The Romantic.com

GUM WRAPPERS AND TICKET STUBS

submitted by: Kim Gates

What is a romantic gift? Is it a dozen roses, a private bubble bath, or a box of chocolates? I believe these things are nice, but so unoriginal they don’t convey romance to me.

When my husband and I celebrated our first Christmas together, our finances were such that I doubted we’d really be able to celebrate the holiday. We were living with his parents and struggled for the tiniest things, having to save most of our money for our first apartment together. I was not prepared for the romantic gift he got me that year, and I will never forget it.

He bought a plain photo album and glued fabric and batting to it to make it look expensive and fancy. He placed all sorts of stuff within the pages, including movie ticket stubs, pressed roses, and a gum wrapper. You might be thinking, “What is so romantic about a gum wrapper?” The very day we met, he asked me for a piece of gum. I didn’t know it at the time, but he saved it. I know it is the original wrapper because I wrote my name and phone number on it the day I met him. Another great thing he did was separate the pages in chronological order, starting with when we first met all the way till our first Christmas. I had no idea, until I unwrapped this gift, he had been secretly keeping mementos throughout our first year of marriage. The gift itself was most likely under $20, but the thought that went into creating it was and still is priceless. Strange…. It’s actually the most romantic gift I’ve ever received, and I wouldn’t trade it for a diamond ring (or any other jewelry).