Valentine’s Day gifts for men

Hot stuff

Professional barbers always advise that if you are going to do one thing right in your shaving regime, make sure you use a sharp blade and warm your face to open the pores. Where previously this involved a whole lot of hot water, now you can get hot quicker with self-heating shaving balm – a product that eliminates the annoying hot water aspect to shaving, getting straight to the good stuff. Prices start from £14, with a Luxury Gift Set available for £57 www.maxskincare.co.uk

Monogamy board game

“An illicit affair with your partner”, promises the box. Does it breech Monopoly’s copyright? Who cares, the “Adult Game of the Year” is wonderful raunchy fun. With a combination of questions, discussion points and challenges the board game culminated into an erotic fantasy of the winner’s choice. This is truly a game where no one loses. www.monogamyonline.com

Neck decoration

Does your man need a new look? Formalwear can always do with an extra flourish, so how about this classic woven silk cravat in black with red polka dot detailing for only £19.50. Remus Uomo also has a range of attractive silk / polyester ties which come in many different prints including tweeds, herringbone and checks for the country gent look. Ties start from £11.85. 0121 784 6161 or www.remusuomo.com

You love him

21st Century love

According to a survey by Palm and Ipsos MORI, 62 per cent of romantics flirt over the phone. 46 per cent use SMS messages. And a further 6.5 per cent are using MMS picture messaging to capture their love or love parts and send them to the object of their affection.

Meanwhile a further 27 per cent flirt over IM, 27 per cent send ‘hot’ emails, while 15 per cent use social networking sites such as MySpace and Facebook.

According to its press release the Treo 500v “is ideal for anybody wanting to send a romantic note come February 14th, as it lets you make contact pretty much any way you want”.

You can call, text, email, IM and browse your date’s MySpace page at the touch of a button. Then pick a restaurant on the internet or just go ahead and stalk your paramour using the built-in Google Maps application. shop.vodafone.co.uk

Everyday superstar

If you haven’t played SingStar then you haven’t really done karaoke yet. SingStar pits you against a friend or lover in a vocal battle to the death. You sing together but at the end your singing is ranked and the loser is told, in no uncertain terms, precisely how bad their performance was. Packed with new features, players can now customise their SingStar experience by downloading the latest tracks and menu skins from the SingStore (an in-game shop that is easy to use and accessible directly from in-game) and set the world alight by uploading their best SingStar performances to the online SingStar community via the EyeToy camera. Why anyone would want to watch someone else doing bad karaoke is beyond us here at Times Online, but courses for horses what what. £49.99 www.game.co.uk

You would kill for him

Absurdly expensive watch

Lange 31 - £100,000

Why is this watch so expensive? Many people might put a down payment on a house rather than buying this, but if you are extraordinarily wealthy you may want to buy your loved one something that they can wear about their person that communicates precisely that. The Lange 31 will do this for you. The watch is so expensive apparently because: “this impressively weighty timepiece is the first watch with a previously unimaginable power reserve of one month. The unique constant-force escapement ensures uniform power delivery throughout the 31-day period, and has also reintroduced the venerable key winding mechanism.” While some might dispute the idea that a watch running for a month is unimaginable the expense is also due to what the Lange 31 is made from. With a platinum case, sapphire-crystal caseback, hand-stitched crocodile strap with solid-platinum buckle, silver dial and Rhodiumed gold hands, you’ll probably get what you paid for. www.alange-soehne.com

EXPERIENCES

You like him

Curry getaway

If you have the kind of fella who likes beer (and which self-respecting man doesn’t?) then chances are you have the kind of fella who likes curry. Why not treat him to a Balti Break, which gives a behind the scenes tour of Birmingham’s famous Balti Triangle, widely thought of as being the origin of the dish. The tour is a combination of cooking, tasting and shopping in the Balti Triangle. The afternoon begins with a leisurely drink as one of the best Balti chefs in the city shares some of the tricks of the trade. This is followed by a demonstration and a guided tour of the Balti Triangle, giving an insider’s view of the area and includes a visit to a traditional sweet centre and a wide range of shops from textiles to jewellery traditional. The day ends with a three course Balti meal at one of the area’s top restaurants.

This year, Marketing Birmingham’s Balti Breaks will take place at the Balti Triangle’s Royal Naim Restaurant, Al Faisals Restaurant, Al Frash Restaurant and Zeb’s restaurant. Dates for the Balti Break packages for 2008 are:

Saturday 16th February, Al Faisals

Saturday 24th May, Royal Naim

Saturday 20th September, Al Frash

Saturday 29th November, Al Faisals

The Balti Break is £60 per person for the day package. Overnight accommodation is available from £23.50 per person www.visitbirmingham.com

You love him

Unleash the child within

Ever wanted to play dodgem cars but with a real, full-grown Mercedes? Well here’s your chance, kind of. At Mercedes-Benz World your loved one can try their hand at either the Mercedes-Benz AMG experience or the 4X4 off road experience, or have a go on the wet skid circle. Geared towards teaching people to drive better but keeping the focus very firmly on pleasure, Mercedes-Benz World allows you to get behind the wheel of some of your favourite cars and also has a gourmet restaurant overlooking the historic Brooklands race track, which is the perfect way to end a day of hard driving. www.mercedes-benzworld.co.uk

You would kill for him

To the manor bought

Lords have recently launched a debenture scheme which gives holders guaranteed tickets in the Upper Grandstand to every game at Lord’s for the next eight years. including every Test and One-Day International and domestic cup final (which amounts to a minimum of 13 days of domestic and international cricket per year).

The only other way of guaranteeing tickets at Lord’s is to become a member of the MCC which takes 18 years at present. The other great thing about a debenture is that the Ashes Tests against Australia is next year and in 2013 are covered and they are tickets which will be virtually impossible to buy on the open market. A debenture costs £8,000 btw but could get you out of buying a Valentine’s Day pressie for the next eight years! You can buy debentures online at www.lords.org and also on 020 7616 8726

Truly super

What better present than all the cars of your man’s wildest dreams? The P1 Supercar Club is not cheap but could be just the ticket for your petrolheaded partner. Membership to P1 provides means more than just renting a supercar. A joining fee of £2,500 and then an annual fee of either £12,500 or £14,500 will buy between 50 and 70 days driving some of the world’s most desirable cars. Cars on offer include a Bentley Continental GTC, Ford GT, Ferrari F430 Spider, Aston Martin Vanquish S, Bentley Flying Spur, Aston Martin DB9 Volante, Lamborghini Murci?lago and many more. www.p1international.com