Arranged marriages are still very prevalent in India.  When the bride meets the groom for the first time lots of gifts are exchanged within the family. They keep exchanging gifts till they wed & then surprisingly this trend stops. Gift giving is considered an expression of love in our culture & is still seen in the same way in many cultures.

If love strengthens family bonds it is equally true that gifts strengthen bonds too. One of the biggest marketing gimmicks is the fanfare associated with Valentine’s Day-The day you dedicate to please your loved ones. Why cannot everyday be a valentine’s day? Doesn’t valentine’s year sound sweeter?

Dr. Gary Chapman, author of 5 Love languages says that gift is a major love language among many of us. Female readers of this blog are sure to nod in agreement.  I am in no way suggesting spending every day on gifts. Gifts can be free or cheap too. Thamas a Kempis wisely says “A wise lover values not so much the gift of the lover as the love of the giver.”

Here are some friendly tips on inexpensive gifts:

• Gift your spouse a day off from homely chores.
• Use Picasa to insert beautiful quotes on your spouse’s picture & gift this to him/her.
• Handmade gifts convey your love much more than any purchased product.
• Post cards to your spouse/ kids. This is much better than sending emails or cooing over the telephone.
• Handpicked flowers can be hard to find in some metros. But don’t you just love challenges?
• Good old chocolate or ice-cream cones will work too. We all love to be kids again

Here are 5 expensive gift ideas:

1. Ask your spouse
2. Ask your spouse
3. Ask your spouse
4. Ask your spouse
5. Ask your spouse

Try this simple technique to test the gifting principle; give a gift every day for the next 7 days to your partner/spouse & see the difference in the way you are treated. You will not be surprised if you discover love again ooooohhha!

Wishing all the friendly-tip readers a happy valentine year!