Lesbian Gift Ideas
The best gifts are thoughtful, personal, and well suited to the recipient. Work gift exchanges and gifts for family can leave you looking for the right gift for someone you don’t know well. If you need to buy a gift for a lesbian you don’t know well enough to choose a personalized gift for, try some of these ideas or opt for gifts that are apt to be fairly universally appreciated this holiday season. Look for gifts that are gender neutral, practical, and not apt to be embarrassing at the office party or family dinner. These ideas might also help if you’re simply short on time to find that perfect gift.
In lieu of yet another gift basket, consider making a donation in the recipient’s name to a local charity dealing with gay and lesbian issues. Most cities have a community resource center offering counseling, support groups, and youth services and these facilities are always in need of funds. You could also opt to make a donation to a larger national charity. A donation to the Human Rights Campaign at hrc.org is another good alternative.
Tech toys are one of the better gift options today, for nearly everyone. While your average gift budget won’t cover a new iPhone or netbook, some tech gifts are well within a reasonable gift exchange budget. Consider a cleverly concealed flash drive from Etsy.com, an iPod or cell phone cozy, or a sturdy and practical messenger bag sized to carry her laptop or netbook. More playful gifts might include USB powered gadgets and toys of all sorts from ThinkGeek.com.
While we all know that gift cards are a cliché at the holiday season, there’s a reason they’re popular. If you’re short on time, you can have an Amazon.com gift certificate on its way via email in only minutes. Gift cards to Itunes.com are another excellent option for nearly anyone. Local restaurants are nearly always a safe bet.
Of course, with any list of gift exchanges comes a list of things not to give. Avoid giving gendered gifts to a lesbian you know unless you are absolutely sure of her gender presentation and identity. Also, please do not give her any season of the L Word on DVD unless she requests it. She’s seen it, in all likelihood. If she loves it, she probably already owns it. If she finds Jenny unbelievably annoying, she doesn’t want to own it.
ThinkGeek worked out well for this lesbian and her gal. I got my girlfriend the levitation wand as a stocking stuffer. But to make it more interesting, I opened it first and removed all product information so that she would not have a clue as to what it could do. On Christmas, when she pulled the wand and mylar shapes out of her stocking, I placed the wand into her hand and gently threw the shapes into the air and had her point her wand toward them. She was amazed as she watched them float and move around in mid air. So much fun. Quite addictive as well :)