A Valentine's Idea For Guys

Hi BOJ readers! This is Zi's husband, John. This post is for any male readers out there that may have been wondering for the past few weeks/months what to do for your girlfriend/fiance/wife for Valentine's Day. If you do not fall into this category, ie you are female, you can stop reading now, grab your S.O. and point him to this post. You can continue reading, but it'll just ruin it for you and take all the surprise away!

Ok, guys... are they gone? Some of you have really spent the last few weeks/months thinking about what to do, while the rest of you probably haven't given it much thought... until, say about, Feb. 13th. You know who you are! :) Admittedly, I've fallen into that latter category myself a few times. But shh!

Ok, here's the idea: a scavenger hunt. Yes, a scavenger hunt. The thrill of finding a prize will always please her. Just think about why she loves going shopping! "Look honey, I've just found the perfect shoe that matches my dress!" What she's really saying is, "Look honey, I've just found the perfect shoe out of all these billions of other shoes in this shoe store that matches my dress!" So yes, the scavenger hunt is an awesome idea and you can even "customize" it to make it more exciting/fun. Here's the gist of the idea:

1. First determine how many steps you want this scavenger hunt to go. Generally, you'd want it to be no less than 10 and no more than 25-30. Any less than 10 and it would seem too short. More than 25-30 and it does seem to drag on.
2. Next, when you've determined how many steps you want the "hunt" to go, tear out (cut out) that many scraps of paper. Of course you can make it as fancy as you want (you can even print out the instructions on card stock), but that's entirely up to you!
3. On one side, number the cards on the top left hand corner. And on the same side put down a story, riddle or some other reference in order to point your S.O. to the next hint. It can be as easy as, "Where we keep the extra soap" to as personal as "Remember when we played chess on the beach during our honeymoon?" (And you hide the next hint in the picture frame behind the picture of you guys playing chess on the beach during your honeymoon). How easy or hard you make it is entirely up to you... although, the harder it is the more incentive your S.O. has to...
4. Flip over the card! And this is where she will find the steps she will need to take in order to get another clue (or two). Details can be... "Stumped? Well, for just 1 hug you can get another clue!" or "... a kiss...", you get the idea. It can even be practical, "Stumped? Well, I think I forgot too... but I sure do love that strawberry smoothie you make... I'm sure I can remember another clue for the next hint with one of those!"
5. When she gets to the final card, the clue on that card should be the clue that will help her find her Valentine's Day gift... tickets to a Broadway show she's been dying to see followed by dinner. A candle-lit dinner you were secretly preparing while she was off looking for her next hint (it would help if none of the "hints" are in the dining room of course).
6. When you've finally determined where you will put all the cards and the gift, now's the time to put them in their respective spots. You keep the very first card and hand it to her on Valentine's Day. It may help to keep a list of where each numbered hint is in case YOU forget!

I remember doing these scavenger hunts for Zi on Valentine's Day after we got engaged and our first Valentine's Day after we got married. After having kids it's been harder just thinking of new ideas... if you guys have any ideas, please do share! :)

John

Do you have any romantic ideas for Valentine's Day? Any creative ideas for a Valentine's gift? Would love to hear from you and any Valentine's Day stories you may have had in the past that were memorable.