for someone in my (modest) socio-economic situation. A lear jet to Monaco would be nice, but mine’s being chartered :rolleyes:.
in my case it’s something for my GF, but I’m curious about what anyone else has done.
Two words: Tug Ahoy
Some suggestions:
- Surprise her with flowers.
- Scrub the toilet and the bathtub without being asked. (Extra bonus points if you don’t even live with her.
) - Take her out for an activity that she enjoys (and maybe you don’t like so much, but pretend to like it for her sake.)
- Cook her favorite meal or bake a batch of her favorite cookies. Candlelight optional.
- Long, slow, all-over body-rub (NOT as a prelude to sex . . . unless she’s feeling frisky.)
Grand gestures are unnecessary. Just taking a little extra time to do something special goes a long, long way.
Allow me to share what MY hunk o hunk of burning love did for me 2 weeks ago (we’ve been married 15+ years btw):
He made a date with me a week in advance, giving no clues to what we’d do, and arranged for child care for AdoptaKids. Evening of date I’m advised to dress dressy but on the casual side.
Into the car we go … nice long country drive to a beautiful neighboring town and pulled into
www.hemingbough.com . The grounds are deserted EXCEPT for the amphitheater which has been reserved just for us! A single table set center, looking over the the water, a bit before dusk. Candles, Vivaldi softly in the background, wildlife all around (complete with peacocks) our personal chef appears to introduce himself and deliver a very nice Merlot Steaks with portabello mushroom sauce, stuffed potatoes and corn roasted in the shuck. Desert brings strawberries with a scrumptious chocolate fondue and a very dry champagne. Excellent company, atmosphere, food and wine combined to make this one of the most romantic, memorable nights of my life - and he didn’t break the bank to accomplish it
Ladies - look down and check your keyboards for drool before you short something out This romantic dream dude is MINE
(sorry, no time to preview, at work, scuse mistakes)
When my husband and I had been dating for about a six weeks, his birthday came up.
I baked him a cake and decorated it in a very festive way. Then I got the receptionist at his work let me in after he went home, and I left it on his desk. I also tied a balloon bouquet to his chair, and left some paper plates and plastic forks so he could share with his coworkers.
He said he had already known he loved me, but that just confirmed it.
Sheri
Well, I heard how one of my friends decided to propose to his girlfriend: he went to Victoria (from Seattle) without her, ordered one orse for every day (or month) he’d dated her, hired a helicopter to take her to Victoria (where he was waiting for her), and had roses all over the room where he was!
This might be a bit pricey for you, though, even if you aren’t proposing or doing anything like that. Just do something really special that shows you love her! Or even just the little things that show you care… like doing things for her without being asked, surprising her with little gifts (or homemade items), etc.
Note: one friend’s reaction to the above proposal story: “What? Man, that’s a lot of Amercian money! He could have just bought a big-screen TV!” (yes, he’s a guy… and is known for saying things like that)
Nah-ah, 'mom, that didn’t happen to you; you know that’s a scene from Some Kind of Wonderful!!
(just kidding!)
I agree with this post, except that for maximum impressibility on a meager budget, candlelight is definitely not optional!
Girls love candlelight…
Ummm…this year for his birthday, I made SO a card listing 27 reasons why I loved him. He really appreciated that. I put a lot of effort into saying the right things and making the card itself, but it was virtually free, if time-consuming!
Hmmm…I’m not a romantic person. The candlelit dinner thing would amuse me but not flutter my heart.
Heart flutters come from thoughtful things. My SO remembering that I went to work without breakfast and dropping off a bagel 45 minutes into my shift with no more than a smile and a “I have to get going but you didn’t eat this morning.” before leaving. My SO rushing to pick me up even though he warned me he might be late, just so that I don’t have to wait. Little things that relate just to me, just for me, just because he knows me and loves me.
So it depends on the person.
Adoptamom could I just be the foster wife for your guy while you’re out of town or something?
The most romantic things show that you really know who she is and what she likes. Show you’ve been paying attention. This is not the easiest thing. I personally find it helps me to actually keep notes. So if my husband and I are eating dinner and he randomly mentions something he saw that day that was really cool, I might excuse myself to the bathroom and sneak to my notebook.
Romantic things that take lots of planning make a big impact too.
Some people like surprises (ME ME!). Some people don’t. This is one of those paying attention things.
So for one woman a surprise trip to a rock climbing preserve with a picnic lunch that includes raspberries, brie, and Belgian chocolate would be the essence of romance (ME ME!).
For another, the most romantic thing you could do would be to schedule a week in advance a night in front of the fire with BBQ sandwiches from the one place in town that makes them right and then pop a tape you let her pick out in the VCR.
For my wife’s 27th birthday, I sent her 27 birthday cards. Inscribed in the cards was a long letter (started in the first card, continued in each one until the 27th) describing why I loved her, etc.
I sent the first one about a week and a half before her birthday. I sent one or two a day (all numbered so she knew in which order to open them) until she had 26 of them on the day before her birthday. On her birthday, she got the 27th, which was a HUGE card and finished the letter.
