, haha.

I’m not offended by it or anything, I just was surprised because I thought my way was standard. And she said the same, and we’re both questioning it now because we both have small families and subsequently small gift-exchanging circles.

So I’m curious what all of you folks think. Do you give a card AND a gift? Or a card OR a gift? I guess I’m primarily concerned with opinions of people from North American countries/cultures that I’d be around, it might be totally different elsewhere, but all opinions are welcome👍