Need some male advice for a birthday

[Rose]

First off, here's the dilemma: BJ's 24th birthday is this Monday, the 10th. I'll be at a funeral, then flying home from the funeral and then I have a major test that night so I won't be spending much time with him the day of. He's not a present person, he hates spending money and hates hearing about when I spend money, especially if it's on him. His xbox has been broken for about a year or so now and I know he'd really like a new one.
He's mentioned several times that he wants us to save up so we can replace his broken one. Last year I got him a special edition bottle of Jack Daniels, his favorite drink, but he's not a big drinker and only opens the Jack on special occassions so I don't think buying him another bottle would work.
My question is, would it be ok to buy him the xbox 360 and kinect combo for his birthday and surprise him with it? Right now he thinks we're just getting take out and watching scary movies to celebrate. He's really upset that he can't go to this funeral with me and even more upset that the funeral is on his birthday so I want to do something he's not expecting to cheer him up. I'm not old enough to purchase alcohol myself and I don't trust any of my neighbors enough to ask them to help me so that's out of the question. So, for any of you who remember what it was like to be 24 (and not a drinker) or for those who are close to that age, please give me some male advice! I need to do something to cheer him up because this funeral shocked and hit us both pretty hard and he deserves a happy birthday. My budget is $375 too. Thanks ahead to anyone who responds. I've been wracking my brain for weeks over this.

 

[Jupiter551]

shit, I wouldn't complain if I got surprised with an x360 lol :twocents-02cents:

 

[MrRodry]

shit, I wouldn't complain if I got surprised with an x360 lol :twocents-02cents:

Me too but in this harsh times nothing beats good food (he got any favorite?) and some good times with your lover. Imho.

 

[Rose]

We've already decided we're going to go to his favorite restaraunt which is pretty pricey and I'm going to surprise him by wearing a new dress in his favorite color. We can't do that on the day of though and I really want to do something/give him something the day of to cheer him up because of the funeral.

 

[Bocefish]

Hard to say without knowing his hobbies and what he enjoys doing with free time besides gaming. If he's a outdoorsy or a handy type guy, maybe a Leatherman multi-tool or quality knife. Hard to say given the info available.

 

[Rose]

None of the above. Pretty much all he does all day is play games when we're not camming. Unless I make him leave the house to do something he just games, games, games...There's not really much else he chooses to do on his own. He doesn't like guns, he doesn't drink, he smokes, he doesn't like doing 'projects' or fixing things; pretty much just gaming. Other than an xbox I'm not really sure what other options I have other than maybe a game for his computer or putting a couple hundred in his savings account and giving him the receipt as a present. He's extremely difficult to shop for.

 

[Bocefish]

That is difficult... all I can think of then is maybe making him a personal coupon book of massages, oral, whatever you think he likes that he can use.

 

[Jupiter551]

None of the above. Pretty much all he does all day is play games when we're not camming. Unless I make him leave the house to do something he just games, games, games...There's not really much else he chooses to do on his own. He doesn't like guns, he doesn't drink, he smokes, he doesn't like doing 'projects' or fixing things; pretty much just gaming. Other than an xbox I'm not really sure what other options I have other than maybe a game for his computer or putting a couple hundred in his savings account and giving him the receipt as a present. He's extremely difficult to shop for.

what graphics card is he running? mouse? etc
you can get some really pimpy gaming stuff for pc, I think my card cost me ~$350

 

[ScarletVixen]

BJ sounds just like a couple of my exes, hard to shop for and no hobbies other than gaming. I game a lot too, but I also like to write, walk, swim, enjoy nature, go out to dinner, go to the beach, etc. Not these guys, though :lol:

I'd say gaming systems/games are a fair bet, as would anything to help pimp his PC if it isn't already maxed out. Do the two of you game together often? If you don't then you might be able to do an IOU of a day of gaming together as well, either 1 VS 1 or teaming up to smash the enemy. I know some guys really enjoy spending the "quality time" of enjoying their favorite hobby with the person they care for.

