So you're looking for romantic birthday gift ideas, the likelihood is that you aren't a chocolates and flowers kind of person, or else you wouldn't be looking for ideas and would take the easy options. Romantic birthday gift ideas are speculative, because it all depends on the person you are buying for. What one person may consider to be romantic, another may not.

I can only speak from personal experience, but to me, a bunch of flowers isn't romantic. Not to say that I don't love flowers, I do. But I prefer to see them growing, not gradually wilting away in a vase. What's the alternative? A plant. Preferably an orchid, or something equally as beautiful. That's the thing, we all have very different ideas of what's romantic.

What I find incredibly romantic, are personalised gifts. An example is to buy a digital photo frame, upload photos which mean something to the recipient, and present the gift ready made. That's thoughtful and very romantic. It wouldn't be the same if you bought them a digital photo frame with no contents.

The thing with romantic birthday gift ideas is that mostly, it isn't the gift itself which needs to be romantic, it's the thought and effort gone into choosing it. Going to watch John McEnroe play tennis may not sound like a romantic birthday gift, but that's one of the gifts that I got for my last birthday and it couldn't have been any more romantic. The reason being, that my other half knew that it was something I had always wanted to do, but had never got around to. We had the best seats, and at the time my beloved wasn't even into tennis. It was purely a gift for me which he accompanied me to.

It's all about the thought process. Romantic birthday gift ideas are easy to come up with if you know a person well enough. So tennis was my particular passion in this example, maybe the person you are thinking of is passionate about food and cooking. Reserving places, and accompanying them to a cookery course may be a romantic idea to that person. Think of a person's hobbies, it might result in a great birthday gift idea.

Maybe the person you are looking for a romantic birthday gift for has always wanted to visit a particular place. A day trip, weekend break or even a holiday would be a perfect romantic gift in this instance. A great way of finding out about these things is to start a conversation well in advance of the impending birthday. Ask about things they have always wanted to do, memories from childhood that they still hold dear. You'll be surprised at what leads this can generate. You of course need to be discreet in your romantic birthday gift ideas detective work, so maybe start off by saying "I used to love going to the seaside when I was younger, but I've never been to Brighton". You would of course enter your own scenario, but you get the gist. If you start up a conversation like that, you are bound to find out some information that will lead to romantic birthday gift ideas.

We all know about the current economic climate, it sucks. How do you find the perfect romantic birthday gift on a small budget? There's some good ideas in the personalised gift ideas hub. But aside from that, there are some things which you can do cheaply, that will remain as romantic memories for years to come.

Go on a picnic - This can be a simple or elaborate as your budget allows. Imagine a nice big picnic blanket, a picnic basket full of finger foods and a couple of glasses of bubbly. Put together as a surprise, that makes for a really romantic birthday gift. You could choose to travel to the countryside, the coast, a park, or simply stay at home and reveal the surprise in the garden. Time, planning and effort makes a picnic a thoughtful gift. Remember to take lots of photos to look back at.

Stargazing - This can be done anywhere, but preferably somewhere with low level lighting. Though in this day and age, it's quite hard to find such a place, especially if you live in a city. In this case a telescope would be the ideal solution. There's something so romantic about the moon and the stars, and aside of investing in a telescope, it costs nothing to gaze upon them. Look out for a shooting star and make a wish if you see one.

Reading - This may sound a bit odd, but being read to is one of the most romantic things a person can experience for free. If you aren't into writing poetry, then buy a book and read aloud whilst snuggling to the person you are reading to. If poetry isn't an option, read them something else. It's more the act of reading than what is being read that is the key here. Obviously I don't mean a newspaper, something a bit more personal than that. My other half and myself once spent a Sunday afternoon snuggled up on the sofa, and he read The Tales Of Beedle The Bard to me. I love the Harry Potter books so for me, that was really romantic and special. Try reading to someone, it creates a sensual closeness, and who knows where that may lead!