# Manly Gifts



## Satya (Jun 22, 2012)

In the spirit of the Season of Giving....(and because I rarely make a post of my own)...

Constable Odo has a way of sending not-so-subtle hints about what manly present he'd like for Christmas. He is singularly the most "manly" guy I've ever known. 

Unfortunately, what he wants is usually unobtainable, illegal, dangerous, and/or immoral, even if he does ask for it as a joke (see: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SNPJMk2fgJU for a good example).

This year his "big" Christmas present is Tango lessons for us with a private teacher. Yes, he really wanted to learn to Tango, because he mentioned it many times. I am a bit more resourceful than him when it comes to research, so I'm hoping this will be a nice surprise. We live in a pretty remote area, so anything involving lessons usually means we'd have to travel about an hour to a major city. Luckily, I found a private teacher a few towns over.

He is insanely difficult to shop for, since he's the kind of man that just goes and buys something when he wants it. Gifts is at the bottom of his list of love languages, as it is on mine as well. So, I thought that a gift meeting both our top love languages, (a combination of Quality Time/Physical Touch) would be more suitable. I guess we'll find out how it went down in another day.

Just curious to know what other types of presents wives or girlfriends have given that were more "experience" type gifts and whether they were well liked and appreciated. Did they help to bring you closer than more "stuff" for your "man drawer?"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RgUpDGAIdds


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## unbelievable (Aug 20, 2010)

Tango lessons? That made it on the manly present list? Here are a few that should be on the list.

a. sex
b. guns
c. booze
d. power tools
e. A Harley
f. something nice for his truck.
g. DVDs of westerns and war movies. 
h. a dog.
i. a few hours of peace and quiet.


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## Satya (Jun 22, 2012)

I guess I'm using the term "manly" loosely, not in a literal sense of what we typically think of as manly stuff!

Tango is for instance, the last thing I'd ever think he'd be interested in, yet he's talked about it constantly.


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## Amplexor (Feb 13, 2008)

unbelievable said:


> Tango lessons? That made it on the manly present list?












Of the ballroom dances, Tango is very manly. Hence the typical heel drag by the female as you move across the floor. As our instructor explained it to us when we learned it, "You need a very strong and obvious lead by the male and carry yourselves as two passionate lovers that just had a fight and are really pissed at each other."


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## unbelievable (Aug 20, 2010)

Would John Wayne Tango?


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## Amplexor (Feb 13, 2008)

unbelievable said:


> Would John Wayne Tango?


Doubtful!


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## WorkingOnMe (Mar 17, 2012)

Out here you can get a 5 pack of ski tickets at Costco for $200. 

I purchased a climbing class for my son. 

Nfl tickets. 

Chartered off shore fishing trip. 

Guided hunting/packing trip with horses. 

Golf weekend in a warm place. 

Vegas or Reno weekend.


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## arbitrator (Feb 13, 2012)

unbelievable said:


> Tango lessons? That made it on the manly present list? Here are a few that should be on the list.
> 
> a. sex
> b. guns
> ...


*Be sure to add some good country and western music cd's to that list!

As well as a nice round of golf at Augusta National!*
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Methuselah (Nov 24, 2014)

j. Blow-jobs


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## Satya (Jun 22, 2012)

Hah, I knew the drone with the machine gun on it would draw Methuselah out! :grin2:


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## Ikaika (Apr 23, 2012)

unbelievable said:


> Tango lessons? That made it on the manly present list? Here are a few that should be on the list.
> 
> 
> 
> ...



I can't dance even though I can keep a beat. I always say, if you are dancing, thank the bass player, he/she is the reason. 

As for the list I will take a, d, h and i. The rest are not to my liking, but in my younger days I would always hoped for a big north swell. Wake up Christmas morning to surf then come home to open up any presents I may have received. Priorities. 


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## SecondTime'Round (Jan 15, 2015)

Am I the only one who was unaware you and Constable Odo are a couple?


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## Satya (Jun 22, 2012)

SecondTime'Round said:


> Am I the only one who was unaware you and Constable Odo are a couple?


I don't expect it's "common" knowledge, but I made a comment after he got permabanned and some were asking about him.


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## Blondilocks (Jul 4, 2013)

Of the ballroom dances, Tango is very manly. Hence the typical heel drag by the female as you move across the floor. As our instructor explained it to us when we learned it, "You need a very strong and obvious lead by the male and carry yourselves as two passionate lovers that just had a fight and are really pissed at each other."

So there is a reason that Arnold looks like he's never had a dance lesson in his life. I chalked it up to being a comedic effect.

