Thanks everyone for the ideas! Reading what people wrote made things clearer. A lot of good suggestions.
What I ended up doing, was booking a Sunday brunch for the two of us at a fabulous five star hotel along the coast right after xMas. I figured, I'd just call her on Xmas day and wish her the best. Inside, I'm dying to get her a gift, but am refraning from doing so as most suggested. I'm probably going to make a bookmark and have it painted and laminated to give to her when I see her next Sunday.
On a side note, if you were following this thread, I'd like to ask another question that has me perplexed.
We went out to lunch today and she insisted on picking up the tab (4th date). The first 3 dates, I picked up the tab. Nothing wrong here, except she is still a student with no income. She tells me about how she needs to keep up her grades in order to receive her student loans, so I know for certain she is on a student budget. I love the fact she makes the gesture of paying and I admire her for this. On our 3rd date, we went to an expensive restaurant. When the bill came, she wanted to 'pitch in', but I told her, I really appreciated it and since she was a student that I will take care of it. I mentioned, perhaps, when she finished school and got a job, she could pay for some of our outings.
Now that she is on Xmas break, we are starting to see more of each other and doing more things together. I know this sharing the cost thing will creep up again sooner or later. I'm at a point in my life where I'm doing quite well and don't mind picking up the tab all the time -- at least for this girl. So my question is this: Is there a better way to handle this? If so, how would I go about telling her? What to say?
