What Gift Did You Get Your Husband?

Updated on December 18, 2011
A.M. asks from Elmhurst, IL
24 answers

OK - My husband is VERY difficult to shop for.
Because :

1. He always buys whatever he needs when he needs it (not to be confused with being wasteful - he is quite the opposite and thinks 10 times before spending), but he usually picks out his own stuff.
2. He does not give me any ideas either - I asked him what he would like, and he said, I just ordered some stuff, so wrap that up for me - yeesh - how boring.
3. Picky, picky, picky!
Yes, I know I'm outta luck! But wondering what you ladies got your husbands this year. All I have managed to get (on my own) is a nice photo calendar for the year with the kids pictures.

Anything else you can suggest?

Thanks!

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S.H.

answers from Honolulu on

Well just wrap what he got himself!

Yep, men are HARD to shop for.
Besides the usual shirts etc.

Does he have any hobbies???

Get him a photo t-shirt of the kids.
www.kodakgallery.com
Good quality photo gifts.
I use them every year.
Good stuff!
And they have sales now!

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N.P.

answers from Chicago on

I have my children create art work. We have done drip painting, crayon melting art, and other stuff like that

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A.F.

answers from Houston on

Mine is typically pretty difficult. He's a hunter, which means all his stuff is really expensive, and because hunting season starts in November, he gets everything he wants/needs before Christmas.

He just started a new job, and needed a large duffle bag to keep all his stuff in, so I got him a nice one. Not very exciting, but it'll be used.

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J.S.

answers from Minneapolis on

Well - here is what we do. Since we had kids, we stopped giving each other real gifts at Christmas. Last year I bought him some (much needed) new sweaters and wrapped them up and put them under the tree from our kids. :) But we didn't exchange gifts... it's so much easier, cheaper, less stress...

Probably too late to help you this year, but I love not having that extra thing to worry about over the holidays. Maybe you could discuss it for next?

J.

1 mom found this helpful

T.S.

answers from San Francisco on

Tickets to a show, or a sporting event! It's a present and a date night all wrapped into one :)
Last year I gave my husband tickets to see one of our favorite comedians in San Francisco on New Year's Eve. He loved it and we had a BLAST!

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J.H.

answers from Kansas City on

Basketball tickets and last year tickets to a concert I knew he wanted to go to, but wouldn't spend the money on.

M.D.

answers from Washington DC on

Check my question from earlier - tons of responses and GREAT ideas!!

I just ordered my husband a pair of boots that he wants and am going to pick up two coupons for two 18-hole rounds of golf tomorrow. He got a nice set of clubs for our anniversary and is getting a nice club for Christmas.

Plus the usual, underwear, toothbrush, and whatever other small things I come up with.

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R.J.

answers from Seattle on

Ha! My mum DOES wrap up stuff my dad buys at any point from Nov15th onward!!!

I got my husband concert tickets. Which then morphed into backstage stuff. He absolutely loved it (show was last week)... but he's easy, as he loves music.

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J.K.

answers from Milwaukee on

I'm making him one of those fleece-tie blankets!! :-)

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C.T.

answers from Chicago on

I bought my husband a Vinturi Wine Aerator from Bed Bath and Beyond. It has received many great reviews and claims that it can make a $10 bottle of red wine taste like a $30-40 bottle. They make one for white wine as well if that's your preference. They cost $40 at BB&B. From the reveiws I've read, this brand seems to be the best on the market.
Texting gloves if he has a smart phone w/ a touch screen are nice. Not necessary to text per se but to dial on the phone in the winter.
I also got him a Tervis tumbler with coffee handle accessory. I got one for all of us actually. They claim to keep hot stuff hot and cold stuff cold and they are guaranteed for life - dishwasher safe as well and they have a wide variety of choices from funky wraps to college and sports logos.
For valentines day last year I made a bunch custome magnets for his work office of the 2 of us for his file cabinet on Zazzle.com. They come in square 2" or round with 3 different circumference choices.

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S.2.

answers from Raleigh on

I'm with Jess...since having kids we don't really get gifts for each other at Christmas time. We do birthday gifts, but so much needs to be bought at Cmas so it's one less thing to think about.

