Write a card for your gal

Bill Shakespeare's ghost
Some gifts aren't meant to last forever. Flowers wilt, candy gets eaten, and clothing wears out. These things make for great gifts, but you'll need to do something extra if you want to cement them in your gal's memory for a long time. The trick is to include a well-written card.

Get the right card
As tempting as it can be, you can't just buy a card, sign your name, and expect it to make an impression. Those pre-written poems/messages inside most cards aren't even your own words. How could a gal honestly appreciate such minimal effort?

The best card you can buy is the type without anything written in it at all...just acres of space for you to fill up with a meaningful message. Of course you want to find a card that's lovely looking on the outside, but the real value here is what you write on the inside.

Could you buy a card that has one of those pre-written poems/messages...and then add your message to the other side? Sure, there's nothing wrong with that attack, but it's slightly better to keep your message untainted by some company's stock comments.

And for sure...do not get her a joke card. She gets enough jokes from you throughout the year. Stick with the sentimental stuff.

Actually, you don't even need a card, as long as you've got some nice stationery, a fancy envelope, and some time to write her a full letter. If you take the time to write your gal a long-winded love letter, that beats a store-bought card any day of the week. It would be a bit much though to write a full-on letter for every single gift, so you might just do this once in a while, and keep the cards as your bread and butter.

Whatever you do, you should never depend on one of those little cards that comes attached to the handle of a gift bag, or any other little tags. You can fill those out in addition to an actual full-sized card, but the actual card is a must. Also, stick it in an envelope before you give it to her. It's what your gal is expecting, so don't disappoint her.

Write a personal message
You might be tempted to hop on the internet and look up something nice to write in your card, but don't do it. You're an adult.

Certainly you can think of something meaningful to say to your gal. You don't have to pen a novel or channel the ghost of Bill Shakespeare. You just have to be yourself and write her a few honest sentences.

Tell her how you feel about her. Maybe you can remind her of some memory that's special to the two of you. Tell you love her. Say something about your future together. Anything like that.

She's not expecting much from you, so anything you write beyond two sentences is going to work...but every now and then, go ahead and write her an extra long letter. Try to come up with some real overboard loving kind of stuff to write. Don't do this too often though, or it'll lessen the overall effect.

Last thought
Do this right and you'll tap right into those feelings of hers. If you're lucky, she may even appreciate your card even more than the gift (which would be a good thing).