Valentine's Day Gift Guide: Gifts for Your Crush

Are you thinking about revealing your feelings to your crush this Valentine's Day? It's scary and exciting, but it has the potential to be a very romantic start to something wonderful, so I think it's worth the risk. The Valentine's gift that you choose has to be just right. If it's too expensive or too large, you'll come on too strong. If it's just a cheap gift from the drugstore, it won't seem like you really mean it. The perfect gift for your would-be Valentine is something that shows you're worthy of returned affection because you've been paying attention.

As usual, TV has done a really good job of illustrating this. The last episode of season one of "Friends" is titled "The One Where Rachel Finds Out," meaning she finds out that Ross has had a crush on her since high school. It's her birthday, and he can't be there, so he has one of the other friends give her his gift, an antique brooch like the one her grandmother had. She can't believe he remembered, and so begins one of television's most beloved couples. Has your crush mentioned anything like that? Take a look at our estate jewelry section and see if there is something similar.

Maybe you don't know your crush well enough to have any ideas about brooches. This is OK because he or she has to have at least a few friends you can ask about things as simple as favorite flowers. I still remember that a friend I haven't seen in 14 years loved tulips, and I'm sure there are other people out there with steel-trap memories like mine who are willing to share.

If you can't get in touch with anyone who will spill a few favorites, your next bet is to get something that anyone would like, not because it is so bland as to be inoffensive, but because it's so awesome. I'm talking about supremely delicious things (like a dozen gourmet cupcakes or vanilla, pecan and espresso caramels), hilarious things (like bacon-flavored toothpicks, an iPhone case that looks like a cassette tape or a book about the Big Lebowski) or inspiring things (like a framed print of Muhammad Ali or a handmade artisan bracelet).

If you just can't pin down the one gift that you think will accurately present your feelings, maybe just invite him or her over for a Valentine's Day game of "I've Never." It's Valentine's Day and love is in the air, after all, so you don't know where it may lead you.

I think you're ready. Are you going to go through with it?

Posted by Stephanie Petersen