Give your gal a set of themed gifts

Theme me up Scotty
Let's say your gal is really into football. (Some gals are.) One day, she goes out to her car and finds that you've installed a new license plate frame featuring her favorite team. When she comes home later that afternoon, she spots a gift box on the table with her name on it. Inside the box is a team jersey you picked out for her. When you finally get home that night, you hand her two tickets for her team's next home game.

And just like that, you've given her a set of theme gifts she'll remember for quite a while.

The three gift rule
You don't have to go to extremes to pull this off. (Sneaking a license plate frame onto her car would be a bonus, but it's not necessary.) Just find three or more things that go together and you've got a set of theme gifts.

If she likes reading, then get her a nice bookmark, a soft throw blanket, and some cozy socks so she can curl up with her latest book. If she likes taking long baths, you can get her some candles, soaps, and one of those trays that rests across the tub.

Does it have to be a set of three things? Yep, it does.

If you get your gal two things that go together, that seems more like a coincidence, or at best a "fair" attempt at a theme. But three connected gifts has the feel of a complete set.

Strength in numbers
So what makes theme gifts a good idea for your gal?

First, this takes a little time and thought to put together, so it tells her that you care enough about her to put in the effort. And second, a theme is more than handing her a group of individual items...you're building her an experience. When she picks up that bookmark or candle or whatever else, you want her to think of the bigger moment that item is a part of.

For example, by itself, the bookmark is just a bookmark. As part of a theme set though (with the blanket and socks), it's a relaxing evening, where it's cold outdoors but warm inside. It's quiet music playing in the background and a small pool of light from the nearby lamp to read by.

That's the strength of a themed gift, as long as the theme is clear to her. If you have three things that have no obvious connection to each other, that's not a theme. It doesn't matter if you see them connected in your own head either...she has to see the connection as well.

Put it this way. If the connections between her gifts are so thin that you have to explain them to her, then they're never going to feel like a theme to her. It's kind of like...if you have to explain a joke, then it's not funny.

Last thought
Go ahead and use this tactic with inexpensive "just because" gifts or with pricier items for holidays and bigger occasions. It keeps things fun for a gal.