At this point, we know that the typical woman enjoys being wined and dined every so often. But, men are just as interested in romance as the rest of us. Special birthday presents and being taken care of on their worst days are just some of the heartfelt memories these men have.
#1 Birthday Present
A woman I was dating worked late on my birthday one year and called to chat on her drive home. She apologized for missing my birthday and promised to make it up the next night. We talked for way longer than her typical drive, but I thought maybe she had gotten home and simply hadn’t told me. Instead, she drove across town and was circling my neighborhood, searching for my house. She eventually found it and surprised me with a pint of ice cream and a balloon. We got married two years ago.
#2 On the Porch
I was working for the whole day and eating terrible things, like junk food. She cooked and placed it in front of my door while I was at work (she lived one hour away from me, so she just drove for that). Coming home and seeing all that delicious food in front of my door was heartwarming. I’m hopefully marrying her this year.
#3 If That Ain’t Romantic
I broke my leg three months into our relationship. My family had just left town that day. I had emergency surgery; she drove me to the surgery, picked up my meds during the surgery, picked me up when I woke up, drove me back to her place and took care of me for a month. This included sponge baths, waking up to give me pain killers in the middle of the night, having food for me, and making sure I was happy overall. Four years later and we’re still together. If all that ain’t romantic, I don’t know what is.
#4 Favorite Sunglasses
I lost my favorite pair of sunglasses at a building on campus. By the time I realized, I was in my dorm and was swamped with work for a paper. I was upset and expressed this to her. She left and came back soaking wet (it was pouring). She went back to campus and walked along every path I had taken and checked the building for me to try and find them as a pick me up. Unfortunately, she couldn’t find them but it was so sweet.
#5 A Different Victim
My wife and I were having Thanksgiving with my grandparents and extended family, most of who she had not met. We had just moved 2,000 miles for a job and happened to be about three hours from my grandparents. Something to know about my family is we’re ruthless and are overly generous with sarcasm and insults.
Almost 20 of my family members were just unleashing this superpower on me. Mostly things along the line of my wife was way out of my league and too beautiful for me. My wife was quiet the whole time. Finally, one of my uncles asked here why someone so beautiful would settle for someone like his nephew. This was at the table with my grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins. She looked him in the eye and said, "I married him for his member." She then went back to her dinner and they chose a different victim.
#6 Surprise Visit
I didn’t have a mattress all throughout my time high school. This one time, my then-girlfriend came over to my house for the first time. She looked pretty disgruntled, so she talked to her parents and actually arranged a surprise visit for me to go to IKEA to get a bed and a desk. I’ve never loved someone so much.
#7 A Great Match
I dated a girl who decorated a matchbox with the message "We're a great match!" She also filled it with edible "matches;" little pretzel sticks dipped in colored chocolate at the end to look like a match. She clearly put a lot of thought and effort into it, which was really what meant the most to me. Unfortunately, no, we're not together anymore.
#8 Bake a Cake
I’ve known a girl since I was 16 and she was into me, but three years younger, so I maintained my distance. On my 23rd birthday, she called me up while I was drinking alone in my awful apartment because I'm a loser and she said she baked me a cake and was at my door. It occurred to me that three years difference wasn't such a big deal anymore and I let her in. Predictably, she took advantage of me in my inebriated state and I eventually married her and we had a bunch of kids.
#9 What’s Your Number?
A girl I knew back in the day knew that I had a thing for her. So, she pretended she couldn't find her phone, then asked if someone could call it. Obviously, I wanted to jump at the chance to help her, so I asked, “Sure what's your number?” We got married a year later and have been together for the last 15 years.
#10 Hillbilly Hotdogs
When me and my fiancée were dating, I always joked about visiting a place called Hillbilly Hotdogs after seeing a post about it online. A year or so after I first started talking about it, my boss called me and told me to head home early (this was about a week after my birthday). I asked him what was up and he just said the other guys would finish the day.
I got home and my girlfriend told me to pack a few days’ worth of clothes, but wouldn’t tell me where we were going. We hopped in the car and a few hours later, we were in front of Hillbilly Hotdogs. I couldn’t believe it. We had the best time eating there in the section that’s an old converted school bus. After that, we ended up driving down to NC to stay at her cousin’s near the beach and enjoy each other’s company. On the way back, she said we would stop at any stupid roadside attraction I wanted to since she knew I loved them. It was the most wonderful gift I’ve ever received.
