Choosing Good Gifts

I love getting gifts. I wrote recently about the art of choosing gifts. But I am troubled by a commercial that is being aired again this year on channels I listen to on XMRadio.

The commercial tells listeners that bigger is better. (Okay, well, I endorse that theory, but not regarding stuffed animals.) The company is BigPlush.com, and their motto is "The Biggest Stuffed Toys in the World."

The troubling part, for me, is that this is being aired with a focus on Mother's Day. The commercials instruct listeners that their mothers and wives and other assorted Loved Ones would love a 4-foot or 5-foot or 6-foot-tall stuffed animal. They stock 600 different stuffed animals two to eighteen feet tall!!!!!

Listen, Guys, it's a marketing ploy. We do not want a 4-foot bear wearing a T-shirt. We do not want a 40-inch tall Big Bad Lover Boy Monkey. We do not want a 4-foot kangaroo with baby in pouch.

You—as the male gift-giver for a woman who cooks your meals or washes your smelly socks or tends your children or works at a tough job all day to help support your lifestyle; who tells you in words and actions that she loves you—need to have more confidence in your gift-giving instincts. Do not fall for this marketing crap!

What could you do to gain some Good Husband or Good Son points? If you share a household with said lady, how about pulling up the sheets on your side of the bed or taking your dishes to the kitchen after a meal or washing the dishes or putting away the dry dishes. How about taking out the garbage without being asked or remembering it's recycling night. (My brilliant son has put recycling night on his Google calendar so he'll never forget.) How about noticing when she spent a little extra time on her hair or makeup. How about just noticing? If you don't share a household, a heartfelt note telling her how much you appreciate all she's done for you is powerful!

You'll get a lot more points in your Good Guy bank for any of those activities than you will for a ridiculous 8-foot tall pink panda!

You wanna know how lucky I am? I have a guy who does all of those things. He checks my car's oil and water before I leave on a trip. He makes sure I have extra windshield washer fluid in the trunk. He washes dishes and changes light bulbs and makes the bed and puts a safer electrical outlet in the bathroom. He listens when I am troubled. He notices and comments when I look especially nice. He's there, physically and emotionally. His Good Guy bank has such a large balance it's going to have to be moved off-shore.

By my definition, he takes care of me. And you know what? I'd much rather be taken care of than receive a tacky stuffed animal that I've got to move and dust and eventually give to Goodwill.

No matter the size!