First Dates & Anniversaries

[Stung]

My anniversary is coming up--the same date is both my wedding anniversary AND the anniversary of our first real date. I'm feeling sentimental.

 

On our first real date (which we'd been building up to for several months) we were both tremendously nervous. I had flown 800 miles ostensibly to visit family but really to finally meet him after so many months of 'friendship'. We met somewhere public, of course, and the moment he saw me his face lit up with relief, presumably that I was really me and not a middle-aged man with a glandular problem .

 

We wandered around downtown for an hour, just talking about everything, soaking up the city ambiance (I was living in a smaller town at the time and feeling bored with it). We went to Thai food and split a bottle of wine and talked for another hour or so over several shared dishes, then we walked to a downtown concert venue and saw some live music. It was one of those gorgeous old converted theaters and we ended up dancing and making out like horny teenagers in one of the balconies . After the show we went to a tiki bar, and then I told him I would go home with him if he wanted me to--and he did--and he took the next day off work--and our first official date lasted for two whole days. I had to go home then, and he flew up to visit me just a week later, and then six months flew by and we were moving in together.

 

So anyway, I had a specific plan for our upcoming double anniversary that has gone awry because I lost some of the paperwork when we moved and had to send away for it again and the whole process is just going to take too long--now it's going to be a Christmas gift. I tried to make arrangements for us to get away for that weekend, only to find out that my husband has already made arrangements for us to go somewhere (although he won't tell me where). Now I'm a bit stumped. I'm already planning on giving him a good sexytime, that's no gift IMO, just a natural side effect of a romantic time together. I want something more personal than just the latest tech gadget he's salivating over.

 

The point of this ramble:

 

A) I am curious to hear about all your first date stories with your SO/spouses,

 

and

 

B) I want ideas for great anniversary gifts for men, besides just something like dressing up in lingerie or taking him away for a weekend (both of which are ultimately happening that weekend anyway). Guys, what anniversary gifts/events really stand out in your memories? Have your wives/SOs ever done anything really special for you, or do you actually prefer to just get the latest tech gadget you've been craving?

[ColdFox]

I like your first date .

 

For my first date with my once-husband, he picked me up from my work, we went for coffee and ice cream and then hiked up a little hill so we could lie on the grass and look at the stars. It was a little cold but romantic, and I had met him a few times before so I didn't feel nervous about being alone with him like that. We went to a bookstore that was open late and got a book on astronomy so we could look up some of the constellations we saw, and then he drove me home and we kissed in the car and on my porch, but my roommates were there so he did not come inside, even though I was tempted . We had such a connection. I went out with him again the next day. Those are such fond memories for me, thank you.

 

I was never good at buying gifts for him, though. I think women sometimes try too hard to get these romantic meaningful symbols and men usually just want something cool.

[Stung]

Oh, thank you. I very much like your date, too, I love stargazing. Your date was much sweeter than mine . I'm glad it's such a wonderful memory for you.

 

 

I was never good at buying gifts for him, though. I think women sometimes try too hard to get these romantic meaningful symbols and men usually just want something cool.

 

THAT is a really good point. I am probably way overthinking this searching for meaning and I should just get him a shiny gadget and have my way with him and call it done.

[Spark1111]

We were introduced by mutual friends at a picnic in a large park a long, time ago.

 

I have given tickets to concerts, small music venues and sporting events. It has given us another date night together!

 

Or presented him with a romantic weekend away.

 

I bought him a star once named after him. He loved that!

 

But I think his favorite gift was a copy of the ship manifesto I ordered that bore the name of his grandfather who traveled through Ellis Island at age 16.

 

He cried that Christmas!

[InternationalPlayboy]

Congratulations!

 

Our first date was in October 1995, the same night as the first game of the World Series. I really wanted to see the game and even tried to reschedule, but she couldn't make it so we went to a quiet and romantic restaurant and I fiddled with my silverware while missing the game. Nonetheless, she kept me around and we married three years later.

 

As for gifts, for our second anniversary she bought me a real nice watch - it was beautiful and I loved it. It was probably the best watch I've ever owned. I wore it all the time until years later our two year old daughter accidentally dropped it into a the toilet. After she'd used the toilet. It was pretty gross but I really couldn't get too upset.

 

Good luck on selecting a gift.

[kuma]

I met my H through a blind date. My first impression of him was that he had nice eyes and a smile. I liked him because he was funny and laid back. The view from the restaurant windows was fantastic. We had a good time. We moved in together shortly and eloped.

 

He loves outdoors. I usually give him camping/fishing/quad gear. He also likes tech gadgets.

 

Have a wonderful anniversary!

Edited October 7, 2010 by kuma

[finding_serenity]

my H drove all the way from eastcoast to westcoast and took him 35 hours just to see me and spend new year with me.nothing happened in 11 days,he was a lil nervous cuz I was a virgin.he proposed valentines day when he came back to visit again.got married in 2 months.