 

[Rose]

I've tried the coupon book before for a past Christmas and it's still sitting in a box unused, lol. I think I may try to get him a computer game, but I have no clue what the latest and greatest games are. We used to play WOW together all the time, but he got bored of it when RIFT came out and then he got bored of that too. He likes to write poetry and novels, but I can't really use that to get him a present because he only writes on scrap paper or his laptop and hides everything. Meh...why is he such a pain to shop for! Last Christmas I got so fed up I bought him socks and a shirt and he never wears either lol...

 

[MrRodry]

This week is a big one on games. Dark Souls (Xbox 360) - medieval third person adventure - and Rage - post-apocalyptic FPS - (360/PC) got released.

 

[Rose]

I asked him about games for his pc and he said the reason he stopped playing wow was because he can't get a new graphics card for his laptop without having to buy a whole new computer. Should I just try to get a new xbox?

 

[Jupiter551]

Honestly, I'd go PS3, I think they have a better selection of games. (Gran Turismo 5, Little big planet)

Though there is that r2-d2 version of the 360, would be a fairly unique gift

 

[Rose]

Honestly, I'd go PS3, I think they have a better selection of games. (Gran Turismo 5, Little big planet)

Though there is that r2-d2 version of the 360, would be a fairly unique gift

Was going to ask how much those run but I just asked his opinion on them and go figure he just said "don't want one, those are junk." I'm sure you can guess what his answer is when I ask what he wants too..."nothing. I don't like presents." Maybe I should just take him to a strip club for a night...He does like strippers.

 

[ViruSphere]

After you go out for dinner, get him in the car and blindfold him. Say you have a surprise for him but you're not saying what. When you get to Best Buy or GameStop, take off the blindfold and say "I know you don't like presents, I know you don't like me spending money on you, so you're going to buy a 360 in this store. Happy birthday!"

 

[Rose]

After you go out for dinner, get him in the car and blindfold him. Say you have a surprise for him but you're not saying what. When you get to Best Buy or GameStop, take off the blindfold and say "I know you don't like presents, I know you don't like me spending money on you, so you're going to buy a 360 in this store. Happy birthday!"

I'm not even sure I should post what he did to me the last time I attempted something like that....My ass was bruised for a week. He's jewish and you guys are seriously underestimating how much he HATES spending money.
What if I present him with a receipt showing the money is in savings during dinner and surprise him by going commando to dinner? Would that be an acceptable, unique gift for a 24 year old male who only games, fucks and smokes all day? Lol...

 

[Jupiter551]

Honestly, I'd go PS3, I think they have a better selection of games. (Gran Turismo 5, Little big planet)

Though there is that r2-d2 version of the 360, would be a fairly unique gift

Was going to ask how much those run but I just asked his opinion on them and go figure he just said "don't want one, those are junk." I'm sure you can guess what his answer is when I ask what he wants too..."nothing. I don't like presents." Maybe I should just take him to a strip club for a night...He does like strippers.

Well he obviously loves PC gaming - if I were you I'd get him some sweet peripherals or something - Razer gear is the SHIT, it's fantastic. It's not cheap, but really good. best stuff I've ever owned.

Among other things Razer make mice specifically for MMOs, they have several for WOW, is he going to play Old Republic? Cos they have this

World's first true 7.1 surround gaming headset

Laptop sleeves

Lots of cool shit on this site http://www.razerzone.com/

I wish I had a girlfriend who wanted to buy me this kind of stuff hahaha!

 

[Jupiter551]

FUCK now I'm starting to get the itch to spend money

 

[Rose]

If you guys can't get the picture from I've already posted, he's very difficult. We've been best friends for the last 3+ years and I still can't figure out what acceptable presents are for him. If I still haven't gotten it after the first 2 years then I know it's not me lol. I'm about to just start calling around and seeing if there are any cheap strippers for hire around here.

Jup, I'd totally buy that stuff for him, but his laptop won't even play solitaire at this point.

 

[SirLes]

Saw this and thought maybe you can use it for a birthday what to get him,

 

[Rose]

Saw this and thought maybe you can use it for a birthday what to get him,

Rotfl that's hilarious. I showed it to him and he loled at how hard he is to shop for. Still no decent clues though. I was serious about the dinner idea. Is that a total turn off or would it work? He likes sex more than he likes gaming most days so....Maybe a blowjob coupon and a hint that I'm commando scribbled on a napkin and passed to him during dinner?

