A couple weeks ago Lydia emailed me…hi Lydia!

I have an anniversary coming up with my guy, along with Valentine’s Day of course and I wanted some fun and romantic ideas for them.  I have been scouring Pinterest for ideas and surprisingly, nothing is coming up that really catches my eye.     -Thanks, Lydia

Oh Lydia, I am real excited for this question.
Because I love Love…and I love celebrating love.

I am with you on the fact that everything you find online seems to be either “too mushy” or just not quite what you are looking for.

Here is hoping I don’t let you down. Boys are never that easy.  Ever.

The key is knowing your guy, knowing his boundaries and what he will like.  If he is a fairly private guy I would not go and decorate his car at work with balloons and shoe polish.  But if he is into that sort of thing let me know where he works and I got you.  Yes, I do make house calls.

I have found that when I go looking online for ideas they try to label guys.
Techy, trendy, outdoorsy, and so on.  But what if he is just your average guy.

I have learned one constant in all of my man-sperience.
They like food.

When I am feeling grateful for my man I will send him a pizza to his work.
It’s the equivalent of sending flowers and you will get lots of kisses.
But sweets work wonders too. Say what you will, but I have yet to meet a person that doesn’t “Awwwww” over homemade cookies.  They are imperfect, funny & let the person know you took the time to show them you love them without being uber-cheesy.

Want bonus points?
Make their lunch, throw a funny note in and some homemade puppy chow. Some of the best dates Tim and I have are in our kitchen.  Pour a glass of wine and make some chocolate covered strawberries together.  Then giggle at how awful they turn out.  There is a rule to this…no phones or tvs.

Here is where you may draw the line, but I think this is fun.
Give your guy a little pampering.

I wouldn’t run him a bubble bath or anything but maybe you could This is easy.  Grab some balloons & streamers (and tape) & make a quick sign.
Mine said, “Get ready to be” on the shower curtain and then when he opened the shower he saw all the festivities and a sign that said, “showered with love”.

It’s not so mushy but kind of a fun surprise.
Unless he is late for work and needs a shower!

One day I really surprised him with some candles in the sink action.
This backfired, he thought it was for me. Maybe guys aren’t totally ready for the candles everywhere thing.  But once he realized I was just trying to be sweet he gave me the biggest bear hug.
So it was worth it.

The other way into most guys hearts is through laughter.  I do this by torturing my pup and dressing her up, but a night full of their favorite comedy shows and movies would work too. Again, I think the most important thing is to know your guy.
Leave him lots of sweets notes.

“You’re the best”
“Thanks for keeping my plants alive”
“Can’t wait to come home to you”
“Wanna make out”

When I asked Tim about this question and what I do that he likes or doesn’t like his answer was fantastic.

“I like that you get so excited and try to make everything so special without putting pressure on me, I think most girls mess that up and end up putting a lot of pressure on the guy to make the anniversary or holiday amazing for her instead of making it awesome for him.  When you get excited and he knows that you are trying to make it special for him, he will inevitably want to make it really special for you.  In summary, you being excited makes me excited instead of hearing ‘you better make it good’.  And keep those cookies coming”

I thought that was really insightful of him, and very comforting that I am not scaring him with my excitedness.

I am absolutely positive that he will appreciate anything you do for him.
Especially a scavenger hunt, awww yea.

If you are more of a “I would rather just give him a card” type….then check back tomorrow.  I will also be sharing my favorite V-Day fonts.

One last piece of advice, I would steer clear of stuffed animals in general. Unless they are a collector, they usually end up in a closet.

Those big guys were from my mom and pop….they sure love me!

I am in no way an expert of love, relationships, or making holidays perfect….but I really liked Lydia’s gusto in making their anniversary and Valentines special and I like to think that I make holidays fun for Tim.  I hope….which reminds me…I can not wait to share with you guys what I got him for Valentines Day!