[finding_serenity]

first anniv were fighting and marriage in crisis.married way too quickly.thats why.

[Stung]

Thanks everyone, I absolutely love hearing your first date stories. IP, I hope you feel it was worth it, missing the first game of that playoff .

 

I'd love to hear more date stories if anyone is up to it, you don't have to have anniversary gift ideas too.

[Stung]

We were introduced by mutual friends at a picnic in a large park a long, time ago.

 

I have given tickets to concerts, small music venues and sporting events. It has given us another date night together!

 

Or presented him with a romantic weekend away.

 

I bought him a star once named after him. He loved that!

 

But I think his favorite gift was a copy of the ship manifesto I ordered that bore the name of his grandfather who traveled through Ellis Island at age 16.

 

He cried that Christmas!

 

Spark I like the star idea but I mentioned it to him once before (hoping he would get the hint for ME ) and he thought it was cheesy and lame. Did I mention he's really opinionated and hard to buy for?

 

I thought about getting him/us tickets to something but our baby is going through a rough sleep patch and none of his regular sitters (read: grandparents) will babysit him at night because of it.

 

The ship manifesto thing is awesome. There's actually something along those lines I've thought about for him that I KNOW he is interested in, but it's a scientifically-based thing that requires a blood sample--and it would be a little bit hard to sneakily take his blood without him noticing.

 

 

Some of the gifts I have given my husband: found out his favorite treat, and made it from scratch (deep fried twinkies, ugh gross, but he loves them), bought him plane tickets to Georgia and talked to his best friend and got them tickets to the University of Georgia football game (his favorite team), ordering special editions of his favorite books, etc.

 

Just listen to what he says sometimes, remember, and then think of how to find what he has mentioned and make it special. But yes, men love gadgets!

 

I know what you mean and I do listen to him but his interests are very specialized and would require more knowledge than I possess to shop for knowledgeably. Plus in general I was hoping to get something with more personal meaning specific to us for this anniversary--but I'm considering abandoning that ideal, for now. ColdFox was right, I'm probably trying too hard to make it special.

 

There's one thing I know he'd love but as mentioned above it would require taking a blood sample, not easy to surprise him with that . He already cooks his own favorite treats, and he's a better cook than I am. Also most of the stuff he really wants, he just buys. I got annoyed with him last Father's Day because he'd been complaining about our coffee machine so I got him a new GREAT one for Father's Day and hid it in the closet all nicely wrapped, and then the day before FD he went out and bought a new one himself while I was at the library with the kids.

 

He wouldn't wear a watch, either, unfortunately.

 

I have been looking at some antiquarian maps, but there werent' any of the specific region I need. I switched to looking at old maps online but it's impossible to see the sample .gifs closely enough to know if they have what I need on there, and of course internet customer service sucks. I'm continuing to pursue this idea for the moment, and if it doesn't work out I'm just going to go with the gadgetry I think.

 

Still working on it!

Edited October 7, 2010 by Stung

[Alma Mobley]

When my husband asked me out almost five years ago, his car was in the shop. He felt, however, that he had to act quickly as he really liked me and didn't want someone else to snatch me up. He invited me to go on a double date with a friend of his who was coming to the city the next night so he would have a ride. (I lived in the city and H did not.) We were going to go to a silent movie with live jass accompaniment. Now, this friend of his is notorious for being late -- I didn't know this about him, but 30 mins after he was supposed to meet me, he called me to tell me where they were and apologized for being late. Another 30 mins went by. The theater was close to my house, so I met him there when he called me to tell me they'd arrived. We paid and found seats, and by then the movie was almost over!

 

Then we went to eat. His friend had picked out a place quite famous for its meat dishes and that's when H found out I was a vegetarian. He apologized maybe three times about that since I ordered a simple side salad, but the truth was I wasn't very hungry anyway. I told him it was fine. After that we went to have cocktails and he and I sat together and talked for a bit, about books, I think. Then we decided to all go to my apartment with a bottle of port. After about two hours his friend and his date left. They'd been sitting on the couch and we were on the bed. (I lived in a studio at the time.) We talked about politics, I remember, and that's when he said, "Hey, I'm a guy and you're a girl, and we're sitting here on this bed and you're talking politics. Can I kiss you yet?" I laughed and said yes. We made out for awhile but I made it clear that I didn't want to have sex yet. He left in the morning but couldn't find his tie.

 

Our second date the next week went much better involving punctuality and sex!

 

We don't typically give each other gifts for anniversaries. We just plan a special evening. (We didn't do anything this last anniversary because I just had a baby.) One year for his birthday I got him a nice silver flask engraved with his initials. He didn't have a flask but had wanted one. This year for his birthday I bought some nice frames and put pictures of him with our son in them since we didn't yet have any pictures up of the baby. Also, his birthday is close to Father's Day, so it was a combo of the two, but I also bought him a new wallet because he desperately needed one. That was just a practical gift, I suppose. I am also really bad about coming up with special gift ideas, so I'm probably not the right person to ask!