Help this Hubby Find a "Hip" Holiday Gift
I recently received this email from a reader:
Hi Collin – I’ve been subscribed to your site for the last six months. I want to thank you for all the ideas and time that you put into helping others. My wife and I are on a tight budget this year, and since you are GREAT at finding bargains and coming up with unique gift ideas, I was wondering if you could post some ideas this season that husbands can get their wives and still be budget conscious. Thank you so much.
So this is where you amazing readers come in…. All you men out there, what inexpensive gift ideas do you have up your sleeve for your significant other? And all you women, what would you like to receive while still keeping your budget in check?
I’m sure you all are filled with great ideas! Can’t wait to hear!
Last Christmas,I asked my husband don’t get anything since we were really tight..However,he got me something; A heart shaped necklace from Hallmark..in that see-through heart pendent (you can open and close it),you can put tiny alphabets or other things like a little pink heart and a cross..etc..The more you add, the more you have to pay. I think he paid like a little over $10. Basically you can ‘customize’ your own necklace..back then I was pregnant,having our first child, and we were/are on a tight budget. He surprised me with that necklace though..and needless to say, I was really touched because he put my first name’s initial and his…There was a little cross too, symbolize our faith in God. After one month, he added “J” to the necklace…that was from “Joseph”, our first child’s name. I almost cried…it was a so sweet, and thoughtful gift.
i would like to have a me day, let me have a day of yes hunny what do you want today, if i want to go out for breakfast, lunch and dinner, or go shopping or even go fishing or hunting just a day of what i want to do day………..
Yes, love this idea…maybe some things to go with this. Like a “home spa kit” (put together with deals, of course) with bubble bath, candles, music (maybe use free downloads), etc. or a gift card to a coffee shop.
with all the great coupons out there you can get so much free stuff and so many great deals on things, you could do a really nice gift basket with all kinds of stuff. hey you could even get the basket cheap from michaels or hobby lobby with a coupon, or order it from one of the sites with a free credit! i love the photo books too, what mom doesn’t love family pics! and of course the pampering is a given!! I also love it when my hubby offers to do some things around the house that we procrastinate about , such as painting a room or crown moulding. I love to redecorate a room and if hubby does the work it doesn’t cost much to do. Good luck I am sure anything you do she will love. Just the fact that you are already thinking about it puts you ahead of lots of guys!!
I am asking my hubby to load my ipod shuffle with my all time favorite songs. Seems more time consuming than money consuming, and will be something I will never tire of, since these are songs that I would listen to over and over again, especially in a rotation of >100 songs.
I already told hubby that I want one of the Coupon Clutches. I even bookmarked that page for him.
They have these amazing ideas out there for “coupon books” that you can make that I’d LOVE to receive. I’d want a bunch that says “clean down _____ room” etc. Or “Free massage”, “Homemade dinner of your choice” etc.
Something my boyfriend does when I’m down is give me a reservation at “Cafe del Beast” (aka a home cooked, do no work, meal). Then he serves whatever I want or he thinks I’ll love. It’s really sweet!
Another idea is a letter. A heartfelt love letter tell her how much you mean to her etc. I plan on putting one of these in my boyfriend’s stocking; however, I’d be so touched to receive the same!
Love it! The gift of “self” coupons are great! Sometimes husbands already know what their wives would like, even finishing some “honey-do” list coupons would be awesome! <3
I would be happy with a gift card for a haircut at my favorite salon!
is there a photo she absolutely loves- like maybe one from your wedding or of the two of you together or of the kids. it doesn’t have to be a recent pic- just one that you know she loves to look at. you can have it made into a canvas (canvaspeople.com has an offer for an 8×10 canvas for just $14.99 shipped). or you can just blow it up in size and buy a nice frame to put it in. find a frame at Michael’s craft store and use a 40% off coupon they regularly have.
