Intergender gift giving can be an absolute minefield for the
uninitiated man. Between fellow men its easy enough to give sports
tickets, subscriptions to sports magazines, maybe a piece of sports
memorabilia and when all else fails, beer works just fine.
Seriously, I¹ve never had a good six-pack steer me wrong.
But women expect more. They want thought; personalization
(putting their name on a jersey apparently doesn¹t count) and you
can¹t give them the same thing twice (they remember).
So what¹s a guy to do? The first step is understanding what
gifts to avoid.
Clothes are dangerous. Too large and you¹re into the weight
conversation. Too small and you¹re also into the weight
conversation. Avoid the weight conversation like the plague.
Spend too much on jewelry and you¹re into an uncomfortable level
of commitment but spend too little and you¹re cheap. Jewelry will
also spend most of its life in a box unused and unappreciated.
Perfume runs afoul of different tastes, flowers die, chocolate
triggers guilt-associated weight conversations and any man insane
enough to enter into the realm of shoes deserves what he gets.
The key is to find something that holds value independent of its
price, is guaranteed to fit, and well, if you get some benefit
that¹s just fine. Fortunately Sonoma County is resplendent with the
perfect gift option. Spa treatments.
Spa treatments make people feel ³special.² They hit all the
bases and when your girl comes out of a gift looking better than
she did going in, everyone¹s a winner.
Joelle Goncalves, spa manager at A New Dawn Day Spa in
Sebastopol said, ³People understand that the gift of relaxing isn¹t
something that people would come in for on their own, so when they
leave they are thrilled.²
Lexy Whitaker, spa director for The Spa at Hotel Healdsburg said
that spas make great gifts ³especially for women. Some people don¹t
spend that kind of money on themselves and when they get that for a
gift it¹s really nice.²
Lexy brings up a good point. Spa treatments will cost real cash,
but the return on investment is high and there are a variety of
treatments around to fit almost any budget.
The Spa and New Dawn do make it easy to set up a great gift. You
can get gift certificates for particular treatments allowing the
giver to schedule a whole day without the recipient knowing the
price. The Spa also offers a 15 percent discount to locals.
Choosing the right treatment can be daunting, especially when
they read more like menus than personal hygiene options (The New
Dawn features a ruby grapefruit sugar polish, milk and oat body
scrub, and chardonnay sugar scrub). The best way is to break it
down by body part and go from there.
Hair: Some spas include hair salons. If your girl is the type to
only spring for a major stylist at weddings, then adding a hair cut
is fine; it will reinforce the impression of ³special occasion.²
However if she has a regular stylist that she frequents every three
months, best leave the hair cut out.
Face: Words like exfoliate, purify and hydrate (nothing to do
with Gatorade) will appear in these descriptions. Facials are a
traditional spa treatment and generally involve something being
smeared onto the skin in order to peel away dead cells.
Try to stick to ones described as ³relaxing² or ³soothing.²
Facials described as revitalizing, rejuvenating or cleansing could
be harsh and might irritate sensitive skin. If you need to
accommodate sensitive skin, call the spa and discuss what is most
appropriate.
Prices for facials are going to range from about $50 for a ³mini
facial² up to $150 for deluxe treatments and can take up to 90
minutes.
Bonus tip: Always use the word ³radiant² to compliment her after
a facial is done.
Body: Any spa worth its mineral infused oils will offer
massages. Don¹t get confused by terms that sound like food at a
Chinese restaurant (Shiatsu, Thai, Hot Stone). The basics are all
the same, lubrication will be applied, muscles will be rubbed, and
subject will be relaxed.
Even if you are the king of home back rubs, the experience is
totally different in a spa environment and usually the most
rewarding treatment dollar for dollar.
Expect a massage to run between 60 and 100 minutes for a cost of
$100 to $200.
A second class of body treatments includes scrubs or polishes.
They are akin to a facial for the rest of the body. Expect to pay
around $100 for an hour¹s worth of attention.
Hands: Hand treatments boil down to manicures with fancy names.
Like hair, hand treatments aren¹t essential to the experience but
can be a special treat for girls who don¹t get their nails done
regularly.
Basic treatments start around $30 and can hit $100 for massaging
manicures.
Feet: Foot options generally include a pedicure (toe nail
beautification) and a rub of some type. Foot rubs carry a cachet of
luxury and fit nicely into the gift-giving mold. If she wears heels
to work, stands up all day, or routinely complains of foot pain, a
foot treatment should be high on the list.
Foot treatments top out at the same level as hand treatments,
around $100 for the top of the line, but a professional foot rub is
more luxurious than getting nails done, making it a better gift
experience.
Goncalves said that when choosing a treatment, it¹s important to
know what type of experience the recipient wants. ³There are almost
two kinds of clients,² she said. ³One comes in more for body work
to relieve sore muscles, but when someone comes in for a facial
it¹s not just pampering, it¹s about cleansing and improving the
quality of the skin.²
When in doubt go with a combo package. Alles European Day Spa in
Windsor offers a two-hour mini facial and massage package for $175.
Similar options are available at most spas and can last all day for
a head to toe program.
Men can go to a spa by choice, but Goncalves said most male
visitors typically come in as a result of a gift. She said men who
get facials are more concerned with their cleansing qualities and
the New Dawn offers a men¹s skincare facial for $78.
Spa treatments are a perfect gift and making a tradition out of
a spa visit means less stress searching for a gift year after year.
And if you have to spend Sunday with your buddies, perhaps watching
a game, because your girl is being pampered, that¹s just a
sacrifice you have to make.
