Will a cool experience or a material gift win her heart this Valentines ?

If you still haven’t bought your Valentine a gift – you need to get going, there are only 3 shopping days left.  

The big question is what should you give ? 

 First let’s put to bed that myth that you’re don’t have to give anything.  Your special someone is expecting something. 

So should you opt for a material gift or an experience this Valentine’s Day. 

In theory, a shared experience is good

In theory, a shared experience such as a holiday, theatre tickets or a meal at a fancy restaurant will definitely lead to more long-term happiness than buying material goods.  But, the strategy can back fire – big time. 

If the experience goes well, you will win hands down. 

But a bad experience is an unforgettable nightmare

But should the experience be negative .  The bad experience  is likely to cause more unhappiness than the bad gift.

The reason, the bad gift is quickly forgotten but the bad experience – it lingers a lot longer.  So if the play was awful or the waiter poured the drinks on your “date”, it is going to be a lot harder to recover.

Experts advise give a tangible gift

So the experts (not psychologists but economists), suggest it may be better to forgo the adventure vacation in favour of a safer gift, such as a piece of jewellery or a box of chocolates. 

Only choose the experience if you know that you know that you know is will turn out well i.e. her favourite restaurant or movie. 

Or cover your bases – a material gift PLUS an experience. 

Need a little help testing this hypothesis ?  I’m always ready to volunteer for the good of science.