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10 Valentine's Day Gifts for Men, According to Men

The Result of a Strange Day Surfing Reddit About Things to Write About for Valentine's Day. You're welcome.

By Delilah JaydePublished 6 years ago 6 min read
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I've never been asked what I wanted to do for Valentine's Day. I do assume, though, that it's a stereotypical novelty for the events of Valentine's Day to be a bit of a surprise each year. We mind-read a lot on V-Day, and while the men of the world grace us women with roses and chocolates each year, we women continue to wonder what is an acceptable gift for the men in our lives. Now this is not to say that roses and chocolates are the only acceptable gifts to give a woman on February 14. The truth is that there is no male equivalent for women to default to. Can't do ties, those are for Father's Day. A shaving kit... should that be more of a necessity? Will he think I'm trying to send him a message? It's a never-ending struggle to find a gift for your man to show him how much you love him. So I went on a bit of an internet-fueled hunt to find out if there were really any solid answers to what men wanted for Valentine's Day. I eventually stumbled upon this Reddit thread that shared a lot of great tips from men themselves about what the perfect V-Day gift is to them. Naturally, as a woman, I curiously cruised through the entire list. (oops-kinda.)If you are still unsure what the wonderful man of your life would like to receive this V-Day, I have some good news: they probably don't want anything at all. To confirm, here are replies from ten men on Reddit about what they're hoping for this February 14:

1. Gratitude for Their Efforts

'Whatever else you give him, the best thing might be no pressure and your genuine enthusiasm or appreciation for what he gives you. V day is weird for guys.' - TotallyNotMarkHamill

This kinda makes me wonder if there really are women out there who aren't genuine or even excited about what their man gets them for Valentine's Day. I fawn over a kiss when I can get one, let alone when he asks if I want a bite of his food, although I don't know what that probably says about my relationship choices, though...

2. Verbal Encouragement

'Guys don't always want something back. What we care most about is that you appreciate what we have done for you. Tell him how romantic this is and how wonderful of a time you are having and be affectionate towards him and just make him feel loved, like he done good.

For me, if I was to do this for someone for Valentine's Day (The original poster planned a short vacation and a nice dinner.) I would expect my girlfriend to give me a high five when we walked into the hotel room, say "we are going to have sex in every inch of this room." Then just have a blast being with each other and enjoying the vacation.' - frostcutlery

As a general rule, I have always known men to be very connected to what is being said to and/or about them. They like hearing that they've done a good job, or that they made a good choice. Although I'm sure positive reinforcement is a great way to encourage just about anyone, as long as your Valentine is aware that he's done a good job, that's all he really needs.

3. The Little Things

'I'm a little weird so here goes. Valentine's Day is a day I'd spend doting on my SO. For her to spend ANY time making me feel like the center of her universe on a day where I'm supposed to shower her with love and gifts is fantastic. Breakfast in bed, hugs, little gifts, crazy sex, anything that shows I mean the world to her goes a looooong way. I want to feel like I'm the most important person in her world for just one day. I want her to treat me like she's the luckiest person to have ever walked the Earth.

Do that and I can guarantee that he'll appreciate it and love you forever.' - chopmeatsandwich

I am admittedly a little bit conflicted with this one. Albeit breakfast in bed every day isn't always possible with a Monday to Friday 9-5, I would hope that my man feels like he is my world for as many days in the year as sanely possible. Or perhaps I'm just a bit cheesy in that sense: the little things my man does for me on a daily basis is enough for me to know how much I mean to him. So perhaps if you're planning on taking this piece of advice, maybe a little bit more on one day of the year certainly couldn't hurt.

4. Lots of Sex (Because We Saw This One Coming)

'Other than not being bombarded by all the commercialism?

Sex with my wife, more than once hopefully.

Life is tough in the corporate world and it's on a Thursday this year.

Often, I am too tired for multiple sessions.' - gobigred3562

What simple creatures some men can be, eh?! Perhaps the night before, you can plan to go all out on that yoga session so you can prepare ahead of time for this one, ladies.

5. Something Personal and Meaningful

'I can't speak for anyone else but, now that I've resigned myself to the fact that my girlfriend will be giving me presents no matter how much I insist she doesn't have to, I would say that I prefer to get something meaningful. I don't want a video game or DVD that just about anyone could buy me. I want something thoughtful, that she bought because she just knew I'd like it as soon as she saw it.

Maybe something like a bracelet, doesn't have to be expensive or fancy, but something I could wear just to look at and remind me of her. Or taking the time to make something, like a framed collage of photos of the two of you or his favorite game characters or whatever you think he'd like. Inside jokes also make great gifts, in my opinion.

Ultimately it depends on how much of a materialistic guy he is/if he wants anything at all but I would lean towards more personal gifts instead of just throwing money into something without thought.' - sociable-sociopath

I'm a big advocate of personal gifts, and it's one of my favorite things to gift anyone, really! Photos, frames with photos, iconic phrases from our favorite TV shows that we watch together... the list could go on. It's most likely going to be something they keep for a really long time, because it will mean something really significant to them.

6. Skip it.

'The greatest gift is to not do Valentine's Day. It is something sooo cheesy and commercial I despise it with an unheard passion. That is why even when asked to celebrate it I say that I don't celebrate it and that I am the wrong guy for that shit.

But in general I think most guys feel forced to celebrate it although they do like to do romantic stuff, it shouldn't be forced by some kind of day.' - Bleumanable

Okay, so all your calendars have it listed as a significant date with a name on it and all, but February 14 doesn't have to be all that special if you can celebrate it more than once a year...! If your man isn't the extreme romantic type, maybe the perfect gift for him is to let him skip the holiday altogether. How ironically romantic.

7. The Basics

'Chocolate, sex, chinese food, and a movie marathon.' - [deleted]
In no particular order, of course. Good for any day of the week that Valentine's Day lands on!

8. A Nice Night In

'For us to cook a meal together. We'll pop open a nice bottle of champagne we got earlier. Spin some tunes, and trade Valentine's Day gifts. Practical niceties will do the trick. Pair of loafers, good pair of running shoes, a massage done by you.' - [deleted]

This one is one of those "remember-our-first-date" moments where you are comfortable not needing to dress up for that one day in February every year. In fact... I think I'm going to suggest this one for my man, and I think this year. Thanks, Reddit!

9. Appreciation

'Taking a girl who's made the effort to dress up and appreciate whatever lame plan I have cooked up is good enough for me. Once a year and all that.' - AnotherCellarDoor

I love any excuse to dress up for my man. Not only do I feel super fly for a night, but I love the feeling of knowing I get to represent my man on the streets too. I would hope nice nights out like this don't only come around once a year, but February is certainly a nice start.

10. The Novelty Gifts

'Um...

I... I like flowers.' - [deleted]

Well, it's certainly worth a try, anyways! Maybe a manly mix, if there is such thing? Alternatively, I recently wrote about a company called ManCrates in my latest post here and if your man isn't into flowers but he's into beef jerky, then why not send him a bouquet of jerky instead? Genius, isn't it?!

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About the Creator

Delilah Jayde

You can follow her on Facebook at: www.facebook.com/iamdelilahjayde

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