#11 Our Entire Relationship
My partner is notorious for making me these little handmade or thoughtful gifts. One time, she made me a scrapbook of our entire relationship. She even saved everything from all our previous dates in order to put it into the book. She also got me a custom guitar pick with our anniversary. Man, I love that woman!
#12 Passion for Astronomy
I've always had a passion for astronomy and it had been a childhood dream of mine to see the CERN supercollider in Switzerland. My girlfriend, not being scientific herself, didn't understand the beauty of such technology. She started to cut back on expenditure on things she liked for a couple of months. I occasionally offered some financial support, but she always kissed me saying there was nothing to worry about.
So, like any partner, I worried my butt off about her. I was hoping she was okay. Some months passed and it was nearing my birthday. I hadn't seen my girlfriend all day since she went to work, yet she arrived home late. She came up to me with an envelope and simply sat beside me, clearly anticipating my reaction.
I slipped out two tickets to my childhood dream as well as cried like a child in her embrace. But she, without leaving any hints, sacrificed so many months of comfort just to fulfill a dream of mine. She currently lives in Switzerland and lives a couple of hours drive away from the facility! I'm trying to assemble an elegant trip abroad just for her to the Maldives. I've never loved someone so much.
#13 Always There
My wife did a few things for me that I definitely consider romantic. There was a time I was really hungover so she (being a paramedic) started an IV on me and put two bags of fluids on me. It made me feel a lot better. She would also make me breakfast and bring it to me just as I was getting up for work in the afternoon (I work nights). She would also shave my neck when I couldn't get to the barber. I never asked her to, she always offered.
#14 Months of Coordination
She threw me an unbelievable surprise 50th birthday party that had 75 attendees, including friends from out of state. She somehow kept it a complete surprise from me. It absolutely blew me away, the amount of work, months of coordination, and care she put into it. It was one of the best nights of my life. I got her a calendar with pictures of dogs pooping on it. Pretty sure we're even.
#15 A Special Holiday
On my birthday a few years ago, my girlfriend told me to pack my bag and some warm gear. I thought she was taking me on a surprise camping trip, but we hopped on a train to the airport and flew to Norway. We ended up going husky sledding, spending the night in a yurt at the husky lodge, going snowmobiling up to a canyon, staying in an ice hotel, and going on a northern lights tour.
She also made the effort to get in touch with a guy I had recently done some business with online who I had really liked. He actually picked us up from the airport in a chauffeur hat with a sign. He then took us all around Oslo to see the sights and to meet his family. It was truly a special holiday. We’re now engaged.
#16 Immense Appreciation
My best friend passed away unexpectedly and I couldn’t sleep. She cuddled with me, scratched my back, and sang to me until I fell asleep. She didn’t even get up, despite waking up in a pool of sweat. l appreciated her immensely and still do. After almost two years of drifting apart for a while, we’re going on a date to catch up and see where things go.
#17 Making it Happen
She helped me move. I honestly never felt more loved than when I was flipping the heck out, trying to get packed and figure out how I was going to get everything to my apartment. But, my very organized girlfriend drove out from about an hour away for several nights in one week. She helped me make my move happen.
#18 Into My Arms
In Die Hard , a girl runs and throws herself into the arms of a guy she’s meeting, who’s getting off of a plane. She jumps up and into his arms. Ever since I saw that, I've wanted someone to be so thrilled to greet me that they threw themselves into my arms like that. It took me 40+ years, but it did eventually happen. The girl had no idea it was something I'd always fantasized about. It became a thing for us — when we hadn't seen each other in a while, she'd run and just jump into my arms.
#19 Deflated Mattress
My girlfriend came over the first time and I was sleeping on a deflating air mattress at a friend’s that needed to be refilled four times a night. She got me a free queen bed off of Facebook Marketplace the next day. Now, I’m on my feet more we actually have our own place together. We’re also having a baby in three months. He was even conceived on the mattress.
#20 Student Loans
My wife was kind enough to legitimately pay off all my debt and student loans with a smile. She even hugged me after she did it. She didn’t have one inch of sadness after parting with all that money. I have autism and she continues to support me and all my strangeness. I’m honestly extremely fortunate to have her.
