Celebrity Baby Shower Gift

Everyone has a need to be loved, to feel worthwhile, by one person, but it goes beyond this notion. According to author Gary Chapman, in his book, The Five Love Languages: How to Express Heartfelt Commitment to Your Mate, (Northfield Publishing, 2004), it's not "one thing," that hits that romantic need everyone longs for. It has to do with speaking the right "love language" to a girlfriend, boyfriend, or spouse. The best Valentine's Day present is a desire to give the following gifts.

The Gift of Affirmation

Compliments, words of appreciation, don't cost a cent, but they are like gold. "Great meal tonight," honey, or, "Wow, awesome sweater," can make someone feel like a million bucks. Encouraging words, too, can motivate people to climb mountains, or, to do something they might not have done, if it wasn't for encouraging words. In addition, says Dr. Chapman, "a person has to be willing to forgive a wrong, ask for forgiveness, and make an effort to understand what the other person wants." Building intimacy also happens when spouses make kind requests, not harsh demands." This gift can be verbal, or, written in a Valentine's Day card.

The Gift of Quality Time

The person who has this top need, wants undivided attention, not a few "uh-huhs," in between texting someone else during a romantic dinner for two. For example, in the movie, Leap Year, the main male character asks the woman he is taking to Dublin, Ireland, so she can propose to her boyfriend, "if there was a fire and you had to get out of your house, what's the one thing you would take or grab, before you fled the house?" In other words, more than just quality time is what makes a person's life meaningful to another. A person shares true love with another, when that person knows, without a doubt, that he or she is the number one priority.

The Gift of a Gift

Everyone loves getting gifts. To some people, receiving a gift, is the top love need. Says Dr. Chapman: "I examined the cultural patterns surrounding love and marriage and found that in every culture I studied, gift giving was a part of the love-marriage process." It is also part of the "courting" process. Flowers, perfume, cologne, a shirt, a sweater, movie tickets, or tickets to a sports event that someone really wants to see, says more than just, "I love you." It says, "I've taken the time to find out what's important." They can be symbols of love, in that a person has taken the time to find out what the other person really wants.

The Gift of Service

Taking out the garbage, vacuuming the house, cleaning out the cat litter box, putting in a new light bulb in the garage, filling up the car with gas, believe it or not, means everything to people, especially women, whose need of "service," is top priority. Women and men both like to feel taken care of. For men, it might be picking up his shirts from the dry cleaners, washing his clothes, fixing him a nice meal. But, never do this with a begrudging attitude. Do this in the spirit of love.

Valentine’s Day isn’t exactly a holiday that seems to be based around men. My best guess is that most men don’t really want chocolates or jewelry or flowers on Valentine’s Day.

So, what do you do if you’ve got a travel-loving and gear head boyfriend or husband? The best way to his heart this Valentine’s Day is probably getting something he’s been dying to buy himself.

Get him something he’ll love, he’ll use and that’ll put a big smile on his face when he opens it. And, in the midst of a recession, you can tout practicality if you buy something you know he’s sure to use and love.

The best part? Buying travel gear doesn’t necessarily have to be expensive, and there are plenty of affordable items that would make for a perfect Valentine’s gift for the man in your life.

Take Him on a Trip

Because I am usually one who prefers to spend my money on experiences and memories rather than on things, a terrific Valentine’s Day gift for your man is a trip the two of you can take together. Not only will you get to be a part of it (making it kind of like a gift for both of you), your travel-loving boyfriend or husband is sure to be a happy camper.

>>Check out deals on cheap airfare and cheap hotels and book a Valentine’s Day trip

Petzl Zipka Plus LED Headlamp

Headlamps are always a good travel and outdoor essential and many folks like to have at least a couple around the house. If you are looking for an easy Valentine’s gift for your boyfriend or husband, this would surely be appreciated (and you won’t break the bank either; this top-end headlamp is only $35)

>> Read more about and buy the Petzl Plus LED Headlamp

Swiss Army Knife

What travel or outdoors-man shouldn’t have a Swiss Army Knife? You can engrave it to give it something special. I like the one with a corkscrew and a bottle opener are great for opening your favorite beverages on the road (or a romantic bottle of bubbly on a picnic), but there are other versions with different items.

>>Buy the Victorinox Swiss Army Classic Pocket Knife

Universal Travel Adapter

For anyone who likes to cross borders, a universal travel adapter will always come in handy. They make Transformers-style adapter with plugs that fold out, pop out, and twist out according to what you need at the time, good for 150 or so countries.

>>Check out the Power Line 0900-27 Global Power Travel Kit

Passive noise-canceling earbuds

Canceling out noise around you can be a useful thing, but not if it means packing expensive headphones that take up as much space as a book. Instead, replace the crappy earbuds that came with your iPod with squishy ones that fill your ear canal. Your music will sound far better and you block out much of the noise around, no extra batteries required.

>>Check out the Comply Tx-500 Foam Tips (Black) 3-Pair Pack (for under $20)

Osprey Porter 46 Travel Pack

This is an absolutely great all around travel pack. He can use it for shorter trips, and even stretch it to accommodate enough stuff for a longer trip if packing light. Small enough to be a daypack, big enough to go overnight. Your travelling man is sure to be happy with this pack.

>>Read more about and buy the Osprey 46 Pack

50 Great Outdoor Skills - DVD

If you can stand the idea of your boyfriend or husband telling you about all the survival skills he learned from this video during your next camping trip, then this is a great Valentine’s Day gift choice. Hone your survival and outdoor skills for when you travel anywhere in the world.

>>Read more about and the 50 great outdoor skills DVD

Leatherman

A Leatherman is a Swiss army knife with a hefty shot of testosterone. It’s a gift that says, “I can already open a can, thanks. But, what I’d really like to do is go spear my own fish.” It has stuff your guy will use. Pliers. Screwdrivers. Wire cutters. BOTTLE OPENERS. In short, this is a made-to-last, hardcore, intelligently-designed multi-tool. And it’s super manly.

>>Check out the Leatherman 830039 New Wave Multitool with Leather Sheath

Serengeti Polar PhD Sunglasses

I gave these sunglasses to my boyfriend and he loves them. Not only do the lenses have special military technology that adjusts the shade of the lenses depending on light (my guess is that he’ll think that’s cool), but they look great and are super lightweight.

>>Read more about and buy the Serengeti Polar PhD Sunglasses