Should I give her a Valentine's Day gift?

Can you give a friend a gift for valentine's day?

• Well to make a long story short I have a friend who I really like possibly even love. I told her I liked her awhile back but she said she didn't want to date or anything right now. It still hurts some knowing this but we stayed friends. She was the first girl I ever tried to date and could tell I like because I'm really shy. Things are going good and it's just like it was before between us even though I still really like her. Since it's almost valentine's day I was wondering if it would be acceptable to give her a present or would that creep her out? I don't by any means expect her to return my feeling from just a gift but I still want to give her one. She is special to me and if there was any girl I wanted to give my first valentine's gift to it would be her. I saw a stuffed parrot doll that I wanted to get her because she really likes them, would it be alright or is it too soon to do that? Could it mess up our friendship? Were both 20 and any advice is good.

• Answer:

  Giving her a gift on Valentine's Day is not a good idea. If you want to get her a gift just as a token of your friendship, you can give it to her on any other day of the year. But Valentine's Day is a holiday built on giving gifts and receiving romantic (frequently sexual) favors in return. So it's not a good day to give her a gift if she made it clear that she does not want a romantic relationship with you. The symbolism of the holiday alone makes it almost impossible for her to *not* take it the wrong way. If you want to buy her the stuffed parrot, then just buy it and give it to her. Don't wait for a holiday. Celebrate your friendship *now.*