Sarah Jane O'Keefe -- Andi Villarinho and other CBU students give suggestions on what not to give.
Valentine’s Day is a day for couples and friends to express their love for each other by giving gifts. Traditionally, stuffed animals, roses and chocolate are given on Feb. 14.
There are, however, those who try to be unique in their gift-giving, but is there a fine line between giving unique gifts and terrible gifts? Some students believe there is.
“One of the worst Valentine’s Day gifts I’ve ever received was a bunch of bright sticky notes covering my whole entire car,” Cody Bellmeyer, sophomore, said. “With the morning dew on my car, the notes were soaking wet, and the ink faded, which just made it a mushy mess.”
He also received a blanket as a gift another year.
“She didn’t even use the blanket with me to cuddle,” Bellmeyer said.
Bellmeyer, however, wanted to be clear that he wasn’t ungrateful for the gifts.“They were well thought-out and appreciated, but needless to say they were just bad,” Bellmeyer said.
Girls are not the only ones to blame for bad gift-giving. Guys also have trouble finding gifts that are unique and special without running the risk of it being a bust.
“The worst Valentine’s Day gift I ever received was slippers,” Andi Villarinho, freshman, said. “They were red, which supposedly made them the ‘perfect gift.’ The people who give these bad gifts must be pretty oblivious, thinking they are giving unique gifts. I think it is probably the fact that [most] guys do not know their way around the mall.”
Then, there is the controversial approach to gifting – recycling. This method involves giving an old present that was previously given to you. Renee Flannery, freshman, can relate to the gift of recycling.
“My ‘sweetheart’ had given me a red teddy bear with a tacky bow around the neck. I told him I loved it, but it was pretty awful.”
One year later, Flannery had a friend over while she and her mother were cleaning out her room. Flannery’s mother found the bear and asked, “Do you still want this bear from [your significant other]?” Flannery’s friend looked at the bear and said, “That was my gift to him last Valentine’s Day!” They all had a good laugh about it, “but it was embarrassing to say the least.”
If these stories sound like your usual gifts, follow Bellmeyer’s advice on gift giving.
“Start with some piece of significant jewelry, followed by flowers. Then, you must elaborate with a surprise. It is important to put the time and effort into planning a good gift, even if the person receiving the gift fakes that they love the gift. It’s the thought that matters,” Bellmeyer said.
If this wasn’t a lesson enough on what not to give, some great Valentine’s Day gift ideas for college students can be found at www.lovelyish.com. Ideas include writing letters every day until Valentine’s Day and then tying them all together and giving them to your loved one. Another is to create a scrapbook of Facebook messages you’ve written each other. Print out the messages and put them in a notebook and give it to your significant other.
Gifts.com gives suggestions of typical Valentine’s gift ideas, like chocolate, fragrances, flowers and gift baskets and provides the top Valentine’s Day categories, as well as providing a price limit to help find that perfect gift for the perfect Valentine’s Day.