Golf lessons for Husband along with parasailing, hot-air ballooning, river rafting, hang gliding and eye-brow shaping (that was for my benefit).


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## heartsbeating (May 2, 2011)

Tango... whew, too sexy!

Let us know how the lessons go.


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## heartsbeating (May 2, 2011)

Some previous birthday experience gifts (the bigger things like this are for birthdays, we didn't do Xmas gifts this year) I've surprised Batman with...

Archery lessons. This is something he wants to revisit, get his own bow and such. 

Driving a race car. He loved this. 

Flying a helicopter. There was a lot of research and planning that went into this one. He received a starter lesson on the ground, then took over flying the 'copter. I didn't expect to go on the flight but the instructor welcomed me to be passenger. It was the first time we had been in a helicopter and it was flown by hubs. That was a really cool one. 

Day spa / couples massage. A win-win!

Ukulele with lessons. The most random one I've given him. He's considering more lessons this year. 

Cooking class as a couple. Learned to make a few curries from scratch. 

Cooking class on vacation. Same thing but in a foreign country.


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## Satya (Jun 22, 2012)

heartsbeating said:


> Some previous birthday experience gifts (the bigger things like this are for birthdays, we didn't do Xmas gifts this year) I've surprised Batman with...
> 
> Archery lessons. This is something he wants to revisit, get his own bow and such.
> 
> ...


I really like those ideas, heartsbeating! We have done a couples massage at a spa and it was a great afternoon! We've cooked meals like Thanksgiving together but never tried a class, so I'll most definitely look into that. I love the archery gift idea! 

I appreciate all the input! Thanks everyone, I sometimes feel that my creative ideas dry up and I haven't a clue.


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## ocotillo (Oct 17, 2011)

Amplexor said:


> Of the ballroom dances, Tango is very manly. Hence the typical heel drag by the female as you move across the floor. As our instructor explained it to us when we learned it, "You need a very strong and obvious lead by the male and carry yourselves as two passionate lovers that just had a fight and are really pissed at each other."


Or, "..a vertical expression of a horizontal desire" to plagiarize another move. (And by extension, Robert Frost..)


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## happy as a clam (Jan 5, 2014)

Well, dang! I didn't know Constable Odo was perma-banned  (nor did I realize you were a couple...)
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## heartsbeating (May 2, 2011)

Satya said:


> I really like those ideas, heartsbeating! We have done a couples massage at a spa and it was a great afternoon! We've cooked meals like Thanksgiving together but never tried a class, so I'll most definitely look into that. I love the archery gift idea!
> 
> I appreciate all the input! Thanks everyone, I sometimes feel that my creative ideas dry up and I haven't a clue.


It sounds like you're on the ball to me, finding the Tango lessons = result! I can't resist these threads. I love coming up with ideas and arranging surprises. Ideas read are also tucked under my hat for safe-keeping. It depends what is of interest to him but a couple of other ideas came to mind. 

Visiting an observatory, particularly if there's a certain planet visible at the time. We enjoyed this. 

Arranging a surprise weekend away. 

Every so often my husband has seen monster trucks on TV. He always laughs and says it looks fun. That is likely to next be on the list! 

He's keen on having/building a fire pit at home... so that might be something, marshmallows at the ready. At-home experiences can be good. Last year I left him clues for an easy 'treasure hunt' around the house that eventually led him to the backyard and a stash of water balloons at the ready. Meanwhile I hid outside with my water balloons, just waiting for him to walk by. Except he didn't. I grew impatient and went looking for him. He predicted I would do this (gah!) and before I knew it, I was being bombarded with water balloons and the sound of his laughter. I retreated back to get mine. It was a lot of fun! (despite the fact that I ended up drenched).

Turning the living room into an indoor picnic or dance-floor. Like the water-balloon fight, these ideas don't cost much, just a bit of thought.


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## unbelievable (Aug 20, 2010)

heartsbeating said:


> Some previous birthday experience gifts (the bigger things like this are for birthdays, we didn't do Xmas gifts this year) I've surprised Batman with...
> 
> Archery lessons. This is something he wants to revisit, get his own bow and such.
> 
> ...


Couples massage and cooking lessons? Ukulele lessons? We are still discussing presents for an actual heterosexual guy, aren't we?


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## heartsbeating (May 2, 2011)

unbelievable said:


> Couples massage and cooking lessons? Ukulele lessons? We are still discussing presents for an actual heterosexual guy, aren't we?


Step aside!


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## GusPolinski (Jan 21, 2014)

My mother recently mentioned that buying gifts for me is super hard, at which point I reminded her that, when shopping for me, she should act as if she is shopping for a 12-year-old boy.