As many others have mentioned, the coupon booklet is a fab idea. that’s what my hubs did for me last christmas and i loved it!! If you don’t want to do a bunch of random coupons, you can instead make it specific, more like a “club membership.” For example, you could enroll her in your own “car care club” meaning every other month for the next year you will wash & vacuum out her car. Create a homemade certificate for her and attach it to a related item (like a scrub sponge). Another one you can do if you have kids is a “babysitting club” so one day every other month you watch the kids while she gets to do whatever she wants without distraction. These kinds of “certificates” are great gifts for women because not only will you be giving your time, but also it is the gift that keeps on giving throughout the year (or however long you decide make the certificate for).
I give Darcie a thumbs up… I’d love a canvas photo.. in fact, Darcie, you should write to my hubby 😛
Great idea. How do you get this canvas deal? On the website it looks like it is $49.99. Is there a coupon code or is it automatically deducted at checkout?
Canvas People is offering a $55 Credit to any new account. So, choose the 8×10 Option ( it will show as $49.99). At checkout, it will show as Free! You will just have to pay for shipping which i think is around $13.95). Or if you want to get a larger size, it will take $55 off the price.
Here is the link. you should see “$55 off on any size canvas” as the limited time offer:
https://www.canvaspeople.com/special-offer?utm_source=HO_CP&utm_medium=Affil&utm_campaign=promo
OT Just a heads up. Received my $50 Target GC from the Dr. Oz giveaway in the mail today. That 4-6 weeks went by quick. LOL
Yay! I hope I get mine soon too!
I got mine too!!!
Me too!!!!!!!!
I got mine as well! So excited! Going to save it for Black Friday!
These ideas are great! I’m sending my husband to this site 🙂
I agree with the love languages thing (good book by the way). The least expensive things are some of my most treasured gifts! I too have a poem my husband wrote for me as well as all the other notes and cards. What about a picture frame with your favorite pictures of the two of you. OR with all the deals on free photo books what if you created a book of the two of your lives together using your words and memories…PRICELESS! Or organize favorite Christmas memories into a journal that the two of you can add to every year from now on…
One year when I didn’t have a lot of money and I was still just dating my husband I bought him a nice journal. Inside I wrote a nice note that said that I would like him to make a list of things he has always wanted to do. Then I ended the note with telling him that I would love to help him check off some of those items. He really loved this gift. He said it was one of the most thoughtful gifts he had ever gotten. Since then, we have combined the list and have been checking off “life experiences” together. We have used Groupon for a lot of different “excursion” type of activities like hot air balloon ride, sailboating, etc… I think it would be really special if you could find one of these excursion type of items that you know your wife would LOVE to do – and include it with the journal. Good luck!! Let us know what you end up getting her!!
One year we (hubby and I) decided that we would give a gift to each other under $5.00. Grant it that was a good 10 years ago, But he got me a wood flute attached to it was a note that said. “Because we make great music together”. It is the one gift that I will never forget and I still have the flute.
We used to celebrate $5 anniversaries and $5 Valentine’s Day when we were in college / just married. Best present I ever got was a bowling ball! Then DH and I took them to be re-drilled to fit us. We went on lots of $1 dates bowling after that!
It’s soooo unromantic, but I told my husband that I want to finish our wills for my birthday. He has no interest in discussing all the decisions, but it drives me nutty that it isn’t done.
I got some ‘do it yourself’ ones online for about $50 (can’t remember exactly).
So … he’s giving me peace of mind for my birthday!
Do you think we could do something like this for husbands. I have trouble finding things my husband would like, especially on a tight budget. He likes things for hunting and fishing. any thoughts from the guys here?
My girlfriend has a husband that loves to hunt and fish. One year when she was out of town over Thanksgiving, I went to Menards for the “Black Friday” sale. They had a selection of “belts”—like one for car washing, one for yard work and one for fishing. They were on sale for $3.00. I got it for her since I knew he would use it. She paid me for it, and many years later, he says that is one of his favorite gifts. She also went to Burger King and got the 5 gallon pickle bucket that the belt went around. Hopefully, you have a Menards or Rural King nearby since they both tend to have unique, inexpensive, thoughtful fishing and hunting gifts.
