It’s a yearly dilemma and one I abhor: my wife’s birthday. By soon, I mean like tomorrow. The problem I don’t know what to get her. I usually save my best gift-giving ideas for Christmas — it’s her favorite holiday. But for some reason, “gift givers block” sets in and I end of up in a last-minute panic.
Here is what compounds my misery: our birthdays are only eight days apart. Her birthday comes up first, so it’s my responsibility to set the tone. Here’s the trick: if my presents are lame then her presents end up being lame too. If I can deliver when it counts, then I get the gifts I asked for — if not, well…it gets ugly.
Your spouse, I have found, is the only person in the world who is closest to you. He or she is the one who knows the particulars of what you like and what makes you happy. He or she knows which DVD you’ve been pining for and which CD has been at the top of your Amazon Wish List. The pressure of giving the perfect present is nerve-racking enough, but then you have to worry about the card. The nightmare never ends. Finding the right card can be problematic. I fancy myself a sincere guy, so getting the perfect one means hours at the card shop, drifting up and down the aisles.
Making matters worse is finding the right card. The card takes the longest to pick out. I know some husbands who can blindly pick out a card ad be done with it. I fancy myself a sincere guy and could never be so jaded. I mean, it’s tricky because if I pick the wrong card, then my wife rolls her eyes and I’m sleeping on the couch.
In a moment of inspiration, I decided to run out of the store and make my own card. I mean, why fork over four or five dollars to have a card kind of say what you mean to say? Just say it yourself. I had a rubber stamp custom made so my chicken scratch could be avoided, and stamped it on a 5×7 card. Originality goes a long way — I think my wife appreciates the fact that I’m conveying my own feelings and not some marketing pitch.
Do yourself a favor and get customized rubber stamps to craft your own cards. Unless you have a steady hand, rubber stamps are the key to beautiful birthday cards. Don’t reprint this exact article. Instead, reprint a free unique content version of this same article.
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