#21 Considering My Feelings
We had only just been dating a few months. I don’t know why, but I couldn’t shake this feeling that she just wasn’t into us. It seemed like she was just playing along for some other ends that I wasn’t aware of. But near the end of one of these dates, we were on her couch just chatting with my arm around her like I usually do. Then she got up to get a smoke, though she was still in the middle of quitting at the time. As she got up off the couch, she leaned back down to me to give me a kiss.
That was our first kiss that didn’t feel like a mandatory goodbye kiss, as that was the only kind of kissing we had done before. For some reason, it kind of just melted away those doubts I had. A little while later, I asked her about it. She told me, “I know you’re disgusted by my smoking, so I wanted to kiss you before I smoked.” The fact that this felt like our first genuine kiss and that she thought of me just reassured me of the relationship. We’re still together.
#22 Long Day at Work
My girlfriend spent seven hours using public transportation to surprise me at home. Imagine coming home from an eight-hour shift starting at 6:00 a.m. I came home and my bedroom door was locked. I thought it was my younger brother pulling a prank on me. I knocked, just wanting to go sit on my computer and watch some videos or play some games.
When the door opened, to my surprise, there was the love of my life standing there. She was telling me to be patient. My eyes teared up from a combination of feelings, mostly joy. We hadn't seen each other physically in over a month, we were just on Skype. It totally made my day and weekend. We’ve been happily married for five years.
#23 Best Thing Ever
I loved pirates and it was my birthday. I’m also a cook and I love food and all things related. While I was at work, my girlfriend at the time made a pirate scavenger hunt with a piece of paper she burned and made look like a map. The gifts were a charcoal grill and other cooking-related items. I was turning 23 and that was the best thing ever.
#24 Prom Message
A girl in high school baked me sugar cookies, spelling out a message. When I finally figured out what it said, her message was asking me to prom. I immediately told her yes. A couple of years later, she came out as a lesbian. But that’s totally okay, though. If you can believe it, I came out as gay shortly after.
#25 Box Full of Things
There was a girl I lived with for six years. Right in the middle of it all, I landed the best job I’ve ever had. We decided that she would stay home until it all got under control and only I would work. This went on for almost a year. When my birthday came around, she went to visit her mom while I was at work and borrowed construction paper from her younger brother.
She made decorations and put them up in every room all over every wall of the whole house. The amount of effort she put into this was probably more than I put out at work that day. My jaw hit the floor when I saw it. We split up about a year ago, but I still have a box full of the things she made that day. I plan to keep it even longer.
#26 Defending Me
She stood up for me. I was in high school and I had a crush on my best friend, but she didn't feel the same way. It was straining the friendship to a breaking point. I also had a speech impediment. We both participated in Model UN and after it ended, a group of us were sitting in front of the school waiting for pickup. A group of girls who just met me were talking about me and mimicking my voice, and my crush overheard. She confronted them and gave 'em trouble. I found out about this later. Though we never really reconnected, I've always been deeply touched that even though she wasn't interested in me, she was still committed to defending me as a person.
#27 All of Her
While she's done many romantic things that I can name or list, to me, the most romantic thing she's done is to be herself. She’s always nice, attentive, polite, caring, thoughtful, helpful, appreciative, supportive etc. I mean, the way she looks is sexy and romantic. The way she moves is, like even when she reaches for something on the table during a meal. I find it romantic when she'll cook in just an apron and nothing else, just because. All of her is romantic.
#28 Never Felt So Loved
After having a schizophrenic episode in my sleep, I jumped out of the bed, bawling sweat and tears and silently screaming. She woke up, hugged me, gave me lots of kisses and put my head against her chest. At that point, I could calmly hear her heart beating and I ended up falling asleep again. I woke up the next morning and the first thing I saw was her cute in-love look accompanied by her adorable smile. I also felt her hands caressing my head and face. I had never felt so loved, taken cared for and appreciated.
#29 Bacon Lover
An ex-girlfriend and I dated for about 3 years. It wasn't until near the end of the relationship that I found out that she hated bacon. She knew I loved bacon, so she just kind of went with it and we would get it on pizza and she would make BLTs a lot for lunch. It was an incredibly sweet thing to do. Unfortunately, our lives were going in different paths, so it ended up not working out.
#30 Best Birthday Ever
My significant other once woke me up at 5:00 in the morning on my 30th birthday to tell me she was pregnant. We had been trying for approximately two and a half years. It was the best birthday ever. That kid is now 29 and has also given me a grandkid. If you didn’t know, grandchildren are absolutely the best.
