No matter what it is, she wants to know that it was planned further back than the day before Christmas. We can sense when it was bought in haste on the last possible day at a department store, when it’s just something you barely took the time to scratch the price off of, and no one wants that. She wants to see that effort and thought were put into it – maybe it has a few different elements, maybe it’s really specific to something she wanted, maybe it took a long time to put together. Whatever it is, it should be something that wasn’t plucked off a random shelf on Christmas Eve because it looked like “something a girl would want.”
Maybe you don’t know what to get her, and that’s fine, too. But if your goal is to go on a day of shopping so you can’t go wrong, slapping a gift card into an envelope with a note saying “luv u” might as well be nothing at all. Get her a bottle of her favorite wine, some good chocolate, and make a handwritten card with a note about how she gets a day of shopping at [insert her favorite store here]. Getting to spend the time with you, and seeing that you put effort into even the act of not getting anything yourself, will make it feel special.
If you do decide to get her something to wear, make it something you actually want to give her. Receiving a dress – no matter how nice it is – is nowhere near as good as the sound of your voice, in look in your eyes, when you say “I can’t wait to see you in this,” or “I thought this would look beautiful on you.” We want to look the way you see us, beautiful and fresh and never overdone. We feel sexiest when you think we are sexy, so giving her something that is truly beautiful to you, and which you truly believe will make her look wonderful. Tell her how lovely she is, and how much lovelier she will be in that dress.
She wants to be surprised – whether that surprise is a trip Rome, or just an extra present behind the tree. She wants to feel that stomach-drop element of “what does he have up his sleeve?” because nothing is better than when you take the lead and show her that you’ve been planning for a while. She has to take care of so much when it comes to Christmas, from presents to food to organizing all of the travel. Show her that you wanted to go that extra mile, and surprise her with something she absolutely wasn’t expecting.
No matter what it is, she wants to feel that it came from your heart, and not from a checkout line somewhere. She wants to be the person you think of first, and see the excitement in your eyes when you give your gift – to know that her being happy is what will make you happy. Because she feels the same for you. 
