Valentine’s Day is coming up, and, with it comes the quest for a gift. As we all know, flowers and chocolates are Valentine’s Day staples. But here’s the thing—women don’t really want them.
Gasp!
Those Valentine chocolates in the special heart-shaped box? They’re gross. If you are going to buy me chocolate, make it a really good gourmet chocolate bar, or a gallon of decadent chocolate ice cream, or even a jumbo bag of fun size Snickers. I don’t want the surprise box of crappy drugstore chocolate.
And, flowers… hmm. Flowers are great. I love flowers. Bring me flowers on a random Monday, and I’ll swoon. But, flowers on Valentine’s Day? It’s just a bit predictable (not to mention twice the price).
So, what is a guy to do to make his wife, the mother of his children, his one true love happy? Gentlemen, get your lady something she really wants. I’ve taken the liberty of putting together a list for my husband and am happily sharing it with all of you for inspiration.
So, dear husband, check out these ideas and take notes.
1. I want sleep.
I really, really want sleep—good, uninterrupted, kid-free, glorious sleep. I want you to get up with the kids. I want you to make breakfast. I want you to entertain them. I guarantee I won’t be able to sleep in late, but I want the opportunity to do it anyway. Don’t turn on the lights. Don’t make a noise. Wake up, get out and let me sleep. Oh, and when you or the munchkins do wake me, it’d be real swell if you could have a Starbucks in your hand.
2. I want you to call the babysitter.
I love date nights, but just this once I’d love to go on a date night that I didn’t plan. Not a single minute of it. I want you to call the babysitter, make the dinner reservation, buy the movie tickets and light the candles. And, if I’m shooting for the moon here, I want as much time to get ready as I could possibly need. I want to simply look pretty and show up.
3. I want you to clean my car.
My car is a rolling trash can. I want to drive a clean car, but cleaning it is lower on the priority list than cutting my toenails and organizing my junk drawer—I just can’t waste my precious time on it. So, I want you to find all the milk-filled sippy cups and stale french fries and melted crayons and papers and toys. A clean car even for one day would make me so happy. Please, please clean my car.
4. Tech-Free Tuesday
I want you to put your phone down. I don’t want you to look at your phone for any reason. Don’t read the news. Don’t scroll through Facebook. Don’t check sports scores. Don’t text GIFs to your friends. Don’t. Just put the phone away.
5. Shoes
Seriously, if all else fails, and you don’t have time or original ideas and you can’t put down your phone—buy me shoes. Don’t buy me flowers. Buy me shoes. Shoes are the way to my heart. (Anything from Nordstrom size 9.5 will do.)
Ladies, what do you really want for Valentine’s Day?
This story originally appeared on Simplemost. Checkout Simplemost for other great tips and ideas to make the most out of life.