 

[SirLes]

Dinner 1st, dark corner in crowded night club 2nd,Hey baby, I is commando here you know, 3rd.
Would make my night.

 

[Rose]

He doesn't like clubbing and neither do I but if the dinner idea sounds good (we'll be dressing up) to a majority of people then I'll go with that and I'll have to post the results after.

 

[Jupiter551]

Call me what you like, I'd still take an xbox 360 over a blowjob a-n-y-d-a-y lol.

 

[inkydoo]

I'd say get the 360 (though I'd skip the Kinect, the only people I know who still use theirs a lot have kids. Most of my serious gamer friends without kids say it wasn't really worth the money because there aren't many games for it).

If he complains about how much you spent, explain to him that you know he's been bummed about his being broken, you knew he eventually intended to replace it anyway, and that getting him things he likes makes YOU happy, so in some ways you're spending money on your own happiness (as a guy who kind of dislikes having a lot of money spent on him, this makes it easier for me to understand, since I have to recognize that that's part of why I get things for people, to see the smile and surprise on their face).

I don't know whether you can pull it off, but when I got our 360, it was kind of for my wife, so I surprised her by going out and buying it, plus the couple of games I knew she was interested in and getting it all hooked up while she was out for a few hours. Then I just waited for her to notice that there was a shiny new black box near our TV where there hadn't been before. Honestly I probably got more of a kick out of it than she did, but I thought it was an interesting way to have it be a surprise.

Of course, going commando to dinner would be awesome too. Or I'd love to be handed the control to a remote controlled vibrator that you're already wearing. Maybe for dessert, so I'm not tempted to make you squirm for the entire meal

 

[luvsyou]

Had a good friend who's philosophy was you can either spend money on things or experiences. This guy had hardly any material items, but he was always having fun and doing really cool stuff.

Why not try an experience? After dinner go do something really out of the ordinary. You could always kidnap him, take him to a hotel for some wild sex. Race track in the area? See if you can get him a ride in the car. Skydiving? Skydiving naked?

Good luck!

 

[Traditio]

He is a man - give him a steak and a blowjob...

Serious now - if he likes to write - even if he is doing it just for himself, encourage him. How about a nice Paperblank notebook?
http://paperblanks.com/us/en
They are looking great and i always loved to write in them...

(and give him the steak and the bj also...)

 

[JerMajesty]

Call me what you like, I'd still take an xbox 360 over a blowjob a-n-y-d-a-y lol.

haha ...after the 2 360s i had that suffered the red ring of death ....

Ill take the BJ :-D

anyways a nice surprise gesture for your man is great, get him the 360, save the receipt in case he doesnt want it, or would like to exchange it for a ps3 or something lol...

 

[Rose]

You guys are really underestimating his hatred of spending money. Lol. He doesn't care if buying something for him makes me happy, he'll give me a guilt trip about it until I cry. He HATES spending money. Since the commando dinner idea has gotten the most approval votes I'm going to try that. That way if he does end up wanting the xbox then I can just give him the money and let him do it himself. He's a stereotypical jew so a receipt for money not spent would probably be best anyways; I'm not sure why I haven't thought of this sooner. He collects pennies and change off the street so it's fitting. What I'll probably do is print one of his favorite pictures of me, stick it in an envelope with the receipt and a note saying I'm commando and then give it to him during dinner. I just realized our only working tv has no hook ups for an xbox or even a dvd player anyways so it would most likely be pointless to buy him an xbox when he can't play it; unless he hooks it up to a tiny 5 inch portable dvd player and plays that way. I really need some male friends or relatives that I can use to bounce ideas off like this. Lol. Thanks for helping me with ideas though guys.

 

[LadyLuna]

With how scared you are of spending money on him and his reaction to it, the idea you've settled on seems like it will work best for YOU. If he gets bummed that he didn't get more for his birthday, then you can take him to task over how he gets whenever you spend on him. if he doesn't, then no need to worry about it!