[amy40]

I struggle to know what to get for gifts

got him wireless ear buds for b'day
beer making kit & other stuff for Christmas
out of ideas for Father's Day

what gifts have you given your boyfriend/spouse?

[atskitty2]

We don't exchange "gifts". We do shared experiences rather than giving "things". I took him to DC last summer to celebrate his promotion. It's one of his favorite cities, and he hadn't been for a few years. For my graduation this summer, he's planning a trip to Puerto Rico for me, including some interesting sites there. It's more about experiences for us, rather than giving each other "things" we don't really want or need. Instead we have made some great memories!

[Kayla Lords]

I try to take note of anything my husband mentions he'd really like throughout the year - using my notes app or something digital that he won't easily see (I have post-it notes everywhere so that's not easy to hide, lol). If he hasn't gotten himself a thing he said he wanted by gift-giving time, I'll see if I can get it for him.

I also think about his interests. Plus, he loves sentimental and/or silly things so I look for gifts like that. The year we adopted our cats, I got him a Cat Dad mug. He's a woodworker and spends hours in his shop, so I get him funny t-shirts or mugs about that. He loves music and specific bands, so I look for things surrounding that. It can be simple things like t-shirts or magnets - it's the thought that counts.

[Gena G.]

I try to find something that they need but wouldn't necessarily splurge on themselves. For my partner's birthday I got him a nice pair of sunglasses. He need them but was going to buy himself another cheap pair. Sometimes if something comes up in conversation that makes me think of a good gift, I'll try to write it down to remember the idea in a few months for holiday/birthday/etc.

I'm also a fan of doing experiences vs. gifts. Like we go to the restaurant we've been wanting to try and I'll pay or go on a little trip.

[Alison H.]

I discovered the gift of experiences this past Christmas — I bought a few of them for people because I thought it was SO cool. I'll have to look up the name... it was like Tingly or something? But you can pick from a ton of them and they all include a BUNCH of things people can pick one thing from — and then the person redeems a voucher for the thing they want to do. So they have the opportunity to pick from — in some cases, hundreds of things — and that can be fun.

But I've also bought off-the-wall things too...

Like my husband loves the tv show, Doctor Who, for instance. Years ago, one of the Doctors (I think it was Matt Smith) tried wearing a fez hat for some time because he thought they were cool. I FOUND a fez hat at this antique store called Wizard Of Odds, and bought it for him for xmas — he loved it. Never wears it, but it was just a cool thing that tickled the Whovian in him. LOL

Same with the weird-looking 80s robot I found there. Just random and funny — but a cool collector's thing.

So sometimes random items like that can be a surprise and a "fresh" type of gift.

[Wednesday L.F.]

When I run out of cool ideas, I get my hubs a nerdy T-shirt. As such, he’s got about 30 of them.

[amy40]

When I run out of cool ideas, I get my hubs a nerdy T-shirt. As such, he’s got about 30 of them.

husband has boxes of t-shirts from attending trade shows all over the world
he won't part with any since they have hong kong & other places printed on them

[amy40]

during covid we stayed at a couple really nice cabins
now with new puppy, not going anywhere anytime soon

[amy40]

thanks for ideas/suggestions everyone!

ended up getting 3 yr subscription to Wood magazine for Father's Day

[atskitty2]

Oh nice! is that porn? LOL
I'm just kidding!