How Do You Make It Special?

Always hard for me to figure out a gift for the Wife’s Birthday. And I’m not usually one to write or say a bunch of lovey-dovey stuff. But….. how do you guys make your Wife’s Birthday special?

Easy. Dairy queen ice cream cake. Seals the deal and you get action that night.

On a serious note I never get her anything, but I always help my son pick her something out that’s nice. And make her a special card. Then we make her a big dinner and do all the cleaning for the day. Let her relax.

Bearcat89 wrote:

Easy. Dairy queen ice cream cake. Seals the deal and you get action that night.

At my age her deal is sealed, locked up tight, and no key to the padlock to be found anywhere.
Might as well just save my money and forget the ice cream cake…

It all depends on your wife, her interests, and her willingness to celebrate her birthday. If your wife is like me and likes to celebrate, then make it a big deal by making her a birthday meal (whether it’s breakfast, lunch, or dinner), signing your name in a nice card (that way YOU don’t have to be the poetic one, leave that for the card company), and buy her something that will make her smile. Gifts are hard if she hasn’t provided any suggestions or clues. I like to send gift idea emails to my husband near the holidays/birthdays to be helpful, as I know how stressful gift buying can be. Some of my favorites have been wine, a Kindle e-reader (and before that, regular books) and of course my 20ga shotgun. But that is a gift only a handful of wives would appreciate, I imagine. If she likes surprises and works on her birthday, you could send flowers or drop off cookies and a balloon for her. It sounds corny, but I frankly love it! Dinner out to her favorite restaurant is always a fun idea. Especially if it’s a place where the waiters sing. I LOVE that and it’s even better when I go with my sister and they sing to both of us! (our birthdays are a week apart). She gets embarrassed by the singing but that just makes it more fun!

I suppose not all women will just say what they want like I tend to do, but it really doesn’t hurt to ask her what she wants and what she wants to do. Some years I’ve felt very social so Billy coordinated a bowling party with drinks after, and some years we’ve done a low-key celebration of just dinner the two of us at Dave and Buster’s (I like arcade games and they have really good food too). I hope my answer helps. Clearly, I’m really into celebrating my birthday.

Flowers!

-J.

lindyrig79 wrote:

Always hard for me to figure out a gift for the Wife’s Birthday. And I’m not usually one to write or say a bunch of lovey-dovey stuff. But….. how do you guys make your Wife’s Birthday special?

If you find the answer, let all us married guys know. I feel your pain. I mean, what do I get the woman who has everything including me, right?

I also get the double whammy as Mrs. Grouse’s birthday is 2 weeks before Mother’s Day. Holy freaking idea shortage, Batman. It’s bad enough to come up with 1 gift, but having to come up with 2 good ideas (at least until the kids can contribute more) is a killer.

The only thing that kind of saves me, if not my wallet, is Mrs. Grouse likes hand-made, modern jewelry from a couple of makers and because of the nature of this stuff, there’s something new all the time. So this bails me out every couple of years. Other than that, it’s hell every year.

It does help to know here interests, what salon does she use, and if she has any favorite charities. Mrs. Grouse’s father was an officer in the British Royal Signals Corps, so she is a supporter of the regiment’s charity drives. My best idea lately was donating toward the Royal Signals family fund in her name.

It’s like the sage poet Ringo Star wrote: You know it don’t come easy.

Grouse

Got to pay your dues if you wanna sing the blues
And you know it don’t come easy…

Star Transportation Limo picks up up
Takes you both to a restaurant that she’s never been to.
You’ve stopped in prior to set up the restaurant to know her name, have the bubbly on ice an you’ve also picked out both of your menu items.
After the dinner is served, it’s topped off with her fav after dinner drink…and back to the limo for a slow drive around a neighborhood that means something to her.

Use your imagination son… now I have to figure out what I’m going to do for our anniversary on the 15th…

When my wife gives me no gift ideas, one that works and she enjoys is a GC for a massage. She has some arthritis and massages help. She always appreciates this gift. Flowers are for anniversaries and Valentines Day.

