Whose gift is this anyway?

YES! Give the gift of gift certificates at Trousseau.

It always astounds me when men (or anyone for that matter) give lingerie as a gift. I mean, really slutty, tacky lingerie -- I do not mean PJs or sleeping gowns or nice matching undergarments. I like to pick out my own undergarments and surprise my significant other. I would venture to say that if you are dating a classy lady, she will not ask for lingerie wrapped up under the tree. So, if you have already gotten that red or green holiday-themed underwear with faux fur trim for the lady in your life, take it back now and get the girlfriend whatever she has been hinting she wants for the last six months.

Why on earth would you think a woman would want this crap as a gift? Women don't wear dental floss-like g-strings with pearls and sequins to bed (to SLEEP) or under jeans on a regular basis -- a woman wears it for all of 15 minutes to turn on their partner and then (if she is smart) she peels it off in a striptease for you. Let's put this into perspective, a guy (or gal) gets 4 days (5+ if you are involved with someone like Kim Kardashian who demands a "push present") a year to really make a difference to a woman and thus get incredible "cool points" (most often redeemable for sex, getting out of trouble, etc.) -- Christmas, your anniversary, her birthday and Valentines Day. Christmas gifts are meant to show the people you love how much you love them, not how much you want them to have sex with you. Unless a woman specifically asks you for the naughty holiday French maid costume complete with fishnets and feather duster, DO NOT BUY IT. Chances are if you showed it to her in a magazine, she laughed because it was funny for all of 10 seconds, NOT because she wants it for Christmas.

If your significant other buys you something like this (and you didn't ask for it -- why would you ask for something like this?!?!?) please believe me that he/she bought it for him/herself. Politely tell them that you think it will look great on them and to please go try it on. When the look of shock wears off their face, you can encourage them to venture on over to the jewelry store to get your REAL gift. I'm not a firm believer in demanding gifts for Christmas because the holiday really isn't about that but, if you HINT about a certain item you would like and your significant other doesn't get the hint or clearly ignores it, perhaps its time to deck the halls elsewhere.