It's the thought that counts. Sort of

V-Day is over, and landfill is no doubt fit to burst with ugly plush toys, cheap chocolates and fake jewellery your cat wouldn’t be caught dead wearing. I know it’s the thought that counts, yada yada yada, but surely I’m not the only one to have sometimes wished that the thought hadn’t occurred at all? Like years ago, when my boyfriend at the time presented me with a laminator (“So you can make your own greeting cards!”) for my 30th birthday, despite repeated hints that I like: a) flowers; b) classy jewellery and c) saucy underwear, not necessarily in that order.
Now, I’m not taking pot-shots at male gift-givers. No matter how much you know and love someone, it can be hard buying them a wicked present – and we probably all get it wrong some of the time. Take last Christmas. I pulled out all the stops to get my guy the perfect gifts – and he was suitably chuffed about everything he got, bless him. However, when the topic arose just recently he admitted he’d dropped numerous hints about how he’d hoped Santa would bring him the entire Sopranos box-set. Santa obviously had other ideas (or she wasn’t really listening), because he ended up having to buy it from Blockbuster. (And can I just take the opportunity to say that, while Tony Soprano may be porkier than the average bear, he has a certain something.)
Anyway, I guess it begs the question: Is a bad gift better than no gift at all? My friend June – whose boyfriend Harry broke the cardinal rule of not giving her a birthday present – thinks so.“Presents… it’s a point that fails to get across to the modern man,” she says. “Harry was like, ‘How am I supposed to get to the shops during a working day when I don't even have time for a lunch break?’ and I was like, ‘THAT'S the point! You make time! You take 5 minutes out of your hectic week to think about another person!’”
OK, so maybe it is the thought that counts (unless, of course, you’re unwrapping a laminator). You tell me, kids...