Meaningful gifts show you care about your partner. (Tim Lee).

I’m one of those birthday fanatics. You know, the crazy people who count down to his or her birthday and remember everyone else’s birthdays without checking Facebook? Yep, that’s me. My birthday happens to be on April 21, so I’ve been thinking a lot lately about special things people do for their loved one’s birthdays.

Even though I’m obsessed with my birthday, I really believe birthdays should be less about the price tag on a present than the actual birthday experience. I would take a sentimental card, enjoyable dinner and time with people I care about over an expensive gift in a heartbeat.

“It’s more important what you do, not what you get,” said my long-term boyfriend, Eric Boonstra, who is a senior statistics major.

“It’s not necessarily going out and spending a lot of money. It sounds cliché, but it’s the thought that counts,” Boonstra said. “For example, a homemade dinner rather than a trip to a restaurant might be better because then you know your significant other put more thought in it.”

I don’t work an off-campus job during the academic year, so I was strapped for cash when Eric’s birthday came around in January. Instead of taking him out, we spent an evening in, and I made him a dinner of his choice from a cookbook. I had never made a meal more extensive than Hamburger Helper, so Eric really appreciated the effort I put in to make his birthday special.

One of my good friends, senior management major Mike Leatherwood, has been dating his girlfriend for more than one year, and he follows the same sentimental philosophy, emphasizing the element of surprise.

“I think it’s important to do something that he or she isn’t exactly expecting,” said Leatherwood, whose non-sports friendly girlfriend surprised him with tickets to a New York Mets game for his last birthday. “The element of surprise always makes birthdays more special and memorable. If you get to do something you have done before, I believe it won’t have as much meaning.”

Leatherwood brought his girlfriend to an Italian restaurant for her birthday last May, and surprised her with a heart-shaped necklace.

“I thought the heart would be good especially, since we were a new couple at the time, and it would show that I really care for her and that this relationship is something special.”

Kathy Escalante, sophomore Spanish secondary education major, says she and her boyfriend of two years like buying each other meaningful gifts.

Escalante’s boyfriend loves the computer game “World of Warcraft,” so for his birthday, Escalante got him action figures from the game and shirts from one of his favorite stores, Express. For Escalante’s birthday, her boyfriend brought her to an Italian restaurant and took her shopping.

“I definitely think (what’s important is) just making them feel special on their day … just doing anything special for them to enjoy it and make it memorable,” Escalante said.

Lauren Gurry can be reached at gurry2@tcnj.edu.