My husband has gotten a babysitter for our children before, then instead of going out to dinner and to a movie…we have a bottle of wine and he makes dinner at home! With a Red Box movie afterwards, you spend a fraction of the money and still have a nice “child free” night! I love it!
I love those redbox movies! You can’t beat $1 a night for a rental. Plus if you have a credit card that you haven’t used these promo codes BREAKROOM, DVDONME, and DVDATWAG (only at walgreens) you can get a free night for the rental. Just remember to return it before 9P.M. the next day.
I agree with some of the other comments…music on the ipod is GREAT! Plus, I LOVE gift baskets! It is like a treasure box to me! 🙂 You could totally get all the great deals you find on here thanks to Collin and she would love it, I am sure! I also…love the idea of a pamper me day! I have 2 little ones, so a day of doing what I want to do sounds like a dream! You could go with the theme of “Pamper me Day” and get her a gift basket of makeup, lotions, body wash, bubble bath, and then let her do whatever she wants. 🙂 Good luck!
I’m guessing this has been mentioned already, but I’m a fan of coupon booklets. My husband and I are on a super tight budget this Christmas and decided not to purchase gifts for each other. Instead we’re going to put together coupon booklets and get anything else that we can free that could maybe accompany them. Here’s what I’m kind of hoping is in my coupon booklet as a wife and mom:
1) Afternoon out at Barnes & Noble by myself (can purchase mocha!)
2) Sleeping in until WHENEVER I want to one morning!
3) Breakfast in bed!
4) Taking the kids out for 2-3 hours so I can stay home by myself!
5) Cooking dinner one night AND doing the dishes!
When my husband and I were starting out. He made me a coupon book I could use them at any time with no back talk as long as there were no plans. 1 Kitchen cleaned and floors done after dinner, 2 girls day no kids 6 hours just for me time, 3 1 hour massage from hubby. 4 night off hubbys time to cook and clean. 5 date night my movie choice. In 10 years of marriage it was my favorite gift.
There are often deals on free photobooks, and that would be a great gift. These take TIME to compile (which is why I often let the deals expire 🙁 ), and your wife will appreciate that. Plus, they are so special and neat.
Maybe one from a past vacation or just your past year together as a family? Or dig up photos of your early dating years, your wedding, honeymoon, or newlywed years.
She will treasure it!
psst, I find photobook a lot easier if I don’t do captions. If you are a word person, awesome! If not, she will still appreciate just the photos!
I think the bargain at Love Letterings would be perfect!
I do too! I love it! It would be so sweet!
My daughter’s father (we are no longer together) used to buy me fancy gifts that really weren’t my style. Diamond earrings from Tiffany’s, cashmere pajamas, things like that that really didn’t reflect my personlity or values at all. One year though he gave me a favorite photo that I took and framed it. The frame probably cost all of ten dollars, but it’s the only gift that ever meant anything to me from him–well that and of course the best gift I ever received–my daughter!
My suggestion is to be creative, and if nothing else, write a letter about why she is a wonderful wife.
Handwritten thoughts from a man are a way to a woman’s heart!
compile a book that is all about her with notes from her loved ones. get the help of her family and close friends. you can send out an email to them (i’d do this part ASAP to give them a bit of time) and explain that you want to create a book of love for your wife. ask each of them to send you a letter from them to her that talks about something special about her or why they love her or a special memory they have with her- really anything about her that is special. you can have them mail or email it to you and then you put them in a book for her. this is such a heartfelt gift that someone will cherish forever. it is great to be able to go read nice things about yourself that your loved ones wrote. wouldn’t it be neat to have something like this to then pass on to your children and they would know how much their mother was loved by others.?!
Wow, that is extremely sweet! I’m tearing up just thinking about it!!
i cried as I read this.
We did something of this sort for my mother’s birthday, but we also had that person send a picture along with their note. Either a picture of them together, or a picture that would resemble something they liked doing together. Then each person had “a page” so their picture and their kind words/letter were on the same page. The book turned out awesome!!
Can you explain how you got a free gift for 6 weeks from the body shop.
I purchased the tote online and got 30% off….. but no free gifts for 6 weeks!
