Comments on: Cracking The Valentine’s Day Code

By: Vince

Vince — Mon, 16 Aug 2010 02:17:01 +0000

My friend who is now married went out with his then girlfriend to do service, I believe at a soup kitchen and donated away the money they would have spent on a date. This is romantic and removes all selfishness from the holiday and sets a good tone for the kind of couple you will be.

By: Chemical Erik

Chemical Erik — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 19:05:10 +0000

Here’s another idea I’m using this year in response to “don’t buy me anything” from my wife. I bought (yeah, I know) a couple DVD’s I’d NEVER pick for myself but my wife will love (Devil Wears Prada and some other chick flick comedy). I’ll sit and watch them (at least one depending on how busy we are) with the wife on Valentine’s day.

By: Athios

Athios — Fri, 19 Dec 2008 09:31:09 +0000

I agree that miscommunication and misunderstanding of exactly what is wanted is often the case.

To paraphrase what has already been mentioned:
“don’t want anything” usually means “don’t want you to BUY me anything”
“don’t want anything” does NOT mean “don’t want you to do anything at all”

My girlfriend saves all the cards I have given her, even ones I think are trivial. So yes, a little can go a long way.

By: Juliana

Juliana — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 01:29:57 +0000

Being a girl, I usually lurk here, but I figured my two cents might be helpful in this case, so here goes:

When someone says “What do you want for Valentines Day?” it sounds like they want to know what gift to buy. The answer “nothing” is in response to that. Please, no gift, just do something sweet or say something mushy you usually don’t. I think that’s where the misunderstanding happens. I don’t want a THING, I want you to tell me you love me with slightly more emphasis than usual.

By: Frank Schnyder

Frank Schnyder — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 21:02:15 +0000

Kate’s comment above really hits the nail on the head. A woman might say she doesn’t want anything, but has no idea what she’ll actually feel like that day. She will probably feel very left out. I wish I had seen it from that angle before my breakup!

By: Zak

Zak — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 20:14:53 +0000

@Nick – Because no one wants to say “I want you to write me a mushy letter detailing how deep your love for me is”.

It is both trivial and profound at once and not the sort of thing anyone would want to ask for.

By: Nick

Nick — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 18:17:16 +0000

The question still remains.

Why not say what you want?

By: Greg

Greg — Sun, 09 Mar 2008 21:48:18 +0000

Carol – unless, of course, she has made her expectations for trashy underwear clearly understood.

By: Jason

Jason — Wed, 13 Feb 2008 22:29:54 +0000

Strangely enough, I just wrote an article about those "nothing" sort of things... you can find it here if you're interested. PS - If you're going to ask me to vote for you on Digg (and I would), could you please give me a button to do so?

By: fathersez

fathersez — Wed, 13 Feb 2008 04:51:43 +0000

Hah!

Many a man has been doomed by misinterpreting the lady’s words.

You are so right, something is better than nothing!

Regards