12 Gift Ideas for Christmas... for someone you just met!

So... You just met someone new, you've started going out, but you don't really know what to get them for Christmas. So... What do you get them if you don't really know them that well?

Plus maybe you're not certain how long this relationship will last, especially since lots of people break up in January after Christmas is over... So maybe you want to be more frugal about your gift.

Here's some options: 

Nice box of chocolates
Go for a simple, well-packaged assortment—always safe, always appreciated.

Gourmet coffee or tea sampler
Something in a clean gift box feels intentional without being personal.

Scented candle (neutral scent)
Think linen, vanilla, cedar, or “spa” type scents—not anything too bold or polarizing.

Festive snack tin
Cookies, shortbread, popcorn, or mixed nuts in a holiday tin works almost every time.

Gift card (coffee shop or bookstore)
Add a small touch like a holiday card to make it feel less impersonal.

Nice reusable mug or travel tumbler
Practical, universal, and easy to pair with coffee or tea.

Fuzzy socks or winter accessories
Warm, seasonal, and low-risk (just stick to neutral colors).

Small plant (like a succulent)
Low maintenance, looks good on a desk, and feels “alive” without being personal.

Hand cream or self-care set
Winter-friendly and useful without requiring any personal knowledge.

Cute desk calendar or notebook
Good for coworkers or acquaintances—practical and neutral.

Holiday ornament (simple, classic style)
Seasonal, inexpensive, and easy to keep or re-gift.

Hot chocolate kit or cocoa set
Feels cozy and festive without assuming anything about taste preferences.

Valentines is coming, Rose Colour Meanings + Bizarre Black Tar Rose

Today is February 1st which means Valentines is coming soon.

Which means your lover may try to get you some roses. (I like chocolate roses myself, when you are tired of looking at them you can just eat them. What girl or guy wouldn`t want chocolate roses???)

But lets pretend you are more of a traditionalist who wants something more meaningful?

Or maybe you're single and have decided to spend Valentines with a single friend (just friends) and you want to get them something that signifies friendship. Hint hint, yellow roses = friendship.

The Meaning of Rose Colours

Colours have profound meanings to us in society.  Throughout history colours have been used to signify royalty or high standing (purple in Ancient Rome) or purity (white is the first choice for religious groups in many different societies).  Colours have significant psychological effects on us and can change our mood, our energy and our emotions.  This same principle has been applied to roses over the years.  When one gives a rose to another person they are not just giving a flower, they are also conveying a coded meaning that can be deciphered by looking at the colour of the rose.  Most people know that red roses mean 'I Love You', but does it mean anything else and what do the other colours mean?

Red Roses

When we think of roses we always think of a red rose and it is the most common rose given on Valentine's day.  Red roses are meant to convey the following meanings: passion, beauty, courage and respect.  With so many connotations it is no wonder the red rose is used so much.  It can be used to tell a person that you have fallen in love with them or to tell another person that you are proud that they graduated from college.

Orange Roses

Being a mix of yellow and red, orange roses are more rare and signify love. This doesn't mean they are the "friends with benefits roses", orange roses are a mix of both friendship and love and therefore to be cherished.

Yellow Roses

Friendship! Huzzah! Really only useful on Valentines if you want to give them to a friend who is just a friend in every sense of the word. None of this "friends with benefits" nonsense.


Pink Roses

Pink roses are used to tell another that you appreciate them, to convey grace and to describe a feeling of happiness. Pink roses are used to indicate platonic feelings of caring and joy.  You might give pink roses to your grandmother on her birthday to show that you care and enjoy her company.


Blue Roses


Blue roses are actually just white roses which have been dyed blue. They signify intelligence, creativity and uniqueness.

Lavender Roses

Lavender roses are a rare type and are not usually thought of at all when one thinks of roses.    When one gives a lavender rose to another the giver is telling the recipient that they have fallen in love at first sight or that they are enchanted with the recipient.  You may want to give it on a first date to express your infatuation to your hopefully future girlfriend or boyfriend.

White Roses

Signify purity, marriage, children, a bond of family.

Turkish Black Rose during the summer months.

Turkish Black Rose when not in season.

