16 Men Reveal The Best Gift They Ever Received From A Woman
These men reveal the most cherished gift they've ever been given from a woman.
adriaticfoto | Shutterstock In 1995, Dr. Gary Chapman wrote a book about the way in which we express and receive love. His book is called The 5 Languages of Love: How To Express Your Commitment To Your Mate.
According to Chapman, men and women speak one of five different languages of love. Those languages include receiving gifts, quality time, words of affirmation, acts of service/devotion, and physical touch.
And one of the best gifts for men is learning your own love language. Figuring out what love language you speak is important. Even more important? Figuring out what love language your romantic partner speaks, and what men think about theirs, whether they are aware of it or not.
One of the least understood love languages out there is "receiving gifts." Many people shirk away from this particular language as love, believing it makes them or their partners come across as being shallow. This couldn't be further from the case.
When "receiving gifts" is the love language that a man speaks, it doesn't mean he's going to leave you when things get hard financially; it means that when you do something like knit him a pair of mittens he's going to appreciate those mittens as a thoughtful gesture that represents your love for him, ya dig?
One place where you'll often hear men discussing love languages is on the AskMen subforum on Reddit.
To get a better understanding of what the love language of receiving gifts looks like for men, I've compiled some of the best gifts for men they have ever received from their partners. Hopefully, this will give you some ideas about how best to tap into your partner's mind — and heart!
Here 16 men reveal the best gift they ever received from a woman:
1. Something soft and fluffy
"Personally, I'd love a pillow made by a SO. Clothing is a little more difficult. A girlfriend made me a scarf that turned out to look like something from a nursery, baby blue and white. I loved the gesture, though... it's the thought that counts!"
2. Anything crafty
"I like some crafted gifts. My girlfriend has knitted me socks and a very thick v-neck sweater, and (my very favorite) she once bound a book and filled it with blank pages and excerpts from interesting essays."
3. As long as it has curses
"My girlfriend is in the process of making me a little calligraphy cameo that has swear words.'"
4. Puppets
"I'd say the cutest gift my girlfriend gave me was finger puppets of her and I, Harold and Maude, and Margot and Richie Tenenbaum."
5. Charms
"My girlfriend carved two Germanic runes into soapstone and even sanctified the charm so it might help me relieve stress and achieve my goals."
6. A collage
"I once had a girlfriend who would collect souvenirs/pictures/whatever of stuff we did together. Every holiday (Christmas, birthday, anniversary), she'd give me a framed collage of stuff that she collected. The stuff that meant something to us as a couple. Those were pretty cool gifts."
7. Anything that isn't materialistic
"Personally, I enjoy a new or fun experience rather than a materialistic gift. I can buy myself anything I want/need (within reason), but give me a unique experience with someone I care about and you just can't beat that."
8. Something personal
"The idea that somebody would take the time and effort to make something nice is flattering, in almost any context. Bonus points if it's something personal."
9. A special, handmade card
"A good friend of mine makes hand-crafted cards for my birthday. Usually, I'm not a big fan of greeting cards, but I have kept every single one she has made for me because they just feel special."
10. Something knitted
"My mother is an arts and crafts enthusiast and has made me scarves, baskets, and hats innumerable. They're labors of love, and they're the things that are the most precious to me."
11. Anything that uses duct tape
"My gal makes me a duct tape wallet every year. Love 'em!"
12. A music mix
"I had an ex make me a DJ mix of all my favorite songs. I am a big fan of electronic music, so she taught herself how to DJ, found out all my favorites, then made me a pretty good CD-length mix."
13. A romantic night together
"I will always recommend that the best gifts to celebrate one's relationship should reflect the relationship in some way.
Material gifts are nice, but they don't really do a very good job of that on their own. In my opinion, planning a day and/or night together and filling it with activities or gestures that show how my significant other feels about me is much more endearing and meaningful."
14. A sweet note
"I have notes in my wallet my girlfriend has written me that mean more than the physical gifts I've received. The significance of an item isn't in the price."
15. A sentimental memory
"One of the most treasured things from my lady is a sentimental letter box that she painted and made really cute from an old shoe box. It's probably the most sentimental thing I have from her. It holds all of our old letters (she's into that), and small trinkets and papers from things that are important to me/us from over the past few years."
16. Socks... made with love
"My love knitted me some socks. That was the best gift ever, even if I can't wear them in the summer."
Rebecca Jane Stokes is an editor, freelance writer, former Senior Staff Writer for YourTango, and the former Senior Editor of Pop Culture at Newsweek. Her bylines have appeared in Fatherly, Gizmodo, Yahoo Life, Jezebel, Apartment Therapy, Bustle, Cosmopolitan, SheKnows, and many others.