§ Scrapbook

Women love scrapbooks because they are sentimental, frilly and nostalgic—the very same reasons why most, actually, all men cannot stand them. A scrapbook as a birthday gift for your boyfriend is not likely to get the same yelp of gratitude as the latest Nokia cellular phone . Let’s face it, a gift like a scrapbook would only likely gather dust in the corner of his room, a gift that’s been forgotten and buried deep into the recesses of his mind (harsh, yes, but true).

§ Poem

Unless your boyfriend is Bono or one of those artistic types, then a poem is not the kind of gift your boyfriend would like to receive. Like a scrapbook, a poem is too sentimental for the ordinary man. What makes poems even worse is the fact that they convey deep feelings and emotions. Plus, men don’t like guessing and figuring out vague messages, and poems are nothing but unclear, ambiguous lines.

§ Pink sweaters

“Real men wear pink", they say, but no man in his right mind will ever really wear a pink sweater (unless he is Carson Kressley). This look may have worked for the preppies of the 1980s, but today’s men would most likely give you a forced smile if you give them a pink sweater as a gift.

§ A Celine Dion Greatest Hits CD

Don’t even think of saying “but Celine Dion sang ‘My Heart Will Go On". You may think that Celine Dion was an angel sent by God to the earth to bless us with her voice, but the Canadian singer’s music is just not the kind you would find in a man’s iPod play list (and if you do find a Celine Dion song in your boyfriend’s iPod, then you better start asking questions).

§ Flowers

Women are suckers for pretty flowers. When they are given a beautiful bouquet of blooms, they gingerly put them in a vase then arrange them to maximize and enhance their beauty. Most men on the other hand, do not know anything about flower arrangements and probably don’t even know a vase. What will they do with flowers?

§ Tickets to a ballet recital

If your boyfriend was educated in an exclusive public school, grew up listening to Tchaikovsky and frequented the Met, then, sure, you can give him tickets to a ballet recital. If he’s not any of these however, then tickets to see a ballet recital is not likely to be a gift that could make his knees quake with excitement.

Men are not picky with when it comes to presents and will be grateful for whatever you give them. Just stay away from these gifts. "