If she is an avid follower of this site and really likes couponing, maybe just get her a gift card to CVS or Walgreens (or whatever other store she likes to “coupon” at) May seem like a bad gift, but for me, couponing is a “game” and its fun. So if I had a CVS gift card to make even more deals happen, I’d love it! 🙂
One year for Valentine’s Day I took a dozen artificial roses and attached a note to each one stating a reason why I loved my DH and made them into a nice bouquet. You can do it with flowers, an item she collects, hand painted rock paper wights, candles, etc. but you get the point: reasons you love her!
Also, maybe a little too risqué for some, but a body sundae kit can be purchased inexpensively with coupons: whipped cream, syrups and toppings (in YOUR favorite flavors), cherries/strawberries, candles, edible lotions (check your local adult store for samples), etc. Think outside the box 😉 and don’t forget the coupon for a babysitter!
I don’t know what exactly is meant by tight budget, but I think the $139 Amazon Kindle e-reader is an excellent gift. It is essentially identical to the $189 version, which Consumer Reports called the best e-reader they’ve ever reviewed, and there are tons of free e-books available in almost every genre you can imagine.
Since my hubby is pretty good with photoshop, one year for my bday he collected ALL the pictures we had taken since we got together and made a collage with it, with a “main” picture on the top of it… like one of those photomosaic puzzles(look them up and you will see which ones I mean)… his idea was to really make it a puzzle, but decided having a picture would be the best… awesome gift! We have it in our living room and I love looking at the tiny pictures in it. It was time consuming, and he had me “blocked off” his computer for a LONG time since I had no clue, later we found out there is a software that does that… hahaha
My husband did the same thing for me one Christmas (though he ordered it) – 900 pics of our 3 kids make up one huge image of the 3. Three years later it still hangs over our fireplace and I still LOVE to look at it, plus we get a ton of compliments on it. Excellent idea!
A PAIR OF FOOTIE PAJAMAS (WALMART $15.00), SMALL BOX OF CHOCOLATE ($4.00), A NEW BOOK OR MOVIE (?) WRAPPED IN ONE BOX LABELED AN EVENING TO YOURSELF! WITH A PROMISE TO TAKE THE KIDS UT FOR AWHILE SHE CAN GET SOME R&R!
for me please!!!!!!!
I think a me day would be great but for husbands that work alot you can go to Kohl’s or somewhere similar and shop their 60-80% off racks in the jewelry section and sometimes you can get sterling silver jewelry….. That’s how I bought my sister-in-laws christmas last year. I think I spent $6 on a necklace that was normally $45 and I bought b/c I knew she would love it not just b/c it was on clearance.
I would _love_ to have a video collection of my family’s love stories. Like my grandparents, parents, aunts&uncles, siblings, etc. talking about how they met and fell in love and what they remember most about their wedding days and that sort of thing. It’d be almost free if you had the time to put it together!!
Being a girl that’s very sports-minded and has a lot of guy friends (I guess that would explain why I’m always the bridesmaid and never the bride!), I have a few ideas for your hubbies;
1. Create a “sports day” for him. Perhaps his sport is football–pick one Sunday where there is going to be a big match up (if you don’t know, research on espn.com, etc). Take the kids out for the day–let him have a “man” day. Get him a 6-pack of his favorite beer (or pop), set out some snacks and go!
2. Ask him what he doesn’t like to do around the house. Make HIM a coupon book of of the little “honey-do” list for him!
3. Video Game Day for the gamer. See #1, but replace with renting (if you are on a strict budget) or purchasing something special for his gaming system. Juvenille, yes, but he will LOVE it!
4. Be sappy–write him all the special things that you love that he’s either done for you, or experiences that you’ve been through. If you can’t afford a nice little journal, decorate a piece of paper, and slide it into a romantic card.
Hope this helps girls!
I love Canvas On Demand, and second Darcie’s comment on a canvas pic you can have blown up. Groupon always has the COD groupon for a $45 16×20 and I was impressed with mine and hubby loved it!
