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What Do Guys Want On Valentine's Day?
By Keith Hagarty
Valentine's Day means flowers, candy, candlelit dinners … and of course, blasting bad guys into kingdom come.
Searching the stockpile of video games lining the shelves of EB Games in Ocean County Mall, Maria Jimenez, 24, of Toms River, tried her best to compare the most desirable titles for her 27-year-old boyfriend, Carlos.
"He got an Xbox 360 for Christmas, and I know he wants more games for it, so I thought 'hey, Valentine's Day is in a few weeks,' so he made it easy for me," she said. "He only has one game now, and I know he's already getting bored of it, so I thought I'd give him a few more to play with. Real romantic, huh?"
With so much attention being paid each year to what women want on Valentine's Day, the question becomes a little cloudier when it's flipped.
What do guys want?
When asked if video games are the new chocolate and flowers, Jimenez just laughed.
"Oh, you guys and your toys," she joked. I guess so. It seems like it's really getting that way. Plus, I don't think he'd very much like to get flowers. He'd probably just stare at me like I was crazy or something."
Overhearing Jimenez' comments, Derick Plavic, 22, of Beachwood, chimed in with his thoughts of video games being a fantastic idea for any girlfriend or wife to give to their significant other.
"If a girl really wants to know what to get her guy, there's nothing he'll appreciate more," Pavlic declared. "Of course, girls don't think about that stuff. They like the day to be about themselves, I think, most of them anyway, but I'll definitely be giving my girl a long list of games I want."
When asked if he thought his girlfriend, Patti, 19, would actually abide by his Valentine's wish list, Pavlic paused and thought for a moment.
"Good question," he said. "She's the kind of girl who usually likes to do the opposite of pretty much anything I suggest, so maybe instead I should just tell her I want a new set of spark plugs or like an encyclopedia or something."
For guys not part of the video game generation, there are still endless options for what to get him for Valentine's Day.
"I got some wonderful movies last year,"
said 66-year-old, Jerry "Colt" Anchore. "My wife has always been really good about
including me in the holiday. She doesn't like it to be all about her, never has. She gets uncomfortable with all that."
Thinking back on his years of marriage and all the special romantic moments each February 14, Anchore recalled one of his favorites.
"I'd say it was about 30 or so years ago, and she surprised me with, Drake, our golden retriever, who was just a pup," he said. "I never saw that one coming at the time, but it really made for a wonderful holiday."
When asked what he'd most like to see this year, Brennan didn't hesitate.
"Well, our daughter is about ready to give us our fourth grandchild, so a beautiful, healthy baby would be an incredible gift from Cupid," he said. "Nothing better than that."
For 47-year-old Terrence Maroniack, of Brick, Valentine's Day is never about the guy.
"It's a holiday for the ladies, always has been and always will be," he said. "Last year, I got my wife tickets to a Broadway Show, Hairspray, which she kept badgering me about for weeks and weeks and weeks, so that made her happy."
And what did Maroniack get in return?
"I've got to think about that one for a minute," he said. "You know, I think it was a DVD or something, I don't really remember. I know I got a nice card, and some of these special pretzels she knows I like."
For this Valentine's Day, Maroniack has some advice for any woman stuck on a gift for her man.
"Gift certificates. They always do the trick," he said matter of factly. "You can never go wrong with a Home Depot gift certificate or something to keep him occupied. We don't want flowers, candy gets eaten and all the pink romancey stuff is lost on us."
Taking a break in the mall's food court, couple Sharon Johnson, 29, and Doug Brittany, 31, of Mantoloking, agreed it's high time for guys to become more significant beneficiaries of Valentine's Day gift giving.
"Sure, why not?" said Johnson. "For years and years, it's all about the girls. Maybe it is time for guys to get their fair share too."
Brittany agreed, pointing to their bags of items as evidence of that fact.
"Everyday is Valentine's Day! We've been seeing each other for a little over two years now, so I think we know each other pretty well," he said. "I know she's not into all the fancy jewelry too much, but she loves going out for a nice dinner, when it's not too crowded. Oh, and getting flowers- the more colorful the better, right?- and she knows what I like more than anything, which is to get some (New Jersey) Devils' tickets, especially getting to their new arena. That would be great."
While not wanting to divulge what she was planning on getting her boyfriend for Valentine's Day, Johnson said it's not exactly a secret with her man.
"He's been talking about going to see some hockey games since the season began, so maybe if he's good, he'll get lucky," she laughed. "But maybe I shouldn't get his hopes up."
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