Fun Friday!

By Amy

I am thrilled to be able to introduce Amy -= Style Lush's very first feature writer. Amy is the genius behind Fun Friday, and she'll be sharing it with us every week right here. The moment I first heard about Fun Friday, I knew that it needed to be shared with the world (right after it was shared my husband) and I think the more you hear about it yourself, the more you'll agree. 

~Elizabeth

My boyfriend Andrew and I have been dating for two years and have lived together for almost a year. And can I be honest about something? Maintaining the "magic" has been difficult. Work, chores, cooking, finances, stress, a shared bathroom -- it can all quickly lead to losing that loving feeling.

And if your significant other is anything like MY significant other, he's perhaps not the most sensitive and romantic. Andrew believes in practical gifts. He will spend hours crawling Google for a short story I need to teach my 8th graders, but when it comes to flowers or chocolate, forget it. I appreciate that, I do, but I'm a girl. I want presents. And it goes both ways -- I also want a way to thank Andrew for all of the things he does to make my life easier.

After a particularly loud "discussion" one evening, I told Andrew that I wanted to know every single week that he was thinking of me. The truth is that he wanted the same from me. Every person wants to feel that their partner or spouse cares about them, appreciates them and thinks about them. The problem is that very few of us have time for a weekly date night or the money for expensive gifts and flower deliveries.

Thus, Fun Friday was born.

The rules are these: one gift, every Friday. Andrew plays poker professionally and he plays from home on Fridays, so the gift must be procured by the time I arrive home from work. The gift should be inexpensive -- under $10 (though, I will mention here that Andrew is terrible about following this rule and usually goes above the $10, while I tend to be the cheaper one) and should be something that is either expressly for the other person or for us to use as a couple. The first week, Andrew forgot, and tried to play off purchasing dinner that night as a gift. No dice. It needs to be an actual present. Bonus points for cards attached to said present.

Past gifts have included a book for me by an author I enjoy, Andrew's favorite snacks (Sour Patch Kids and Gatorade), and Trivial Pursuit: Genius Edition. 

Fun Friday has really transformed our relationship. I look forward to coming home every week and knowing there will be a little gift waiting for me. It makes me feel special to know that every week, Andrew has thought about me for a few minutes and picked out something that he thinks I will like, and I enjoy taking a few minutes to think about him and appreciate all of the nice things he's done for me throughout the week.

So look for me here each Friday with a little snippet about what I got and what I'm giving. I'm hoping Fun Friday catches on like wildfire and a wave of Friday Slurpee giving sweeps the land.  I can't wait!

Comments

[MrsBagley]

I LOVE this idea! I'm sending it to my husband right now!

[Leah]

I love this. My S.O. watches our baby two days a week, and on one of those days he used to come back with something special for me--a tea mug, a cute watch, a $5 ring (that turned my finger green!). I eventually had to tell him to stop because there was no way I could keep up, but every so often he still picks me up a little something just because, and you're right, it does wonders for the spirit.

[Janssen]

Brilliant!

My husband and I instituted "Bart Day" and "Janssen Day" a few months ago - every month we get each other a small gift or do a small act of service (hanging the pictures in our new apartment, for example) on a day of our choosing. It's fun to get an unexpected gift and fun to think about the other person.

It really is so brilliant!