Nothing says “I Love You” like a bunch of Spinnerbaits. At least that’s how it works with my wife

S.R.

Peanut Butter…. Does she like peanut butter?

As someone mentioned in a previous thread,
Some heavy plastic sheeting and a gallon of cooking oil

We usually just do a nice meal out for bdays, and I try and add on some flowers or a massage. Particularly since my wife’s bday is just after hunting season.

My wife HATES practical gifts. Go figure.

For God sake, don’t get her a toaster oven !

Get something you both will enjoy. Then when she hates it, you won’t have to return it.

https://thriftytraveler.com

Go on a quick cheap domestic trip. Well relatively cheap… You said special.

http://www.redwingbaldeagletours.com ???

Take her for a weekend getaway. I took my wife to New Orleans in May for her birthday. We just went for a long weekend.it was a lot of fun and she loved it.

Something sincere. Can even be inexpensive. Make sure its all about her. Go with her and get a pedicure. She will delight in feeling beautiful and watching you squirm. Serious.

I have to figure out a 50th this February. I’m hoping her friends give me some good input.

Plan a special weekend. We have done B&Bs ALL OVER the country. From Vermont and Maine, to the Monterey Peninsula, to Florida, to the Canadian side of Niagara Falls, Springfield, Mo.

mplspug, try a plantation B&B in the Williamsburg, Va area (don’t stay in colonial Williamsburg), ask them for a dinner recommendation from the proprietor, visit colonial Wiliamsburg during the day. That time of year the Red-buds, Forsythia, and Azaleas should be blooming, it should be magical.

All, look at Bayfield, WI; Madeline Island – (the golf course on the island has a world class restaurant, open to public). Look for a production from a local theater company (comedies or musicals are usually the best).

If you can’t find a place for a special weekend or special weekend you are not trying.

We have even done Disney World on Valentines Day weekend (the park is just coming off winter hours, the flowers are just starting to bloom, and the temps were in the upper 50s or low 60s). This one we took the kids.

Take her to Maui… it’s pretty nice

big_g wrote:

Take her to Maui… it’s pretty nice

well for 5K it better be right? my wife is pretty hot and pretty thrifty so a trip to a local spa is quite the special occasion. that leaves me with a lot of fishing trips fall thru spring. If we are still married come our 30th, I will bust out a 4 week trip to some tropical destination but until then, there are many items I need to check off my bucketlist……Erie, Colombia river, Lake Tobin, Big Windy, Bay of Quinte, Bay de Noc and the Millwaukee harbor scene.

Erie is getting checked off this year! I hope!

DON’T buy her a grill…ask me how I know…

I only know how to pick the perfect gift for any occasion for MY WIFE. I cant go wrong. I dont have that ability with other couples.

jake47 wrote:

DON’T buy her a grill…ask me how I know…

Should have mentioned we have little kids…. 6 and 2 yrs old so it’s quite hard to just have a nice weekend away without some serious pre-planning and help from my parents to watch them. We typically get one or two long weekends per year without the kids, but her birthday weekend is not one of them.

Thanks for all the great suggestions…. I used some of them. Ended up buying her a nice pair of slippers in a girly color. They were Birkenstocks, so not cheap. Also a bottle of wine, homemade cards from the kids, and some flowers. I did most of the daily chores. Plus, I had taken her to a nice restaurant a couple nights previous, when we were able to get a sitter for the evening. I think I did pretty good, in part thanks to you guys!

I am looking to get a 4-5 day trip with her in February or March. Looking at options for that now. We did Maui for our Honeymoom, which was awesome, but probably not in the cards right now. Kinda considering New Orleans or Williamsburg, VA per the suggestions. Wine country in CA would be awesome too…. if there’s anything left after all the fires.

Sounds perfect, Lindyrig! She’s a lucky wife!

Fifty years ago I bought my new bride some waders for smelt fishing. It must have been really special as I still hear about. It’s not every gift that is remembered after that long.