However, we each bring our girls out separately and let them pick out anything they want (well...within reason). My 9 yr old picked out a baseball cap for our local pro team and my 7 yr old picked him a pull over hoodie and a bath gel from the men's section in Bath and Body Works.

This past valentine's day I got him tickets to see a comedian that was coming around...that's always a good idea. (as someone else already said)

I use to have Santa leave the family tickets to something....I've done the circus, Disney on Ice, the blue man group. Huh....didn't even think of that this year. Guess I should get my butt off mamapedia and start scoping out what's going on around here!!!

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M.R.

answers from Chicago on

My husband and I stopped playing that game years ago :) We are both the same way so now we just pick something we want to do around the house and do that - something you may not normally just go out and do like replacing lighting fixtures or bathroom faucets etc. Borning, maybe, but Christmas morning is about the kids for us. Good luck.

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C.G.

answers from Atlanta on

We've done a lot of kid made things. We have a local tie-dye store and the kids have made him a shirt and beach towel. We also go to a ceramics place and they have painted a pencil holder, letter holder, coffee mug, picture frame, and little bowls for dipping sauces.
This year I ordered a personalized best Dad shirt with the kids' names on it.
How about a night on the town? Let him pick restaurant/club/movie.
Matching satin pj's? or something sexy for you to wear for him? :)

S.D.

answers from Phoenix on

got baseball tickets

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A.C.

answers from Savannah on

His birthday is the 22nd. Per HIS request, we're going to a beautiful scenic place to walk around, have lunch, enjoy the area....then going to an indoor shooting range to shoot a fully automatic machine gun (LOL). He's in touch with the finer things, but still a guy. I set up the babysitter and lunch reservations, printed off directions to the shooting range.

For Christmas: more of his cologne that will be completely out probably this week (like just a few drops left in the bottle)...an MP3...the DVDs for seasons 1-3 of Breaking Bad (his favorite show)...an ornament...and a beach cruiser (bike) that I found at a great deal on Craigslist. He wants to take family bike rides and get a little exercise but enjoy nature. My 5 year old made him a butterfly house for his garden since he's an avid gardener (a free kit from Home Depot on their monthly build and grow program), and then we painted and decorated it together. My 2 year old made a handprint Santa claus ornament (thumb is the hat, 4 fingers are the beard, and after baking it I painted it).
Family gifts that I got with him in mind ALSO: a tent he helped me pick out, a new sleeping bag, and an airbed (I'm happy on an egg crate, but he wants an airbed when camping b/c it's easier on his back).
Other things that I had "out there" as possibilities (but just ran out of room in the budget): a nice watch because he wears a suit to work everyday and would like one...GOOD binoculars for bird watching and playing with in the nature preserve because he's expressed an interest in it...hmm. I can't remember what else. I think that was about all. My husband, like some others suggested, LOVES events. Concerts, shows, sports, whatever...he likes to "go and do" so those gifts are always good with him.
The best gift I ever gave him, HE says: I made a father's day photo book. I made the book about HIM. My oldest at that time was learning his alphabet and everything, all the time, was ABC this and that. So, I made a book that I titled "The ABC's of Dad: Father's Day 2010". The cover was 6 great photos of him doing different things. We made the book about things he's done as a father. A is for the Admire (a picture of him and our newborn infant staring at each other), Love that is Absolute (a picture of the 2 of us on a special trip), Travels Abroad (a photo of us at Windsor Palace), and the Dallas Aquarium (a neat photo of him and our 3 year old staring watching sharks)...B is for (etc, etc). It took some time! I had to break out the dictionary for some hard ones (Q and X were tricky...I had a picture of "little Quackers" (him laying on his belly feeding some tiny baby ducks) and just a photo of him under a waterfall that I said "Quality man"....and X was Xeric (I found that in the dictionary: desert like conditions---we had a road trip and saw Monument Valley and got married in the Grand Canyon so we had some neat shots I used for that one word)....everything was was pretty doable. The very first page of the book was a little note about the book, why it was conceived, what it was about, followed by an interview I conducted with our 3 year old over the course of a few days. I typed it exactly as his answers were (HID a video camera so I could record his voice without him knowing, so I could replay and type it correctly). He says that was the best gift ever. And a nice toolbox for all his random bits and pieces.

