Tasha Dhanraj is birthday shopping on a budget

It is my boyfriend’s birthday soon (did I mention I have a boyfriend?). This is definitely the most irritating part of having someone in your life that you care more about than money, mainly because when you decide what to get them and then rush out to buy it, you forget about how much it costs.

That was certainly the case with me… until I logged onto my bank’s website the next day and realised my affection for him isn’t as deep as the bottomless, empty pit that is my bank balance.

His birthday is only a few weeks after Christmas, which means I am really beginning to notice how much lighter my purse feels. Luckily for me, he once insisted that he prefers sentiment to quality – which is exactly what he’s getting. I’m giving him a notebook with a picture of a horse on it and some socks with a picture of an eagle that I have hand-sewn into it.

“They would be great for an 11-year-old nature geek, but at his age they are rubbish presents”

I’m sure they would be great gifts if he was an 11-year-old nature geek, but at his age they are embarrassingly rubbish presents. Both reference something that we have joked about, but because I started planning this when we first started dating I have a sneaking suspicion he is not going to remember these conversations and I will have to stand there smiling while he looks confused as a tumbleweed rolls past.

I also took him for a Christmas meal. We went to a restaurant that supposedly did the best chips in London. The chips were pretty good, but they didn’t blow my mind. I fear the same disappointment is destined for his notebook and socks. I have spent the last three months repeatedly saying “you will love love love your birthday presents.”

Now it is getting closer to actually giving them to him, I know it’s going to be a massive letdown.

People say that giving is better than receiving and while I really do want him to like his present and I take joy from the deluded hope that these pathetic items might make him happy, I mainly just want him to give me nice things.

The truth of the matter is that I know if I give him something rubbish, I will set a precedent for everything we ever give each other. I turn 18 this year. It is an important birthday, and I will not be satisfied with a scarf with a picture of a cat on it.