Okay, so now you need some ideas for Christmas gifts. I'm talking to fishermen - and their significant others as well!
Now for you guys that haven't been listening to the gals all year - especially the last couple of months - you had best be either calling on the best girlfriends or sisters and moms of these women you choose to live with. That is, if you want to continue to live with them....
Women love personal gifts. Think smell, soft, comfort, sparkly. Any of these terms are sure to please. Do not, under any circumstance, give something that is alive unless the woman has asked for it specifically! Remember, the more time she has to devote to a cute puppy or kitty is that much more time she will NOT devote to YOU. And this could be a loooong winter!
Also remember that that new vacuum cleaner or CrockPot could in the future be a problem area. Buying her something that reminds her of work is not the answer. She thinks enough about how much she takes care of everyone else, don't add fuel to that fire.
General interest items would be candles, picture frames (especially with a promissory note to hang them!), bath soaps and lotions, comfy slippers, fleece throws, finger and/or toenail beauty products. The list could go on and on - just think personal! If you are wanting that new bass boat this coming year - think sparkly - jewels and gold for that extra kicker!
Now, ladies - remember - the guys don't want anything that smells, is soft, comfortable, or that sparkles. (Baits and boats excluded, of course!) If your guy is a diehard fisherman and will fish in any extreme, you can think about a new polar-lined fleece jacket - but it won't be what he WANTS, just what he needs. A new rainsuit would be great as well, but his mind is more on the new rod, reel, or the newest lures he has seen on the TandV. He is all about the gadgets. GPS units and fishfinders are what HE really wants to find under the tree. Also any food item that can be opened, held, and eaten with one hand and that have a shelf life of 100 years could be wrapped in the case for those times the body says eat, but the mind and the fish say no! Thermos bottles - the good unbreakable kind - to fill with coffee for that early morning takeoff would be a good bet. You can feed and nurture his body, but the fishing will feed his soul!
All you have to do is listen once in a while, the hints are there, the little innuendos that slink about in the conversation. If worse comes to worse, use your phone-a-friend lifeline. But NEVER, NEVER, NEVER!! ASK the person you are buying for. It will only reinforce that notion you haven't been listening. End the year on a good note - that new boat pamphlet is already in the mail!