A gift or a present is the transfer of something without the expectation of payment. Although gift-giving might involve an expectation of reciprocity, a gift is meant to be free. In many human societies, the act of mutually exchanging money, goods, etc. may contribute to social cohesion. Economists have elaborated the economics of gift-giving into the notion of a gift economy. By extension the term gift can refer to anything that makes the other happier or less sad, especially as a favor, including forgiveness and kindness.

When material objects are given as gifts, in many cultures they are traditionally packaged in some manner. For example, in Western culture, gifts are often wrapped in wrapping paper and accompanied by a gift note which may note the occasion, the recipient's name, and the giver's name. In Chinese culture, red wrapping connotes luck.

The occasion may be:

At common law, for a gift to have legal effect, it was required that there be (1) intent by the donor to give a gift, and (2) delivery to the recipient of the item to be given as a gift.

Jim Brickman (born November 20, 1961) is an American songwriter and pianist. He has been named the most charted male Adult Contemporary artist to date, with six of his albums receiving Gold and Platinum status. He is known for his solo piano compositions, pop-style instrumentals, and vocal collaborations with artists such as Michael W. Smith, Martina McBride, Donny Osmond, Delta Goodrem, Misha Omar, Olivia Newton-John, Lady Antebellum, and others. He earned a Grammy nomination in 2003, SESAC "Songwriter of the Year" award, Canadian Country Music Award for "Best Vocal/ Instrumental Collaboration", and a Dove Award presented by the Gospel Music Association. His CD entitled Faith has been nominated for a 2010 Grammy Award for Best New Age Album.

Since 1997, he has hosted his own radio show called Your Weekend with Jim Brickman, which is carried on radio stations throughout the United States. Brickman has also released three PBS specials, and hosts an annual fan cruise. He is founder of Brickhouse Direct, a company that provides strategic marketing and e-commerce solutions for clients in a variety of industries.

Troyal Garth Brooks (born February 7, 1962) is an American country music artist. His eponymous first album was released in 1989 and peaked at number 2 in the US country album chart while climbing to number 13 on the Billboard 200 album chart. Brooks' integration of rock elements into his recordings and live performances has earned him immense popularity. This progressive approach allowed him to dominate the country single and album charts while quickly crossing over into the mainstream pop arena, exposing country music to a larger audience.

Brooks has enjoyed one of the most successful careers in popular music history, breaking records for both sales and concert attendance throughout the 1990s. Garth Brooks still continues to sell well and according to Nielsen Soundscan, his albums sales through October 2011 are at 68,561,000, which makes him the best-selling albums artist in the United States in the SoundScan era (since 1991), a title held since 1991, well over 5 million ahead of his nearest rival, The Beatles. Furthermore, according to RIAA he is the second best-selling solo albums artist in the United States of all time behind Elvis Presley (overall is third to the Beatles and Elvis Presley) with 128 million units sold. Brooks has released six albums that achieved diamond status in the United States, those being: Garth Brooks (10× platinum), No Fences (17× platinum), Ropin' the Wind (14× platinum), The Hits (10× platinum), Sevens (10× platinum) and Double Live (21× platinum). Since 1989, Brooks has released 19 records in all, which include; 9 studio albums, 1 live album, 4 compilation albums, 3 Christmas albums and 2 box sets, along with 77 singles. He won several important awards in his career as 2 Grammy Awards, 16 American Music Awards (not including the poll of "Artist of the '90s") and the RIAA Award as Best selling solo albums artist of the Century in the United States. As of 2010, Brooks' world-wide sales now exceed 190 million albums, singles and videos.

Saint Valentine (in Latin, Valentinus) a widely recognized third century Roman saint commemorated on February 14 and associated since the High Middle Ages with a tradition of courtly love. Nothing is known reliably of St. Valentine except his name, the fact that he died and was buried on the Via Flaminia north of Rome on February 14, and that he was born on April 16^{[citation needed]}. It is even uncertain whether St. Valentine is to be identified with only one saint or two saints of the same name. Several differing martyrologies have been added to later hagiographies that are unreliable. For these reasons this liturgical commemoration was not kept in the Catholic calendar of saints for universal liturgical veneration as revised in 1969. But the "Martyr Valentinus who died on the 14th of February on the Via Flaminia close to the Milvian bridge in Rome" still remains in the list of officially recognized saints proposed for private veneration by Catholics.

In the Eastern Orthodox Church, Saint Valentine the Presbyter is celebrated on July 6 (Martyr Valentinus the Presbyter and those with him at Rome) and Hieromartyr Saint Valentine (Bishop of Interamna, Terni in Italy) is celebrated on July 30. Notwithstanding, because of the relative obscurity of this western saint in the East, members of the Greek Orthodox Church named Valentinos (male) or Valentina (female) may celebrate their name day on the Western ecclesiastical calendar date of February 14.^{[citation needed]}

Blake Tollison Shelton (born June 18, 1976) is an American country music artist. In 2001, he made his debut with the single "Austin". Released as the lead-off single from his self-titled debut album, "Austin" went on to spend five weeks at Number One on the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts. This song was the first single from his gold-certified debut album, which also produced two more Top 20 hits. Although the album was released on Giant Records Nashville, Shelton was transferred to Warner Bros. Records Nashville after Giant closed in late 2001.

His second and third albums, 2003's The Dreamer (his first for Warner Bros. proper) and 2004's Blake Shelton's Barn & Grill, were each certified gold as well. Shelton's fourth album, Pure BS, was issued in 2007, and re-issued in 2008 with a cover of Michael Bublé's pop hit "Home" as one of the bonus tracks. This cover was also that album's third single. A fifth album, Startin' Fires, was released in November 2008. It was followed by the extended plays Hillbilly Bone and All About Tonight in 2010, and the album Red River Blue in 2011. He is currently a vocal coach on the NBC reality talent show The Voice with Adam Levine, Christina Aguilera, and Cee Lo Green.