#31 Pizza Party
My girlfriend has done plenty of things, but I'll never forget when we were having a birthday party at school and she placed down a slice of pizza in front of me. I asked her why and she said, "Well, it looked like they were going to finish it soon and I didn't want you to not get any pizza." I could not stop smiling that day.
#32 Open When You Feel…
My ex-girlfriend once gave me those cards that said, "Open when you feel sad," "Open when you feel happy," "Open when you want to know how much I care about you.” After we broke up, I found out that in one letter it said that she loved me. It really did break my heart when I found out about this after the breakup.
#33 Loving Form of Grounding
I was at a picnic with her large family. Already being a socially anxious person, I was absolutely wearing The Mask. There were full cascades of sound pouring over me, I had difficulty hearing people talk, and couldn't make eye contact. This was super early in our relationship. She glanced at me to check-in, saw The Mask, and under the table gently took my hand in her lap and began tracing the back of it with her fingernails. It was the most loving form of grounding I've ever experienced. I hope wherever she is now, she knows how much that meant to me.
#34 Appreciates Your Efforts
My girlfriend remembers every detail of when we first started dating. On a long drive together, one of our songs came on and she described the first night we listened to it and when she fell in love with me. She didn’t finish the story because it just broke me. I was leaking tears and it wouldn’t stop. I rarely get someone who remembers something I did for them. For my girlfriend to tell me these things, it filled my heart. Get a partner who appreciates your efforts.
#35 Luckiest Dude
I'm pretty simple. Little gestures go a long with me. This past week has been absolutely terrible for reasons completely unrelated to my relationship. My girlfriend insisted (despite my protest) that I head over and spend the night with her to take my mind off of the many things I had going on. She had my favorite wine ready and a Netflix comedy special ready to go. She then woke me up this morning with a back massage and an awesome homemade breakfast bagel sandwich. I feel like the luckiest dude.
#36 Everything to Me
I was homeless. My parents had kicked me out for using grass and I was sleeping in different people's places whenever I got the chance. In one of the worst and coldest nights of my life, I slept in a park. Up until that point, she provided me with food, warmth, love, and the occasional place to stay, but I was tired of asking for help. Sometimes it feels easier to suffer.
I didn't tell her where I was. I just called and her and cried for a bit. Then, I hung up and slept. I’ll never forget the shock of waking up on the bench to the sight of her in front of me, crying. She knew my situation but never saw it. She had been looking for me at local parks at 3:00 a.m. and happened to find me. At that moment, I just hugged her as strong as I hugged anybody in my life. It wasn't just romantic, it was everything to me.
#37 Defending Your Honor
I remember that in my first year of high school, almost all of my classmates used to bother me because of how I talk, my personality and even how I used to think. One day in our group of WhatsApp, the same people started to bully me and making jokes (including memes). My crush at the time and another girl defended me. When I talked with her in private, she told if someone tried to bother me again, she would defend me once again.
#38 That One Point
One time me and my ex-girlfriend were watching Jackie Brown . It got to the scene where Robert Forster and Pam Grier are having coffee and cigarettes in her kitchen. I was like "Wow, I wish I could freeze-frame that image, blow it up, and put it on my wall.” Two weeks later, she surprised me with that exact picture blown up and framed in beautiful black and white.
It wasn’t even my birthday or anything. She had put all the work in herself, asking friends how to get a high def image etc. It was the sweetest thing anyone ever did for me. I'll never forget it. Whenever I look at it up on my wall, I always feel warm and fuzzy and remember that at one point, somebody really cared about me.
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#39 Little Gift for You
Not sure if it was the most romantic, but after three years of marriage, my wife wrapped her driver’s license up and gave it as a gift to show me that she changed her name. Prior to that, I never cared about her changing her name, but I thought that it was really sweet that she did that on her own. Especially with my terrible name. (It’s Schnaars. No one wants to be that.)
#40 That One Night
My ex just randomly surprised me one day by dressing up in red lingerie and waiting at the door for me. She also had cooked my favorite meal and made herself look absolutely beautiful. It was amazing. Unfortunately, I had just come off 14 long hours in the shipyard, was absolutely exhausted and couldn't really connect.
So, I hugged her, opened up a Bud and sat on the couch. I just watched The Office and didn’t really pay attention to her. After we ate and showered, we had five minutes of tired relations and I immediately passed out. She later told me she went into the other room and cried. I wish she knew how much that night had meant to me. It was one of my biggest regrets in that relationship.
