Free For All Posted February 6, 2005 Report Share Posted February 6, 2005 OK, I'm curious about what our board members come up with regarding Valentine's Day gifts/ideas for their significant others. I'm tired of the usual candy/flowers routine. Mrs. Free For All deserves something better. After all, she puts up with me. Do you go out? Special romantic restaurant? Nice hotel? Hot tub? Spam omelet? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jazzbo Posted February 6, 2005 Report Share Posted February 6, 2005 I do the very expensive flowers bit every year by an award-winning flower shop. . . and I only do that because my wife really LOVES flowers and flower arrangements, she really appreciates it and makes me feel that I DID THE RIGHT THING. Also, no one else at her office gets flowers even vaguely resembling the flowers she gets, and that doesn't hurt my standing with her either! It puts the pinch on my finances every February, but it's really honestly appreciated and I always do it. So guess no answers from me. If your wife really has been enjoying the flowers, you may want to continue with that tradition. .. . If not, lots of options. We often also go to one of our favorite restaurants one evening either before, after or on Valentine's Day, usually the Clay Pit (fabulous Indian food) or Fonda San Miguel (fantastic Mexican food). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan Gould Posted February 6, 2005 Report Share Posted February 6, 2005 Not much help here, although I don't think we "go through the motions" on Valentine's, its really an occasion for a gift or two, and either dinner out or I'll cook something different, like a wok recipe. I've never done the candy/flowers bit; this year she's getting a cabaret CD she'd asked for before Christmas, and I just picked up a DVD I think she'll enjoy, the first season of Mork and Mindy. And I know I'm getting a batch of CDs from Stateside, including those last two Dexters at Montmartre sets! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Chaney Posted February 6, 2005 Report Share Posted February 6, 2005 The better way to go about this might be what did we, as men, get that we really loved. Maybe that would work in return. This is one of my favorites, received from a wonderful gal, a new love at the time. (We're no longer a couple.) Rebus: a representation of words in the form of pictures or symbols, often presented as a puzzle. (She also used some words but we'll cut her some slack.) (Also, so you’ll understand the use of all the fruit and vegetable pictures, we were / are vegetarians.) Using two sheets of pale pink paper, cut out the shape of a heart, one the same size as the other, both being approximately 10" from top to bottom. Fold both hearts in half, down the center, so that you've now formed a booklet. Open those four pages and, down the fold / crease that's been created in the middle, poke two very shall holes, one inch apart, with even spacing above and below each hole. Through each hole, thread a bit of pretty material (thin ribbon?) and tie the material in a bow on the outside. There's your booklet. (SAVE THE ASSEMBLY PART UNTIL THE END.) The text, HAND-WRITTEN!!!!!!!! Don't make it artificial in any way; we're going for handmade with love. And use a nicely colored, thin-line marker. (She used turquoise.) On the cover: Special REBUS only for (insert her name here)_______________ Below that: (Especially for Valentine's Day but especially for every day) Now open the booklet you've created and you'll have what we'll call page two (right side of the heart) and page three (left side of the heart). On page two, at the top, a small COLORFUL picture of sweet peppers. Below that a COLORFUL picture of a single carrot. On page three, at the top, a romantic, red heart. (Unless you’re this board’s Dr. J, use the Valentine-shaped heart and don’t get clever and use a picture of the real thing.) Below that, cut from a magazine of some sort, the word ME. (Using a computer for the ME might be fine as the ME must be fairly big, let’s say 1" tall.) Okay, now you'll add a few words and what you'll see across the top of pages two and three will be: Oh, (picture of sweet peppers) ----> (picture of romantic, red heart), do you and then below (picture of carrot) all for (ME, from a magazine)? Now turn to pages four and five. This one's simpler. On page four, a small picture of lettuce. On page five, a small picture of honey bees (on flowers, if you like). Words added: (picture of lettuce) both ---> (picture of bees) ---> Now on to pages six and seven. On page seven, a small picture of what, in your area, would be seen as a weed. (I'm thinking the legal kind but if you want to go in another direction and she will find it humorous, go for the illicit kind.) On page seven, a picture of a succulent, ripe pear. Words added: (picture of weed) make a ---> swell (picture of the ripe, juicy pear). On the final page, page seven, the back of the booklet. In my case, as both she and I were / are vegetarians, a picture of some sort of male corn cob figure sitting on a park bench beside a female eggplant type of figure. Below that, as a separate picture that manages to work perfectly as it's all in one very small photo: I LOVE YOU. THE END. (This would be fine hand-written.) So the whole thing reads: Oh, sweetheart, do you care at all for me? Let us both be honeys. We'd make a swell pair. I love you. The end. That truly brought a tear to my eye. What’d I get her? Dozen roses and a copy of Nothing But You: Love Stories From The New Yorker. A rebus, gentlemen. A rebus. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jazzbo Posted February 6, 2005 Report Share Posted February 6, 2005 A rebus definitely won't work for me! You have to know your woman. . . and a rebus definitely would NOT WORK for me! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
