getting a gift for someone of the opposite gender?

Lesson 1 of me rehashing stuff from the "Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus" to you guys.

It's always easier to get a gift for a male acquaintance than a female one. It's because guys like gifts that are gadget-ty or something activity related. If you don't know the guy at all, you can give stuff that most guys can use, for example... some speakers for a computer, a blender, an electric powered stapler, a fancy pen/laser pointer combo. Basically a guy will like any gadget and gizzmo. Just walk through a Staples or Best Buy. Think of something a guy would like to have but does have to have. Those make the best gifts. And they are available at any price range from $10-$100. It's so easy to get a cool gift for a guy you don't know. For example I got a Zippo from Frosty for Christmas. This was such a good gift. Why is it, you girls are wondering? 1- It looks cool and makes a cool sound 2- it has a function. Those are the two reasons why guys love gadget gifts. But this was a special case because Frosty knows I like military memorabilia like this, even if I don't smoke at all. So I've used the Zippo on everything, from fireworks to scented candles. In fact, you can say I go out of way to light things on fire just to use it. So even though the Zippo doesn't have a high functionality to my every day life, it doesn't matter. I think of things I can use it on, just to use it. Guys are like that.

Of course this gift was more personal because Frosty knows me. If you know a guy as an aficionado of something, you can give him a related gift. Like a basketball for the baller, some ankle weights for the iron man, or an airsoft gun for the gun nut (you know how women can never have too many shoes... yeah well this is the same case here). But it's the same idea, all these gifts have a function. Also it's something he may have wanted but not have to have. If you get something of a necessity, he already probably has it. One last thing, stay clear of self-help books, unless you guys are best friends and it's a joke. Women may like these type of gifts, but men take offense to it. It's insulting their pride and capabilities.

Girls are a much harder type to get gifts for if you know nothing about them. They like something that has an emotional meaning between the two people. You can give a girl flowers and she will feel special because the flowers are beautiful, and so you make her feel beautiful, and therefore she is happy. If you give flowers to a guy, he will think... great now I have to give this water, which will do nothing but slow down the inevitable demise of these already dead plants. Anyway, the emotion part means its hard to give an acquaintance a gift because you know nothing about her. And the double fail is that if you try to give her something you consider nice, she might think of it the wrong way. Examples... a girl likes you and shes been giving you signals and on her birthday you give her some flowers. But you only like her as a friend, which makes this gift a very bad idea. Or let's say your mom tells you the house is dirty, that's a hint that she wants you to clean it up. But you buy her a new super vacuum machine. You'd think this would make her happy because it's functional and looks cool (has a see-through vortex suction window) But women don't think that way. This gift just means you're a bastard who expects her to do your dirty work.

It's ironic that some gifts that women like the most can be totally useless in function. This is why flowers and scrapbooks work for women and not for men. It's all about the emotion in the gift. This is the reason why women appreciate self help books, they think you care enough about them to help them improve. You still need to be sensitive though, you can't give her a gym membership. So to review, women like a gift because 1- it reminds them of something about the other person 2 - it looks beautiful 3 - it makes them feel beautiful.

Here's another example of our gender differences: birthday cards. A girl will like a birthday card with pretty pictures and caring words from their friend. They will saw "awww" and hug their friend. She appreciates her friend for making her feel important and special. A guy will like a birthday card that opens up and has some funny song or disgusting picture. The guy is to make him laugh or say "eww what the hell". Either way, the guy will give a high five or fist pound to his buddy who gave him the card. He appreciates his friend for making him laugh.

Obviously, the monetary value of a gift always puts more meaning into the gift. That gift will be more cool and have more function for guys. And for women they represent the hard work the friend put into buying this gift, which reminds them of how special they are.

Here's an example of a big fight that happened between my friends because this guy and his girlfriend didn't understand how the other gender works. On his birthday, she took him to a place where they make pottery with their own hands. That is such a lame thing for a guy to go through. She should have known better. But he also should have known that his gf did it as a nice gesture, although in a wrong way for a male. So instead of gently pointing it out, he accused her of making him sit through the boring pottery lesson and wasting his day where he turned down a day with friends. Needless to say there was a huge argument which could have been avoided if they understood who each other's minds worked.

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Well this knowledge helps me with getting gifts for my mom and close friends, but what about female acquaintances? I know nothing about them so I don't what to get. What are examples of stuff that girls like? Women of BiA please let me know what are good gifts for a girl I don't know too well. I look forward to your comments.