Geeky but not Dorky Valentine’s Day Gifts

Valentine’s day isn’t about being sappy. Yes, it’s a day dedicated to the celebration of love, but love doesn’t necessarily mean flowers and chocolates with cliché filled centers. A girl buying a gift for a guy is easy. Sorry ladies, but let’s face it, guys are goofballs who would love nothing more than their significant other to show up at their door with a six-pack and their favorite sandwich. For guys buying gifts for girls though, the task can be daunting. Most men resort to fall-backs. They’re not the best gifts, but at least they’re reliable, flowers, candy, and if you have the cash, expensive jewelry.

There is another way though. Like I said, love doesn’t need to be sappy. In fact, it’s better when it isn’t. It’s also about understanding someone, and appreciating who they are. In other words, the gift is really dictated by the girl. If you know your woman, and your gift shows that, you can give her even the geekiest of gifts without looking like a dork.

Flash Drive – I can already hear what you’re thinking. Flash Drive ? What!?! Sure it’s practical, and now with Windows Vista it can be used like RAM… but for Valentine’s Day? Think about it. What is a flash drive? It’s a storage device. So what do you do? That’s right. Put stuff on it. Go buy a flash drive for $20, then go home, and cram as much stuff on it you can think of that your girl would enjoy. Her favorite songs? Sure. But this isn’t just a mix-tape. This is a mix-tape on speed. Photos of the two of you together? Shove those on there. Poems she likes? Heck yes. Want to really seal the deal? Bust open your email and find all the old messages the two of you sent back and forth when you were first going out. Now you’re cooking. Suddenly that bouquet of roses can’t hold a candle to your “measly” flash drive.

Edible Flower Arrangements – Chocolates… besides being cliché, they have another problem, they’re fattening. And while your lady love might appreciate a good excuse to gorge herself on chocolate, you’re going to be the one to pay the price when she’s mad at herself later on for doing so. Food however, can be a great gift, but we need to put some thought into it. A new trend popping up are edible flower arrangements. What these companies do is take strawberries, pineapples, kiwis, etc. and carve them to look like a flower arrangement. It’s clever, it’s pretty, and it’ll stand out from all the other flower bouquets her friends/co-workers will get. Best of all, she can actually eat it and not feel bad about it later. What you’ve given her is one of the greatest gifts of all, a win-win situation.

Electronics – Think you can’t give electronics as a Valentine’s day gift? You’re right, but there’s a catch. You can buy your lady love an Apple TV, DVR, or HD DVD BLU Ray, the real gift is not in the electronics, it’s in you taking the time to hook it up for her and making sure she knows how to use it. There are a lot of electronics out there that girls actually want, but the thought of what a hassle it would be to get that equipment hooked up dissuades them from ever actually getting it. To have someone get the equipment and hook it up for them lets them have their cake and eat it to. All of the enjoyment with none of the hassle. Remember, however, the architect’s golden rule. You’re not designing a house for you to live in, you’re designing one for you client. That means you better as heck make sure you’re actually buying something she wants, and not just something you want to use when you’re over at her place. As always, the point of the gift is to be selfless and show thoughtfulness.

Dinner – Yes, dinner in itself can be your big gift. But it has to be Dinner with a capital “D”. Many guys go out of their way to find the perfect gift, they spend lots of cash for an item that will really just sit on a shelf. Then, on top of that, they take their girl out to dinner. While it’s nice to give a gift, it’s also perfectly viable to combine the gift and dinner budget and take your woman to a restaurant you couldn’t normally afford. Gifts don’t need to be an object. They can also be an experience. It sounds like a cheesy line, but it’s true. The trick is to make sure the experience is memorable (and in a positive way). If she’ll still remember a year from now where you took her to dinner on Valentine’s day then you have a winner. And it doesn’t necessarily have to be posh, just worthy of being equal to “a gift plus normal dinner” combined. It could be that place that’s tough to get into or even a place with sentimental value that is simply further away than you’d normally drive. By putting some thought into it, “just dinner” could be one heck of a gift.

Custom Clothing – There are plenty of places out there now that do this, Café Press being easily the most popular. As with most gifts, the trick is to know you’re girl and what she likes. While I’d love to outright say, “Don’t give her a t-shirt with your photo on it!” the fact of the matter is, you’re the one who’s supposed to know her better than anyone, so that’s your call to make. Generally speaking though, unless it’s something for the bedroom, make sure it’s something she can actually feel comfortable wearing out and about. There are some exceptions, but novelty gifts are generally also known as dorky gifts. Take some time, and look around. Sites like Café Press have countless shops selling just about every kind of logo, design, or image you can think of. If nothing you find really seems, “her” then you have the option of creating your logo, design, or image. What are her favorite colors? What is she into? A clever idea could be to think of an inside joke the two of you share. A t-shirt with a grapefruit on it might be meaningless to everyone else who sees it, but between the two of you it brings up a fond memory you both share. Even more importantly, it shows her that you cherish those memories too.

Tickets – Like it’s been said, an experience can be just as great a gift as an object. With that in mind, why not take your special someone to an exclusive event? Concerts, plays, and movies are all gifts that can exhibit knowledge of your lady love. Still sound cliché? Maybe so, but that just means you’re not being creative enough. Instead of an arena rock concert, take a look at the local symphony music hall. These days everything from movie soundtracks to video games live can be found on their schedules. Plays? Once again, you’d be surprised what’s out there. Some of the most unlikely of films have been made into plays, from “The Producers ” to “Army of Darkness ”. When it comes to movies, get away from the first run features. With a little investigating one can often find films from as far back as the beginning of Hollywood playing in theaters. Imagine the look on her face when she thinks she’s seeing a regular first run movie only to discover she’s about to see one of her favorite old movies for the first time on an actual movie screen. All this being said, concerts, plays, and movies aren’t all that’s out there. Amusement parks, tours, and countless other events are always happening in every community, especially around Valentine’s day. With a little thoughtfulness, tickets can trump the usual gifts any day.

Flowers, Jewelry, and Candy – Alright, they may be the king of all clichés, but they’re worth mentioning, because if you HAVE to do flowers, jewelry, and candy, there’s a way to do them right and a way to do them wrong. Do not get her the same ol’ bouquet of red roses, diamond earrings, and heart shaped box of chocolates (unless of course that is what she specifically likes). If you must give her flowers, jewelry, and candy then it is imperative you do everything you can to personalize them to her tastes so it is still a gift with her specifically in mind. Instead of defaulting to red roses get her a bouquet of HER favorite flowers. Jewelry? How about her birthstone? Are diamonds really a girl’s best friend, or does she prefer sapphires? Candy? Same rule applies. Forget the chocolates. Instead, get an empty Valentine’s day themed box and fill them with HER favorite candies. This way, although the gift may be cliché, it still exhibits the thoughtfulness and selflessness your gift to her should embody.

Gift giving is not difficult so much as it just takes some thought. By tailoring the gifts to her tastes, you show you understand her, and appreciate who she is.

Good luck!