Mrs. Gus seems to have been privy to that conversation, because I pretty much had a Star Wars Christmas.

It was great.


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## unbelievable (Aug 20, 2010)

The ukulele lessons bit reminded me of something I found hilarious. I live in Tennessee and I took banjo lessons from this old guy out in the sticks who ran a combination music shop/bait shop (no kidding). Wore overalls, drank liquor constantly, racist as all get out but he was a fantastic bluegrass musician. I noticed he had a package of ukulele strings in his all bluegrass shop and asked him if he ever sold any. He said, "Hell yes! I sell the sheet out of 'em! Why, I sold a pack last year! I asked him, "who plays a ukulele?" He says, "you know...them High-Wahian fellers." Imagine that it the most hillbilly accent you can imagine.


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## Ikaika (Apr 23, 2012)

unbelievable said:


> The ukulele lessons bit reminded me of something I found hilarious. I live in Tennessee and I took banjo lessons from this old guy out in the sticks who ran a combination music shop/bait shop (no kidding). Wore overalls, drank liquor constantly, racist as all get out but he was a fantastic bluegrass musician. I noticed he had a package of ukulele strings in his all bluegrass shop and asked him if he ever sold any. He said, "Hell yes! I sell the sheet out of 'em! Why, I sold a pack last year! I asked him, "who plays a ukulele?" *He says, "you know...them High-Wahian fellers." *Imagine that it the most hillbilly accent you can imagine.



http://youtu.be/w_DKWlrA24k


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## unbelievable (Aug 20, 2010)

Ikaika said:


> http://youtu.be/w_DKWlrA24k
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk


Oh yeah, that's a manly tune. Made popular by a little girl, as I recall. Ted Nugent plays a manly instrument.


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## unbelievable (Aug 20, 2010)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zcSlcNfThUA


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## unbelievable (Aug 20, 2010)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fit99l6kHyA

Here is a man playing a man's instrument.


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## Ikaika (Apr 23, 2012)

http://youtu.be/xCOzZ7oamec

http://youtu.be/B6I24ZVkzn8


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## Ikaika (Apr 23, 2012)

Ted Nugent, real man who did everything he could to fail the pre-draft physical. Yea, real man 


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## unbelievable (Aug 20, 2010)

You gonna seriously question Ted Nugent's manhood? Hop over to his ranch and do that in person.


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## Ikaika (Apr 23, 2012)

unbelievable said:


> You gonna seriously question Ted Nugent's manhood? Hop over to his ranch and do that in person.


Ted Nugent is all talk, he is a gay boy. Where I come from we eat guys like Ted Nugent for a snack.


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## Satya (Jun 22, 2012)

unbelievable said:


> Couples massage and cooking lessons? Ukulele lessons? We are still discussing presents for an actual heterosexual guy, aren't we?


From my experience, there are plenty of manly men that have an artistic side. Cooking, music, wood carving, painting, furniture making, masonry, etc.... Constable Odo is amazing at DIY. He's worked on expanding an over 300 year old farmhouse and preserving its original look & feel. I've personally never been with a man that's so creative when it comes to envisioning something and then making it happen with his bare hands, a bag of money, and planning. That kind of talent requires artistic flair as much as logistics and brawn. There are tons of hobbies/past-times/endeavors like this.

Logical minds and music typically go together, for example. Music has a strong basis in mathematics, but it also requires emotion to be as moving as it is. Going to the local dive bar to drink beer and listen to live music... Is the guy performing on stage less of a man because he's performing on a Ukulele vs. an acoustic guitar or maybe a bass? 

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=PB3RbO7updc


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## ExiledBayStater (Feb 16, 2013)

Country music has lots of manly men. Clint Black, Charlie Daniels, and Garth Brooks come to mind.

Ted Nugent carries himself like a valley girl in that video. The long hair and exaggerated gum chewing are just too much.


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## heartsbeating (May 2, 2011)

Who knew the humble uke could provoke such a reaction? It seemed just fine with Elvis!

That was the most random experience-gift my husband has received. It was a complete surprise to him. His only initial hesitation was that he doesn't know how to read music. I reassured I could help with that. He dug practicing and wants to take lessons again (apparently so he can serenade me, haha). We were loving solo Eddie Vedder at the time, hubs was seeking a hobby to relax with, and that was the inspiration behind the uke Without You (uke) - Eddie Vedder...

I pay attention to what he's into but it's also fun to keep him on his toes. Thankfully he's pretty open, comfortable with surprises, and likes to be kept on his toes! Satya, no doubt your man will keep you on yours as he tangos you across the floor. mreow!


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