When one person proposes to another, can the proposal be considered a gift?

Many couples want the moment they get engaged to be special and memorable, so a lot of people plan it during a time that is already special in itself–proposing during a birthday, Christmas, or even Valentine’s Day. The question is, if you propose during a day that already has a celebration, are you exempt from the original festivities?

The man in the story below plans to propose to his girlfriend on Christmas Day, while the family opens the Christmas presents. However, since he is already giving his girlfriend an engagement ring, this guy doesn’t think it’s necessary to buy additional Christmas presents for his soon-to-be fiancée.

When he said as much to a friend, the friend told him that she thinks his girlfriend would not appreciate him skipping over the Christmas presents, and that getting engaged is not considered a gift, at least not in the way he views it.