L.L.

answers from Rochester on

Mine is the worst...you just can't get him anything. We bought him a fancy paper airplane kit, because he folds every scrap sheet of paper (junk mail, everything) into airplanes. I hope he likes it!

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L.R.

answers from Chicago on

Good Morning,

The best gift I presented to my hubby was a wonderful "Groupon" for a cooking class in the western suburbs as he loves to cook. Oh by the way...remember to place the Groupon in a nice and masculine frame gift wrapped...

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A.S.

answers from Chicago on

I once read an article in a magazine with an interesting proposition that I thought I would share here because I think we all have lots of "stuff"...find something around the house that could use some "rediscovering", something that's been hidden for too long or forgotten about or even something in plain sight you see everyday- a book, a tool, something from travels, whatever...wrap it up and enjoy the minute of recalling where you got it or making those forgotten plans again, etc. I think I read this in a Hallmark magazine, but I'm not sure. Anyway, I loved the idea and the thought behind it.

Good luck!

My favorite present for my husband this year is the book "Where's Stig?" because we love the show Top Gear! I'm also excited to give new keychains since we got a new car recently. I'm also in love with the bookmarks on Snapily.com- I SO want to try that out!

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R.B.

answers from Chicago on

My husband and I are the same way (plus, we're deeply in budget-conscious-mode right now). I ended up getting mine a book he had mentioned he was considering.

I like the suggestion of manly cooking classes (maybe a BBQ or tailgate-themed class? Kendall College of Culinary Arts in Chicago used to have an incredible cooking class selection; don't know if they still do--my hubby signed me up for a couple of those classes for Christmas about 8 years ago). Or maybe something at a Sur La Table or even in-home with a catering/chef/instructor?

What about a hot date night (with you, of course! haha!)?

C.C.

answers from San Francisco on

My husband is that guy, too. I bought him socks and underwear, and a gift card to Home Depot (he loves tools - I can't even park in my garage because it's the home of all his tools). I know socks and underwear sounds silly, but all of my husband's underwear and socks are starting to get holes in them, and he would never think to buy himself any new ones. So if nothing else, I know he'll use them!

Another thought is something he enjoys doing - maybe movie tickets or sports tickets? Sometimes guys who have it all like experiences rather than things.

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K.S.

answers from Chicago on

picky and practical are the hardest (I know because I am one and am married to one) I usually go with an "experience" I have bought him bears tickets, a bottle of expensive bourbon, wine or champagne that he loves. A new cell phone (he wants the latest iphone) One year I bought him a new Mac, one year I bought him a car (it was just a loaner with a big bow - he had to order and customize it) I've also wrapped up Shakespeare tickets, a night at the ritz or 4 seasons, a fantastic dinner with his guy friends at Joe's (his buddies really loved that), tickets to a concert. One year it was just new luxury sheets. He just likes being surprised - doesn't seem to care what it is.

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M.P.

answers from Peoria on

My hubby and I usually buy ourselves whatever we need throughout the year, so we decided that for Christmas we would come up with an idea together and it would be for both of us. We have done several weekend trips, this year is to a water park for a few days, bought a computer, treadmill and many other large things. It's kind of fun for us. I personally like the trips the best. It gives us some quality family time before or after all the hustle and bustle of the holidays.

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I.K.

answers from Chicago on

I got my husband tix to see Bryan Adams in concert. He's one of his favorites from the past, though not mine. Still a win-win--no extra stuff in the house AND a future date night for us! Good luck.

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M.D.

answers from Chicago on

I agree, no gifts! How much stuff do we need? If its difficult to figure out what to buy, that means the person doesnt need anything!
We've stopped buying for adults a few years ago, its getting even difficult to buy for kids - we buy stuff as they need it.They got a Wii, tons of games and Ipads before Christmas, so now only getting a few small creative things and items they might need - no toys!

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