#41 Testament of Character
When I was a teenager, this girl and I met on a field trip. We stayed in touch and started dating. We’d broken up after about six months because we didn’t get to see each other at all. I was 15 and she was 14, so we had no way of getting around, but we still remained great friends. The year after our break up, I kind of started feeling the same way about her again and she said she wanted to see me.
She actually talked her dad into driving her all the way up here just for us to hang out for a day. It was still one of the best days of my life. That day, we made out and did a ton of dumb stuff. I met her dad, which kind of shocked me considering it was a big deal for her to work up the courage to say she wanted to come here. We’re still great friends to this day and I always remember that day as a testament to her character.
#42 Around Campus
On our first anniversary, after class, she prepared a walk around our college campus (we met there), with some papers. They had vivid descriptions directing us to specific places where some of our fondest moments happened. It was like treasure hunting, but she had the papers with her at all times and would only give the next one to me when I reached the designated spot.
After seven heartwarming notes about us and our story, we ended up in a natural park besides campus, where, in the beginning, I asked her about making it official. If I wasn't shocked by the sentiment she proved towards yours truly, I would have 100% cried tears of happiness for the first time in my life. I love her.
#43 Underrated Gift
I came home to a dozen sunflowers in a vase in my room. It had a little tag attached with a hand-drawn heart on it. I called my girlfriend, asked if she'd gotten them for me and she said yes. She said, "Yeah, I saw them at the market and they reminded me of you. So, I bought them for you." Flowers are the most underrated gift to get a guy, hands down.
#44 Feeling Loved
I came home for a surprise visit to see my fiance during the middle of my training course. When she heard my voice, she raced down the stairs, jumped into my arms and started kissing me all over. She also hugged me as tight as she could. No matter how long I live, I will never feel as loved as I did at that moment.
#45 Support For Me
I'm a type one diabetic and I went into DKA at one point. I felt terrible, was sweaty, nauseous, my sides were cramped, the works. My girlfriend was able to grab the right mix of components for my pump to replace an infusion set. She also kept track to make sure I was still drinking a ton of water. I've never dated anyone who actually showed that sort of support for me.
#46 An Ugly Mess
My wife and I got married while she was studying nursing. Due to her student-work placement dates conflicting, we decided to just have a small getaway up the coast as a honeymoon. About two minutes after I kissed my bride, she pulled out her camera, started recording and said she had something to tell me.
I got incredibly nervous as we weren’t ready for a child. Turns out, she had been squirrelling money away, organized our flights to NZ the next day and a rental van. She also organized with my boss and co-workers for me to take leave. Social media basically had a video of me going through happiness, dread, disbelief and crying happiness again. I was an ugly mess but it was an amazing surprise. We had one of the best times of our lives so far.
#47 Ring on That Finger
When my wife and I were dating, I was living out of my truck in LA while she still worked and lived in San Diego. I would drive down every weekend to see her, but one weekend I was so slammed I couldn’t make it. So, she decided to surprise me by driving up and bringing food from our favorite Chinese spot in SD. Then, we slept in my truck before she headed back to her place the next day. I knew for a while I wanted to put a ring on that finger, but after she did that, it was a certainty that I would marry this woman.
#48 Little Green Box
When I first asked my lady to be with me, we were 17 and fresh out of high school. I loved her for four years but never wanted to tell her because I thought it would ruin our friendship. Thankfully, I asked her to prom, giving her a beautiful black corsage to go with her dress. Five years later, we’re at the beach celebrating our anniversary. We exchange gifts and she gives me a little green box. Inside the box was a handmade necklace with the petals from the corsage molded into the necklace. I wear it every day.
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#49 Special Song
My girlfriend and I love the song “You are my Sunshine.” On our six-month anniversary, she gave me a bag and she had a bag as well. I opened it up and it was a wind-up music box that plays “You are my Sunshine.” Needless to say, I wound up crying because that was the sweetest thing anyone has ever done for me.
#50 You Have a Visitor
My now-wife and I had been together for a couple of months. She met most of my family but wasn’t able to meet my grandmother as she was in the hospital and had been there a while. She had visitors regularly, but one particular time she wasn’t going to have anybody go up. So my then new-girlfriend went up on her own with some flowers and introduced herself. She sat, just chatted with her and did crossword puzzles. I was blown away!
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