I need a male perspective - if your girlfriend did this for your birthday, what would you think?

My boyfriend's twenty-fourth birthday is on the seventh of September. His mom never made a big deal out of his birthday, she just took him out to dinner with his godparents (his mother and godparents are all forty plus years older than him), so I want to make his birthday special this year. I thought about throwing a surprise party but. considering my boyfriend's in the Navy and, well, he's serving in the Navy as a female (my boyfriend is ed) I wouldn't feel comfortable contacting his friends. Instead, I'm going to make his favorite Italian dish (he's third generation American, his family is whoa Italian) and take him to a local park, that has both a beach and a lake, for a picnic. I figure we can have dinner by the lake and then maybe go to the beach after wards. I'm also planning on buying an ice cream cake and sparkler candles. I think that it's a pretty cool idea, but I'm also female. So male opinions would be greatly appreciated!