Prada wallet for christmas gift?

I think it's a good gift. I have a prada wallet. It has lasted me longer than any other wallet I've had.

If you and your gf have decided to go light on the gifts, don't get her a Prada wallet. Even if you do get a good deal on it (and I'm not even convinced that US$155 is a terribly good price in absolute terms), it will be unnecessary escalation. She'll think you're saying one thing and doing another. BTW, I bought my fiance her xmas present already. We're going to Zambia to work on a house-building blitz, and I bought her ticket. I'm absolutely stoked. Peace, JG

Joe: I must say, that is an awesome gift idea. You will be helping others to have a decent home, improving yourself (through culture immersion and physical exertion), and doing it all with the girl you love. I actually have a friend in Bosnia right now doing some medical aid and missions work. He says it is an amazing experience; he has been there for about three months and will remain there for another two and a half years, or so. Hats off to your humility. That, my friend, is a quality I respect greatly.

It depends on what "not much" means to the two of you. If she understands that to mean under $50, for example, it really will be unfair to spend so much more. If, OTOH, you have a mutual understanding that your budget is @$200, then the wallet is in the running. When you say she's been wanting something similar, did she want something specific that you see as similar, or has she just expressed a generic interest in a small, black zippered wallet? Because, if it's the former, she might not see the Prada wallet as "just like the one I wanted" as much as you do. With my wife, I've always paid careful attention to her specific item lusts, so I have an internal gift list from which to work when holidays and the like come along. That way, you score points on two counts: one, the gift she really wants; and, two, you were listening.

Bosnia is a wonderful country. If you have a chance to visit your friend, you should take it. Last Easter, I was in Sarajevo. We didn't have time to do much exploring outside the city, but Serajavo itself was glorious. Parts of the trip scared me (when our bus from Zagreb hit the Bosnian border, a burly fatigued man with a Skorpion machine pistol in his hand and a big "Repblika Serbska" patch on his shoulder boarded our bus to check passports), but the Serajevans were so warm and so forward-looking. There weren't many tourists, so we got a personal walking tour by a very attractive college girl who was fluent in English and German from the Tourist Info Office. There were some somewhat unexpected depressing elements, like sitting in restaurants and clubs (there's a really great Lebanese restaurant called "Cedar" I think, and we also spent some time most nights in Central Cafe, which we dubbed "Cafe IKEA" because of the decor) and realising that the only other people there were "internationals", or NGO/UN people, and SFOR soldiers. But Bosnian fast food is often better that haute cusine elsewhere, so the people eating food from street vendors also eat very well. (Expected depressing elements? The bullet-holes, the "Sarajevo roses", etc.) PS: The Zambia thing was her idea, mostly. I'm also excited because I've never been to Zambia. The only thing that's going to be hard is that we haven't seen each other since October, and we won't exactly be staying in a well-soundproofed hotel...