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NEXTnc Gift Guide: The art of giving - Holiday Gift Guide |
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Written by Erin Frustaci
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Thursday, 23 November 2006 |
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Page 1 of 8
Packages tied up with ribbons and bows are sometimes better left tied. Let’s face it — guys aren’t always the best gift givers. Lisa Fordyce is one woman of many who can attest to that.
Fordyce, 26, of Greeley, has been married seven years and said it hasn’t gotten any better.
“Last Christmas, my husband got me a new computer for him,” she said.
The year before she wanted a new coat. While at the mall, she pointed out several possibilities. He bought them all. Then there was the time she got a salt and pepper shaker set. She had seen it at Bed Bath & Beyond.
“I said it was cool, but that doesn’t mean I want it.”
Buying gifts for your significant other is never an easy task. Gifts have implications. They send a message. If they backfire, Christmas can erupt into a nasty screaming match, tears or hours in front of a locked bathroom door. We sometimes forget it’s the thought that counts.
But sometimes we don’t think at all.
Darren Fred, 41, of Windsor admits he is one of the worst at buying gifts.
“I get stressed out with gifts,” he said. “I’m a selfish person. I like to get gifts. If you ask me what I want, I can tell you. My wife is a very unselfish person. She isn’t selfish enough. I never know what she wants.”
So he, like Fordyce’s husband sometimes resorts to giving her things he wants too, like a bread machine or gift certificate to a restaurant. Over the years he’s stumbled more than once. One time he got her a gift certificate for a European facial. She was offended because she thought he was saying she needed a makeover.
Then there’s the size implication. He bought her snow boots one year that were really cool. Unfortunately they were two sizes too small, so they were given to their daughter.
“I don’t think I pay close enough attention throughout the year,” he said.
The family keeps a wish list on the computer, but sometimes Fred forgets to check it. Other times, he wants to surprise her.
Remember, the best gifts are not always the biggest.
“The best gift I ever got her was a coffee mug,” he said.
The coffee mug said “Mom” on it. The couple had been trying to get pregnant for five years, and he was finally able to give her a mug that said “Mom.”
Men may be easy targets, but Fordyce says women struggle with gift ideas just as much.
“I don’t do well shopping for clothes for him,” she said. “I can hardly shop for him because if he wants something, he buys it for himself.”
As if buying gifts for significant others isn’t hard enough, there’s also all the other relatives to think about.
 If only there were some kind of guide. This year there is — NEXTnc has scouted out the best gifts in northern Colorado. So grab your wallet and coat and get ready to kick Black Friday in the face.
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Check out what you can buy (locally) for $20 and under. Click on the picture below for some hot items:
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|  | "Humankind cannot gain anything without first giving something in return. To obtain, something of equal value must be lost. That is Alchemy's first law of Equivalent Exchange. In those days, we really believed that to be the world's one, and only truth." | |
|  | We're not that bright, even though in our own little world, we're geniuses. We like 80s hair bands and one-hit wonders, but among us we have respectable tastes, too. Metallica, Iron Maiden, U2. Pursuit of all things trivial is a lifestyle, not just a game. We like some sports, love other sports, and can find something to say about anything. We watch TV and movies and we've read a book or two, even a few classics (Yes, Classic Comics count!)
We call it insight, you call it what you will. | |
|  | Felix Wong is an outdoor enthusiast living in Fort Collins. A mechanical engineer by day, he is especially passionate about bicycling, running, and backpacking. | |
|  | Hola Amigos! I'm Sandra. I like to believe that people are 70 percent good and 30 percent dumb. I'm stickin to that story. Reading this blog might make you want to be good, but probably just dumb. | |
|  | Donovan Henderson is editor of NEXTnc. | |
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|  | What is up FoCo?
I am a recent college graduate of Minnesota State University Moorhead. After recieving my B.A. in English and Mass Communications this past August I moved down to Colorado.
I enjoy long walks on the beach, candlelight dinners, and heavy metal. My hobbies include reading and writing, music, movies, and getting drunk. Some of my favorite contemporary authors include Bret Easton Ellis, Chuck Palahniuk, and Kurt Vonnegut. My top movies are anything directed by Kubrick. I enjoy listening to anything that rocks.
Right now I am just trying to get to know Colorado and FoCo better. Mostly in order to find the best drink specials on each day that ends in Y. So if you know where I can get a cheap drunk on, let me know!
--Drew | |
|  | Life's little morsels of inspiration, observation and encouragement seen through the eyes of the Nextnc reporter.
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|  | Ms. Giles currently lives in Colorado where she stars in her own private reality show. She writes aphoristic accounts of her life, taken completely out of context, and embellished with characters and situations disguised to resemble something close to interesting. | |
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| | My name is Michelle Turley and I'm 28 years old. I live in Severance with my hubbie, Brandon. We have 2 dogs and a cat. We enjoy camping, four-wheeling, and just being in the mountains. I like to cook, clean (go figure), flea market, and play poker. I have so much to say about poker... | |
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