Black Roses

A black rose is extremely rare.  In fact, there is only one variety and it can be found only in Turkey.  It is called the Halfati rose, named after the village that is grown in, and is truly black only in the summer months.  In the other seasons that rose appears to be deep crimson.  The rose only grows in that region because of the particular pH balance found near the Euphrates river.  It will only last for 1 week when cut.  To the Turks, the Halfati rose represents deep passion and death, so the rose could be given to a lover or as a warning to your enemies (try not to mix them up).

Given the extreme rarity of the Halfati rose, it may be a good idea to try to find other sources of black roses if you are so inclined to give them. eg. You could dye them black somehow. A local flat roofing company may be your best bet.  They can make a black rose for you by dipping a rose in roof tar in mere seconds.  The result is a black rose that will last forever.  Though it may not smell as good as the  Halfati rose, it will be much easier on your wallet.

I found out about the black tar roses on the Arob 12 website, but if you want to try making your own then I recommend reading How to make Black Roses using Roofing Tar.

I also found another source that tried using some kind of waterproofing material from a basement waterproofing company, but the results from their experiment ended up looking horrible so I don't recommend trying to make a black rose that way.

Honestly, given the choices, I would personally probably go for the chocolate roses made from chocolate icing.

5 Valentines Gift Ideas

If you don't get the right gift for your lover for Valentines you could be in for a nasty breakup (although to be fair, if they are insistent on a gift then they are immature and greedy).

Nevertheless, if you are in the gift giving mood here is 5 ideas!

#1. Archery Lessons / Archery Equipment

Thanks to Katniss and the Hunger Games, archery equipment and archery lessons are all the rage right now. Not just for women, but for men too. While buying archery equipment can be expensive (expect to spend over $300 if you want decent equipment), you can just purchase archery lessons from a place that provides the equipment for you. eg. CardioTrek.ca provides archery lessons in Toronto, with the equipment provided.

#2. New Bicycle

Nothing says romance like going for Spring bicycle rides together. If their old bicycle is broken, get them a new bicycle and they can sell their old bicycle on Craigslist. (So it is a bit like giving them a new bicycle PLUS some extra cash.)

#3. Dancing Lessons

Ah, dancing... Seriously. If they have two working legs you cannot go wrong with dancing lessons.

#4. A Thoughtful Gift or Big Ticket Item

This requires you to seriously think about past things they said they wanted. You really need to pay attention to figure that one out, but if you do and it is within your budget, absolutely get them it. Another option is the Big Ticket Item - which is usually for married couples. Big ticket items are things like...

"My husband got me a new car for Valentines!"

"The wife got me a pool table!"

#5. Stick to the Classics

The classics are: Chocolate, wine, alcohol, roses - and also possibly a gift card to a shoe store or a store that sells tools. When doing the classics you should try to nail down 2 or 3 different items so you put more effort into it. eg. Roses, chocolates and a gift card would be a good combo.

Things NOT to give them on Valentines... adult products for the bedroom (unless you know they're really into that sort of thing), lingerie (again, only if they are into that), books (unless it is exceptionally thoughtful), cash, pets, bad news...

67 Ways to Save Money and still go on Dates

When you’re down on your luck cash wise, it’s not always easy to come up with ways to impress your date. Luckily, there’s still tons of fun and romantic things you can do that take little-to-no money—all that’s required is a little creativity. Here’s our 67 favorite ideas for cheap dates:

