This past Christmas I ran across a problem that I'm sure all of you have stumbled across. I had no idea what to get my girlfriend for a present. We had been dating for only three months, but it was serious. So, just a teddy bear and some flowers wouldn't work. But, what was appropriate? How could I tell her that she was that special someone?

Having no clue what to do, I of course asked for reinforcement-my mother. I figured that she was a woman so that she would know what women want. She gave me a piece of advice that is at the heart of gift giving. "Make it personal," she told me. The wisdom. The insight. Get her something personal, that was it. But what was that something personal? My mom then told me to walk into a jewelry store and ask the jeweler to pick out a nice pair of earrings for me.

Is that personal I thought? "Women always love jewelry," my mom said. After the phone call with my mother, I was more confused than ever. I decided that I did want to get my girlfriend something personal, but walking into a jewelry store and having someone else pick out the right gift didn't seem personal to me at all. I called my mom back and told her that she could get my girlfriend jewelry and that I would get her something more personal. I still didn't know what that something personal was yet though.

It took weeks of agonizing thought before I finally found the answer. The answer came while I was admiring some photographs in my girlfriend's apartment. She explained that she had taken the pictures with a disposable camera. I was amazed that she had taken such vivid pictures with a not-so-good camera. I asked her if she still took photos and she said that she still didn't have a great camera. That was it!

I decided it. I would buy her a camera. It would be the perfect gift. Yet, when I told others about the gift, they were less enthused. "It's a typical gift," a coworker told me. "Just a piece of electronics," my dad said. (Ironically, I had also given my dad a camera). A few days before Christmas, I still hadn't bought the gift. I was so torn up that finally, I caved. I straight out asked my girlfriend what she wanted for Christmas. She wanted me to choose it. I explained to her that I thought I had the perfect gift but that others weren't so sure.

"You could just tell me," she said. I couldn't do that, I thought. That would ruin everything. But, with no other options, and Christmas a few days away, I did just that. I told her I had thought about getting her a digital camera. Her face lit up. "I'd say that you should follow your instincts," she said. I did just that and gave her the camera for Christmas! She absolutely loves it!