Occasion
Make a Boyfriend Day website for 3 October
National Boyfriend Day is October 3, and it is the low-stakes holiday boyfriends actually like: no reservation, no gift, just proof you thought of them on an ordinary Thursday in autumn. A page is the ideal size for it, funny on the way in and honest on the way out.
The Magazine template is a flip-through magazine with him on the cover, nine reasons that flip over, photo pages with a photobooth strip, his songs on a spinning vinyl and a letter. Noir, in black and white, is the one most boyfriends will not roll their eyes at.
Put him on the cover
A magazine cover is a gift in itself: his name, one big photo, and a style that makes him look like the subject of a profile. Pick a photo he would not choose, the one from the hike or the one where he is mid-laugh. Noir suits most boyfriends, with black and white and sharp type. If he likes warmer things, Cherry is a safe second. The cover is the joke and the compliment at once, which is a hard mix to get anywhere else.
Nine reasons with proof
The reasons page has nine hearts that flip over, and for him dry works better than sweet. 'You always say the pizza place is closed and it never is.' 'You carry my bag without making it a thing.' Give every reason a piece of proof from the last few months, because proof is what he will believe. Mix funny ones with two that are quietly sincere. If you cannot think of nine, five good ones are better than nine padded ones, and the page still looks full.
The photos he would not post
The photobooth strip is made for a run of frames of him being himself: laughing, mid-bite, pulling a face. Raid your camera roll for the candid ones and use them. Film strips can hold the longer story of the year, and one full-page photo can carry a single line across it. Up to twenty photos in all. 'Still the best passenger princess' is the sort of line he will quote back to you.
One honest paragraph, kept short
After the jokes, give him one real page. Keep it under 200 words. One thing you admire that he would never say about himself. One thing he did this year that you noticed. One line about what you hope for next year. No poetry unless he writes poetry. Short paragraphs and no speeches. Add his songs on the vinyl page: the one he plays in the car, the one that is yours. The contrast with the jokes is what makes the sincere part land.
Send it on the day, and get one back
Text the link on the morning of October 3 with a line like 'Happy Boyfriend Day, I made you a magazine'. You get an email the moment he opens it. The last page is a reply box, so he has somewhere to put a response that is longer than 'lol thanks', and you get another email when he writes. Preview it on your own phone the night before. Previewing is free and only you can see it.
Questions
Related pages
Start with The Magazine
Starts as The Magazine, filled in for you. Add your photos and words, preview it for free.
Start with this template