When push comes to shove, how men tackle a key component of the holiday season gifts, differs greatly when comparing the recognized spouse (wife/girlfriend) to the illegimate one (mistress). Choosing the fitting gift is already a difficult proposition. This situation only gets dicier when multiple parties need to be addressed/ satisfied. How does one divide the costs and what types of material are being given.
The answer sounds textbook when ones hears it. Men typically spend more on their mistress than they do on their long-term girlfriend/wife. A good guess behind the reasoning? The wife has already been won-over and is viewed as a past conquest. Conversely the mistress represents a current challenge. Thus, she needs to be wooed, wined and dined because the experience is seen as a fresh and passion filled. In a classic grass is in greener mentality, an affair can be viewed as a free decision and a clean slate. Looking to impress a new woman, a man will spend lavishly on jewelry and other luxurious impractical items.
Meanwhile, the initial luster may change or wear off over the course of a long relationship. The angle for gift-giving can dramatically change from attempting to impress to filling a practical purpose. Practicality while useful often doesn’t garner the same response as luxury. Despite this significant difference in perception (over time) gifts tend to shift toward the latter. A means to improve the convenience of daily tasks while also serving as a gift results in expensive yet buzz-less gift of household equipment/ appliances (because it was needed and better than the old one.
Its crucial to attempt to balance the desire of practicality with the extravagance of surprise and “just because”. Don’t lose originality over the long haul, think it through and if you think that your spouse is spending on someone else rather than you, contacting a private investigator may be your next move.
