Money, flowers and jewelry from Tiffany's works well for me.

It depends on the restaurant...

as long as they plan on paying for the meal. LOL. I think the most romantic ways to woo a woman is to be thoughtful and do special little things (that are not surrounding a special event). Bring her flowers for no reason, write little notes, remember something she said she liked and suprise her with it later, etc. Fancy stuff never was important to me.

I was kidding!

Joking or not, I don't think any woman would turn down the contents of one of those little blue boxes. ;o)

BTW have you ever noticed how the word "baguette" works so well with jewelry AND food? Somebody was thinking when they came up with that one. lol

Karen

LOL, yes, little things count with me too. A little dinner, a few flowers, a little blue box. The little things all add up.
Leslie

LOL!... only if the woman is willing to go to dinner with you.

It has been my observation that the "hound dog" guys that simply pester a woman into submission get the most dates.

Oh yeah, I can't wait to go out with someone who relentlessly calls, asks, calls, asks, calls. I really want to be around somone who cannot leave me alone. Can you say "restraining order"? lol

Bunnyman, I do hope you're joking. :o)

Karen

No Karen, alas I'm not joking. Perhaps mistaken about the things I see but I'm not joking about them. Not saying this is my style or even holding it up as dating advice. Have you not ever observed a serial dater in operation?

I live in a small town so I only ask once. Sometimes the question hangs for years. Local gals treat a dinner invitation like a marriage proposal. This makes a dinner invitation unreasonably heavy but is the way things seem to work most of the time.

: )
michael

I am charmed by a man who is willing to feed me. If he is willing also to cook for me and does it well, I may verge on adoring!

"Have you not ever observed a serial dater in operation?"

I guess you'd have to define "serial dater." Although I'm thinking my answer is probably "no." I imagine that I don't hang out in the same places where they would hang out.

Karen

What I'd love is a dinner date where the guy does NOT expect to be paid back in bed, on the same night. (I'm talking a first date here.)

There was something on a nature show about birds that mentioned this very thing.

One of the ways a female bird chooses a mate is by acting hungry.

The male who feeds her the most diligently is the one she chooses.

He's the one whose babies are most likely to be taken care of.

The show also said that that's where kissing comes from:
All that mouthy stuff is just a substitution for *food*!

I know you 'blue box' people are mostly joking, but I'd have to say it anyway: jewlery from Tiffany does NOT impress me. Would I like it? Certainly, but it does not impress me. I can buy my own necklace - and most guys that feel the need to impress via money ain't my kind of guy.

Going out to dinner - hmm - kind of the same. Again, I take myself out to dinner whenever I want. A man doing it for me does not do much for me, but think about the time we just wasted, driving, ordering, waiting, eating, waiting, paying the bill, driving back.... In fact, I don't like going out much. I do, should it decrease on my having to cook and stuff, but not in "I'll buy you dinner, I get laid" sort of way :P

Actually, I wonder how they determined that....

On the other hand, I DO think that most people are shallow people (I used to substitute people for men, but have since learned that it is true for both genders)

Ok, so I am new, does that mean I am also naive???

Dinner shminner, what I want to know is does he do the dishes?

I remember that NPR thing and they said "Mathematical Method" to increase your chances of successfully pursuing a woman, is not buying expensive things that are durable, but extravagant one time events like going to a fancy up-scale dining establishment. Somebody did a study and graphed it out.

And then on Thursday letter time they read a letter from someone who said, "When I was in college, I too used a mathematical method with girls... I helped them with their calculus homework."

A Knight's tale

Young King Arthur was ambushed and imprisoned by the monarch of a
neighboring kingdom. The monarch could have killed him but was moved by
Arthur's youth and ideals. So, the monarch offered him his freedom, as
long as he could answer a very difficult question. Arthur would have a
year to figure out the answer and, if after a year, he still had no
answer, he would be put to death.

The question....What do women really want? Such a question would
perplex even the most knowledgeable man, and to young Arthur, it seemed
an impossible query. But, since it was better than death, he accepted
the monarch's proposition to have an answer by year's end.

He returned to his kingdom and began to poll everyone: the princess,
the priests, the wise men and even the court jester. He spoke with
everyone, but no one could give him a satisfactory answer.

Many people advised him to consult the old witch, for only she would
have the answer.

But the price would be high; as the witch was famous throughout the
kingdom for the exorbitant prices she charged.

The last day of the year arrived and Arthur had no choice but to talk
to the witch. She agreed to answer the question, but he would have to
agree to her price first.

The old witch wanted to marry Sir Lancelot, the most noble of the
Knights of the Round Table and Arthur's closest friend!

Young Arthur was horrified. She was hunchbacked and hideous, had only
one tooth, smelled like sewage, made obscene noises, etc. He had never
encountered such a repugnant creature in all his life.

He re fused to force his friend to marry her and endure such a terrible
burden; but Lancelot, learning of the proposal, spoke with Arthur.

He said nothing was too big of a sacrifice compared to Arthur's life
and the preservation of the Round Table.

Hence, a wedding was proclaimed and the witch answered Arthur's
question thus:

What a woman really wants, she answered....is to be in charge of her
own life.

Everyone in the kingdom instantly knew that the witch had uttered a
great truth and that Arthur's life would be spared.

And so it was, the neighboring monarch granted Arthur his freedom and
Lancelot and the witch had a wonderful wedding.

The honeymoon hour approached and Lancelot, steeling himself for a
horrific experience, entered the bedroom. But, what a sight awaited
him. The most beautiful woman he had ever seen lay before him on the
bed. The astounded Lancelot asked what had happened.

The beauty replied that since he had been so kind to her when she
appeared as a witch, she would henceforth, be her horrible deformed
self only half the time and the beautiful maiden the other half.

Which would he prefer? Beautiful during the day....or night?

Lancelot pondered the predicament. During the day, a beautiful woman to
show off to his friends, but at night, in the privacy of his castle, an
old witch? Or, would he prefer having a hideous witch during the day,
but by night, a beautiful woman for him to enjoy wondrous intimate
moments?

What would YOU do?

What Lancelot chose is below.

Noble Lancelot said that he would allow HER to make the choice herself.

Upon hearing this, she announced that she would be beautiful all the
time because he had respected her enough to let her be in charge of
her own life.

Now....what is the moral to this story?

The moral is.....
If you don't let a woman have her own way....
Things are going to get ugly

bunnyman, I don't think it's that the pestering actually works. It's just that the "pesterers" are the same ones who ask out Every Single Woman He Meets. Or just crosses paths with in the grocery store. Or shares a mutual friend who can set them up. You I think recognize this yourself to some extent when you call them "serial daters". It's a volume thing. Even if only one woman out of 50 says yes, and, say, one out of ten women you ask out says yes, if he asks out 20 women a week and you ask out one, guess who gets the most dates?

It is expected that a man takes a woman to dinner if he wishes to date her. I am not a gold digger by any means but I would wonder if the guy is a cheap skate if he doesn't. I had a guy asked me to lunch and complain about a $5 lunch and he told me that he makes over $100K (supposedly). Okay! It is the little things that matter but to make a good impression - a paid dinner w/out expecting sex is a good starter.

Ok....how bout this?

Could a guy substitute making her a dinner, in lieu of taking her to dinner, and not be considered a cheapskate?
(and not expect sex, of course)

If they knew one another closely - yes. But for safety reasons - if they are just newly acquainted - no.