Gifts = Love (???)

It’s my birthday today and I just received an awesome gift! This incident caused me to ponder on a thought, ‘the more valuable the gift, the more valuable you are to him (or her)’. It’s something that I’ve heard, though in a negative sense, from other people before. It’s either to complain about a *cheap* gift or the lack of one on a special occasion. (I’ll leave off names so that no one will get hurt.)

Do we really equate gifts to love?

I’m trying not to sound preachy. I want to approach this subject in a more rational manner so we can get more honest thoughts and opinions.

I understand the need that our partners remember a special date (birthdays, anniversaries, etc), alongside this is a gift, which makes the “thought” or “feeling” more tangible. And then there’s that pressure we further put on the gift-giving part. It has to be something of value to us, which — sadly — often means an expensive, material gift.

I’m not saying that it’s only us women who are guilty of such an act. Believe it or not, there are men who do this, too.

Anyway, IMHO, it’s so nice to receive an expensive gift but I’d rather have something I really, really like even when it’s bought at a secondhand shop. The way I’d interpret this gift is not through its monetary value but the act that he wanted me to have what makes me happy… to make me happy. Yes, I love gifts with that sort of intention behind it — given to make the other person happy!

Do you think that the value of gifts is and should be equated to how he (or she) feelings about you?