Holiday season is officially upon us! With the hot cocoa, heated blankets, and joyous attitudes comes packed malls, a million “sold out” items, and the frantic search to find the perfect gift for your significant other. 

If you are in high school, it’s likely this is the first time you are put in the position of buying your partner a gift for the holidays. Based on personal experience, I know this can be a stressful time; you don’t know how much to spend, what they are getting you, whether it should be materialistic or functional. Here are a few tips on how to ease your nerves and get your partner the *objectively* perfect gift. 

• Know that no matter what you get them, they will love it. 

A present does not define your relationship; it is you showing your appreciation and affection towards them. Anyone can and will appreciate you for putting in the effort in even getting them a gift. Be confident in yourself and your gift giving abilities before you begin searching for a gift. 

• Listen to them 

If you are planning on getting them a gift for/around Chistmas time, start attentively listening when having conversations. This means if they are talking about their favorite music artist, you can start thinking about maybe getting them a poster or sweatshirt of the said artist. Giving them a gift revolved around something you know they love will bring your anxiety levels down and almost always will be recieved with a positive reaction.

• Give yourself time *especially if ordering online* 

This is one piece of advice that I myself wish I took more often. Nothing feels worse than your partner showering you with gifts to have to give them an awkward “Yours are on the way, sorry!”. In order to ensure your gift will be delivered on time, make sure you make note of the expected delivery dates the website you are ordering from will likely inform you of. If an expected date is not given, I recommend reading customer reviews to see if shipping time is mentioned. In the case that doesn’t work, I suggest ordering your gift at least 3 weeks before you plan on giving it to them. That way, you won’t have to stress about it arriving on time. 

• Pay attention to what they do and don’t have

You don’thave to get them something completely new, but instead you can upgrade what they currently have to something better. For example, if they have wire earbuds, consider getting them headphones or airpods that are in your price range. By doing this, it alleviates stress because you know they already enjoy the functionality of the gift itself, in this example listening to music privately, and you are giving them something they would have likely gotten eventually. 

As I previously mentioned, a gift is not the definitive symbol of your relationship, so don’t treat it as such. Ultimately, be confident in yourself, your relationship, and your knowledge of who they are as a person. Drink yummy hot chocolate, snuggle up and watch classic holiday movies, and enjoy the holiday season with your significant other!