Dear Emma: I’ve been in a long-term relationship with my boyfriend. With our anniversary approaching, I’m running out of good ideas for a cheap but thoughtful present. Do you have any suggestions? –Broke In Love
Dear Broke In Love: Gifts can often be a cause of stress around the holidays. Don’t let the stress of finding a perfect gift ruin your anniversary. This day is for cherishing one another’s company, and a gift is just an extra way of showing your affection. Homemade gifts are sometimes the most thoughtful gifts (and the cheapest too!). If you guys are a couple that takes photos together, consider printing a cute photo of the two of you and placing it in an inexpensive, plain frame. Then, you could decorate the frame with a favorite quote! Another popular homemade idea is to purchase a mason jar and fill it with candy and notes saying what you love about your significant other. No matter the gift you give, just remember that the time you have together is the most precious thing.
Dear Emma: What does it mean when a guy sends you more than four memes in an hour? Is that friendship level or more? –So Many Memes
Dear So Many Memes: Well, without knowing a lot about your relationship with this guy, it’s hard for me to say. My general opinion would be that this guy probably likes you if he’s even texting you four times in an hour. My question to you is: what type of memes is he sending you? If they are those cheesy pick up line memes, then this is definitely more than the friendship level. If he’s sending you Joe Biden memes and garlic bread memes, maybe, you guys are just friends. Either way, since he’s sending you memes, he wants to make you laugh. In my opinion, a guy who makes you laugh is one to keep around.
Dear Emma: I have an important paper due on date night. How do you manage time on date night when you have a paper due but also want to spend time with your significant other? –Time For Love
Dear Time For Love: My first suggestion would be to try and get as much of your paper completed ahead of schedule as you can. This can be difficult to do because I’m sure you have plenty of assignments from other classes to work on now. If you can’t complete this paper early, you should give yourself a designated amount of time that you will work on this paper on date night. My suggestion would be complete the paper by 6:00pm, so you can still spend the night with your significant other doing something fun!
Dear Emma: My girlfriend has food allergies, and I am trying to decide what I can get her that is not the typical chocolate/candy gift for our anniversary. Do you have any ideas? –Nuts About Her
Dear Nuts About Her: As a girl with food allergies myself, I think it is very sweet and smart of you to avoid buying her a food item that might cause a potential problem. I believe I speak for most girls when I say: a girl can never have too many fuzzy socks or blankets. This is especially true in the winter months of Erie with all of this snow! Trust me on this and get her a cozy gift for this anniversary.