Another thing I did once was buy a box of fortune cookies. I (carefully) took out the fortunes and put my own fortunes in them. I then took them to a Chinese resturaunt we liked and told the head waiter that we were going to dine there and I would like these cookies served to us at the end of the meal.
BTW, a great book for a true romantic is 101 Nights of Grrreat Romance by Laura Corn. The book contains 101 suggestions for romantic ideas at all different price ranges. 50 of the ideas are for him, 50 for her, and the last one is for the couple to do together. The ideas in the book are sealed, so there is no peeking.
Zev Steinhardt
On SO’s last birthday I got us reservations at a B&B and we took a hot air balloon ride over the Blue Ridge mountains the next morning. The balloon landed after about an hour and they had a champagne brunch all set for us.
You can never go wrong with roses. Roses for no particular reason. Roses delivered to her at work. Roses brought to her by you. One rose a day, if need be. Roses rule.
And I never met a woman who didn’t like cuddly stuffed animals.
Just last weekend, I surprised Mrs. Dave-Guy thus:
I told her Thursday that I had a surprise planned for Saturday night. At 9:00 I told her to come upstairs in 30 minutes. I had bought five cinnamon-scented candles, found a tape of some romantic torchy ballads, and changed into my best suit.
She came upstairs to a candle-lit, cinnamon-scented bedroom, a guy in a killer suit, and romantic music.
We danced by candlelight.
I hated it when my ex-boyfriend (“boyfriend” at the time, of course) didn’t shave. We dated during cold months and kissing a stubbly face can give you “whisker burn,” especially in cold weather. One day we were doing the domestic thing: dragging big bags of laundry to the laundromat.
On the way out the door, I reached up and felt his chin… stubbly! I guess I must’ve frowned or made some kind of disappointed sound. He said “Wait a minute, I forgot someting,” and dashed back into his apartment.
He came back out - and I swear he was gone for no more than ten seconds - with his face freshly shaved, raw red, and bleeding from multiple razor nicks.
With his eyes still watering from his dry speed-shave, he said “okay, let’s go.”
I was ever so smitten.
Well, you didn’t meantion what the occasion is, so I’ll just go with my best.
I was pretty poor, working in a pizza joint and going to school, and my SO’s birthday was around the corner. At the time we were living together. Anyway, I went out and bought 6 little gifts I could afford. The night before her birthday I hid all the gifts in plain sight. For example, I bought her a neckless and I put it on a bust that sat next to the TV. I woke up early, made her breakfast and told her that there were 7 gifts in the house and that she had to find them herself. I told her that since I couldn’t buy her the treasure she deserved I gave her a treasure hunt.
She pestered me for a bit untill she found the neckless. She then got really into the hunt. About 8 pm she had found everything but the last gift. I gave her a hint and asked if she would put on some music. The last gift was a classical piece I wrote for her that was in the tape deck. After that, well, it was the best sex we ever had.
Slee
I do not like cuddly stuffed animals. And I am a woman.
The nicest things people have done for me (not necessarily romantic, but it is knowing someone thinks you are special that is important–roses don’t mean anything if you are only getting them because SO wants to get laid):
- I was talking with a coworker friend about science fiction and children’s books. I mentioned a book I had read when I was ten, but had not come across since. He looked it up and found out it was out of print. A week later he hands me a copy of the book. He had gone to an online rare/out-of-print book shop and ordered, read it in one night, and wrote me an inscription. He gave it to me under the guise of a graduation present (I was about to graduate college). But my friends say that he is in love with me. Whatever the case, I really appreciated his friendship and I felt really special.
- My friend and I study together and when I get up to go to the bathroom she leaves little love notes in my notebook, sometimes signed by a "secret admirer"I
My husband is infamous for slipping things into my backpack, or jacket pocket. Sometimes it is a little note. Sometimes it is a favor from our wedding, or something we found on our vacation (rocks, or sea glass, or something)
this morning it was a Twinkie, and a note about how we are Twinkies-'cause Twinkies mate for life.
very cheap romance!
These are all very romantic ideas. I may try one or two of them myself!
I just thought of another thing I did, years ago, that my wife found very romantic.
I bought a dozen or so roses and pulled all the petals off them. Then I pulled down the blankets on the bed and scattered the petals all over the bottom sheet.
That night, I told her I had always dreamed of making love with her on a bed of roses, and peeled back the covers, revealing the petals.
And my dream came true.
Well a few weeks ago I had someone on my mind. He and I are going through the first phase right now. … where you both have feelings for one another but don’t know how to express them or what to do with them.
Well I was out at a resteraunt with a few of my friends, and I knew he’d be at their apartment to hang out later that night, but I had to be home, I had plans early the next morning. So I decided I would write him something, just so he knew I was thinking of him. But when I looked through my purse I had to paper at all. So what I did was wrote a check to him, from me, not for money but for hugs and kisses and for the number x’s and o’s. And where my phone number is printed I underlined.
I didn’t get to see his face but I guess he smiled all night.
That is just something little you could do.
Take care. Be well. God Bless**