connoisseur series500 Posted February 6, 2005 Report Share Posted February 6, 2005 I always get candy. She likes Belgian chocolate, and my kid wallops into it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
catesta Posted February 6, 2005 Report Share Posted February 6, 2005 Vermont Teddy Bear Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Chaney Posted February 6, 2005 Report Share Posted February 6, 2005 A gift that both you and she can enjoy: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
connoisseur series500 Posted February 6, 2005 Report Share Posted February 6, 2005 A gift that both you and she can enjoy: That's why Chaney lives alone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Chaney Posted February 6, 2005 Report Share Posted February 6, 2005 A gift that both you and she can enjoy: That's why Chaney lives alone. And as if to offer more proof as to why that's so... Here's a few suggestions from the always tasteful Spencer Gifts. (Those nutty shops that seem to be in all malls throughout the country.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DTMX Posted February 6, 2005 Report Share Posted February 6, 2005 (edited) Cute - and practical! Edited February 6, 2005 by DTMX Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hardbopjazz Posted February 6, 2005 Report Share Posted February 6, 2005 Cute - and practical! I get that for my wife, not only would the locks to the front and back doors be changed, but she would send me the bill. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
casanovas347 Posted February 6, 2005 Report Share Posted February 6, 2005 Cute - and practical! lololololol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnJ Posted February 7, 2005 Report Share Posted February 7, 2005 In Japan it is easy. Women buy men chocolate for Valentines Day, and not just wives and girlfriends but relatives and co-workers also. Men are not expected to buy anything. Our turn comes one month later on March 14th, 'White Day'. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JSngry Posted February 7, 2005 Report Share Posted February 7, 2005 One thing I don't do is quote Lorenz Hart at any length... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrome Posted February 7, 2005 Report Share Posted February 7, 2005 I usually give flowers or something like that for Feb. 14, but we have three kids and not much "alone time" ... so for the past couple years we get grandma to sleep over on the nearest Friday night and head to the Hilton! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron S Posted February 7, 2005 Report Share Posted February 7, 2005 I usually give flowers or something like that for Feb. 14, but we have three kids and not much "alone time" ... so for the past couple years we get grandma to sleep over on the nearest Friday night and head to the Hilton! Now THAT sounds like a PLAN! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jazz Kat Posted February 7, 2005 Report Share Posted February 7, 2005 I witnessed a conversation a couple months back between two people, talking about Christmas. "Christmas is just a commercial scam." -2nd person... "No it's not, you're thinking of Valentine's Day." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DTMX Posted February 7, 2005 Report Share Posted February 7, 2005 In Japan it is easy. Women buy men chocolate for Valentines Day, and not just wives and girlfriends but relatives and co-workers also. Men are not expected to buy anything. Our turn comes one month later on March 14th, 'White Day'. Valentine's Day is when you're put on notice about how many gifts you have to buy the following month. When I would visit Japan over Valentine's Day, the women in the office would load me up with chocolates. Of course I'd be on the other side of the world when White Day rolled around, so I never had to get anyone anything - the perfect crime... B-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adam Posted February 7, 2005 Report Share Posted February 7, 2005 I worked at my father's flower store for many years, and you can imagine the sheer chaos of Valentine's Day. It leaves a bitter taste in my mouth about the day still. IMy thoughts: 1. I would never send someone flowers on Valentine's Day. Too many arrangements being sent that one day. Send them 2 or 3 days ahead of time, so she can have them all week, and they won't get lost or damaged in the shuffle. And if anything does go wrong, there is still time for the florist to fix it before VDay (as opposed to sending the missing arrangement on the 15th. It's more problematic this year with VDay on a Monday - every florist's nightmare. Consider sending them on Friday. 2. Don''t go out to dinner on VDay. Prix fixe menus, crwods, etc - like Mother's Day. Go to a nice dinner on the 13th. Spend the 14th at home in each other's arms. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Son-of-a-Weizen Posted February 10, 2005 Report Share Posted February 10, 2005 I'll do whatever it takes to get the 4th place ribbon in the 'Husband of the Year' contest. Last year, if you'll recall, the 3rd place ribbon went to Albania. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Son-of-a-Weizen Posted February 10, 2005 Report Share Posted February 10, 2005 2nd to Serbia Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Son-of-a-Weizen Posted February 10, 2005 Report Share Posted February 10, 2005 ...and 1st to Ireland (because he held her hand) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron S Posted February 10, 2005 Report Share Posted February 10, 2005 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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