1. Browse the local farmers’ market.
2. Go on a picnic. All you need is a blanket, fruit, sausage, cheese, crackers and water.
3. Fly a kite.
4. Enjoy a romantic home-cooked meal.
5. Cook dinner together.
6. Go apple picking.
7. Give a massage.
8. Go to the beach.
9. Attend an open-air festival.
10. See an art-house movie matinee.
11. Build a snowman.
12. Have a barbecue.
13. Share a sundae.
14. Attend an art gallery.
15. Take a hike.
16. Go to a book signing.
17. Go for a bike ride.
18. Play miniature golf.
19. Attend a wine tasting.
20. Go fishing.
21. Go sledding (with a thermos of hot cider or cocoa).
22. Visit the zoo.
23. Rent a movie.
24. Pick up movie at your local library.
25. Drive go-carts.
26. Go window-shopping.
27. Invite friends over for board games.
28. Do a Google search for free things to do in your city.
29. Eat out with a gift certificate from Restaurant.com.
30. Drive through the country (especially good around Fall).
31. Play at a playground (swings and teeter-totters are fun!)
32. Attend a planetarium show.
33. Browse antique shops.
34. Go to an open mic night at a coffee shop or bookstore.
35. Volunteer at a favorite charity.
36. Attend a high school sporting event.
37. Watch Shakespeare in the Park.
38. Have an indoor picnic.
39. Star gaze (Orion is an easy constellation to spot).
40. Take a pottery class together.
41. Go bowling.
42. Play pool.
43. Go to the local community pool.
44. Feed the ducks at a local pond.
45. Go ice skating.
46. Go roller skating.
47. Play laser tag.
48. Play frisbee.
49. Go kayaking or canoeing.
50. Skip rocks at a lake.
51. Watch a meteor shower (here’s when they happen).
52. Attend a local high school, community college or university play or musical.
53. Go camping.
54. Play basketball together.
55. Visit a botanical garden.
56. Go spelunking (but be careful!)
57. Get a cup of coffee together (hopefully at a spot that offers free refills).
58. Take a factory tour. Breweries that offer free samples are especially fun.
59. Take dance lessons at a local community center.
60. Visit local historic landmarks.
61. Put together a puzzle.
62. Carve pumpkins (around Halloween).
63. Go strawberry picking.
64. Attend a flea market or swapmeet.
65. Check out yard sales.
66. Assemble a model airplane then fly it in a park.
67. Go out for brunch (cheaper than dinner).

Dating doesn’t have to be expensive. Often, your date will be more impressed with a creative dating idea than they will if you spend lavish amounts of money on them. So get creative, save money, and have fun!

Worst Dating Gifts Ideas

Gifts really makes a woman’s day special when you take her out on a date - but only if you put thought into the gift. Pampering your potential partner with quality gifts is something that works miracles in a relationship!

Before you haunt yourself with what is a perfect gift for your companion make sure you analyze her likes and dislikes... and make sure you don't just buy her gifts to gain her affection. Some women get really annoyed if its too obvious that you are treating her like an escort.

There are some things that are just a BIG NO NO where gifts for women are concerned. It can TOTALLY offend them and even ruin your relationship chances permanently.

WORST DATING GIFT IDEAS

#1. Wrong sized clothes. Please keep this in mind that girls generally tend to lie about their sizes to save themselves from embarrassment. They try to make you realize that they are perfect for your love scene. A wrong size of clothes can turn out to be a total catastrophe. So make sure you never buy clothes for her until you are sure about the size.

#2. Inexpensive and easy on the pocket jewelry. A majority of women find cheap jewelry quite cliché as a gift on a date. Never consider jewelry as a gift for a date until and unless you are ready to spend quite a bit of amount. The same rule applies to cheap cosmetics. This will leave a wrong impression on your girl.

#3. Membership to a gym. It might be possible that your girlfriend is a heath freak and crazily talks about treadmills and power yoga. But this doesn’t mean that you offer her a gym membership on your date. This might make her feel you want her to loose weight and workout more often.

#4. A pet. Do not consider this as a gifting idea until and unless your date has asked you for one. It might sound quite romantic to gift her, a puppy or a kitten but it’ll call for a lot of her time and care. She might later think it to be the worst date gift.

#5. Something that you are craving for. It’s a date gift for her and not yourself. So avoid buying tickets for a cricket or a football match that you wanted from so long.

#6. Books. To give this as a perfect gift make sure the topic you pick up interests her and not anything like “How to learn cooking” and topics that could be insulting.

#7. Re-gifting should be avoided. If you don’t want to risk your relationship with your woman then don’t even try gifting them things from your last relationship.

#8. Cash as a gift. Cash gift is the worst insult you can do of someone who is so precious in your life. It even gives her the wrong idea that you don’t even have time to buy something nice for the love of your life.

#9. Getting nothing. This is another worst situation you can create on your date. Some women (especially gold-diggers) expect men to shower them with gifts. So going empty handed on a date where they are expecting a gift (like Valentines, they are expecting a gift!) is something you have to watch out for! Put in some effort to show how much you care.