Give your gal a gift while on vacation

The impulse effect
Wouldn't it be great if there was a way for your gal to pick out her own gift, and still be surprised by it? All you would have to do is pay for it...and on top of that, you would get all the credit.

Though this isn't often possible, there is a particular time when this opportunity can arise. As long as you can identify this situation when it presents itself, you'll be able to capitalize on the moment.

It starts with her
The first condition is that you have to be on vacation together. It could be a mini one-day vacation or a two-week excursion...it doesn't really matter. You just have to be far from home.

Next, your gal needs to come across something that she'd like to have. This could happen in a gift shop, walking through a mall, strolling past a store, or anywhere else.

What you're waiting for is something to catch her eye and for her to make a remark about how beautiful, fun, or goofy it is. Her reason for liking it is unimportant. It's necessary though that this situation comes about naturally, without any prompting from you.

If you try to sway her toward something that you think she would enjoy, you'll never know if she actually likes it...or if she was just being pleasant by agreeing with you. Let her latch onto something all on her own. You can't force this on her.

Time to act
Now that she's mentioned how much she likes this thing she's found, it's time to pounce. Quickly check the price to make sure you can afford it. If not, then smile and go on with the rest of your vacation. If you're okay with the price, then tell her it's hers and buy it immediately.

Don't ask her if you can buy it for her...just do it. If she resists at all, stand your ground and tell that you deeply want to get it for her. If you have to, gently take it from her, walk straight to the counter, and pay for it.

What's great about buying her something on impulse is that it has a great effect, regardless of the price...even if it's only a two dollar trinket. She'll simply be touched that your instinct is to do something nice for her, without a second thought.

It's this emotion in her that will turn that little gift into something special that she'll remember for a long time as a memento of your trip, and a symbol of your feelings for her. (This is why you shouldn't try this maneuver at your local drug store when you're out running errands...drug stores don't usually make for precious memories.)

Take it easy
Don't overuse this technique. If you buy her everything she points out, she'll stop doing so completely, because it wouldn't be a surprise to her anymore. (If instead, she starts pointing out everything in sight, then you've got a problem on your hands.) To maintain the surprise factor, employ this tactic only once per vacation, at most.

You can buy her additional things on that same vacation if you want to, but not on impulse. Let any other gifts be things that you talk about together and think over a bit before laying down the cash.

Last thought
This success of this tactic depends on your gal believing that you didn't have this move all worked out from the start. Keep a hush on it and let her believe so. After all, you're laying these plans out of love, so this minor secret is perfectly fine.