Wednesday December 13, 2006

How to buy your wife or girlfriend a present they'll like

Yesterday I was watching the Today show on NBC, and Jean Chatzky showed how little she knows about the inner workings of men, and simultaneously provided great insight into women, and a problem that most of us men have experienced: What do you buy your wife or girlfriend for Christmas?

First off, she said that women like to surprise men. They like the feeling of suspense when they buy us something they know we'll like. She seemed surprised to hear that men would like some big bold neon sign -like hints as to what a women wants for Christmas. She thinks it should be obvious to men what women like, like it's obvious to women what men like. Cute, eh? Unfortunately for her, men's brains are not wired that way. We're wired to look for meat.... hunting, fishing, computing. We're wired for taking things apart, rarely for putting them back together.

She then went on to ask, like it's obvious, "Why don't you just go to your wife's closet, look through her clothes, and look at the tags. You'll get the brands we like, you'll get our size, and you'll get an idea of the styles we like. Or notice what perfume we wear, and buy us the whole line. We'll be happy."

I sometimes wonder at how the male brain is wired. None the less at why I never thought of that. Why in all the years that I've been married, or previously, had a girlfriend at Christmas, have I never thought to look at the brands and size of her clothes, or at her perfumes, to buy her a gift? Is it because men are terrified at the thought of buying clothes for a woman? Maybe, but with the right brand, style, and size at hand, it's much less terrifying a prospect.

Thank you Jean Chatzky for getting on national television and giving the men of America (and beyond) a big, bold, neon sign -like hint. :) (yes, we really do need it!)

Here is her full article on the subject. It has a more big bold hints, like "Talk to her friends", and "Don't over look electonics", and "Kitchen appliances are not sexy gifts".

Now I feel much more confident about the Christmas present I'm getting for my wife.