A couple other ideas:
*Get on priceline and buy a quick one night away in a hotel within driving distance but enough to call it a getaway. I have gotten a 3-4 star for as little as $45. It depends on where you live and what you are close to!
*My husband had a bracelet made for me from PlanetJill.com. I will treasure it forever, it has enameled photos of my son when he was a baby. Here is a coupon code for 15% off your order. The small necklace is $70, so just under $60 plus shipping. Or you could go all Hip2Save and have just an individual charm made for $32, making it $27.20 and then just go buy a silver chain at Target for like $10:) These are really high quality, and will last a lifetime!
Collin, keep us updated on what he decides to do! I am curious:)
Whoops! Coupon code: babygearPJ15. Good luck!
I always found that a mop makes a great inexpensive gift.
That is ridiculous. No wife or mother wants a mop for Christmas. Run along now, sexist troll.
I agree with you..I had to teach my husband that gift should be something they want not necessarily need..one year he gave his mom a clothes hamper..hahahaha!
Haha, I like your reply. I wanted to say something more along the lines of, “watch out for the long pole, she might just shove it…….” =)
I have wanted a Dyson handheld for over a year but haven’t gotten it due to the principle of it being more of a household chore item than a real present! The closest I would ever want to a household item would be a KitchenAid countertop mixer.
Clearly we’re dealing with a jilted male here ladies! I’d have to believe Jeff is single! 🙂
If he isn’t, I am going to make a prediction that he will be soon enough. After his lady does what Ems says:)
I have a feeling Jeff got what HE wanted….to get everyone’s undies in a bunch.
You are very perceptive…
One thing my Hubby and I did for Valentine’s Day when money was super tight was celebrate late and set a $5 dollar limit. By celebrating on the 15th, we were both able to get each other tons of our favorite candy etc for $5! And if you both agree on the amount ahead of time, it’s not like one of you is being cheap-it makes it like a fun game almost of who can find the best deals 🙂
PS if you’re going to celebrate late, stockpile coupons for things you know she likes-those coupons plus after holiday clearance might lead to some really really awesome deals!
Here is a super free gift (if you are broke like us)~~~~ how about a FULL day of not having to tent to children??? yes thats right…sleeping in…or heck if you can afford it spend the night away somewhere else…
ok well thats never going to happen in this house but my husband did get a card for a free pair of earrings from helzberg diamonds…lol retail 25.00 lol
I’d love dinner made for me….but also victorias secret has some really great deals under $13 for a sweater and scarf shipped to the house, check out the hip2save site for discount codes to use
During our toughest times 2 years ago, there was about $80 in the bank for the month! We were living on potatoes, rice and turkey slices. And we were behind on 2 of our utility bills. We were going through tough times so when our anniversary rolled around, we both knew there were no presents or fancy dinners. My husband gave me a picture of a beautiful bouquet of flowers he cut out of a magazine and simply wrote on the side “I love you”. I loved that gift and I still have that picture taped to my computer screen at work. Everytime I’m feeling down, I look at the picture and it remids me that even if things get bad at work, my husband loves me and that we have each other to get us through it.
I love it more than the desk lamp he got me for mother’s day last year!
I have a few suggestions:
-I enjoy reading magazines so for Christmas, I ask to have mine renewed so every month it reminds me who I got it from:)
-Ask for a wish list and pick and choose on her list…ask and you shall received.
-If she likes suprises, then take the time to find out what her “love language” is. There’s a great book called The 5 Love Languages: The Secret to Love That Lasts by Gary Chapman. It helped our marriage of what each other really wants without spending a lot of money on each other. You’d be suprised, my hubby was.
I love that book. I got an audio version and listen to it all the time.
We have 3 little kids, so one of my favorite gifts is a quiet dinner with my hubby. Even if we just go to Chick-fil-A, I’m thrilled to have a dinner where I can SIT DOWN, have a conversation, and not have to clean the kitchen!
I like going to Chickfila with my husband and no kids too. Its nice to go there other then for kids night…lol.
get your wife some expensive perfume. Purchase Fragrance.net gift cards with your swagbucks and get very pricey perfume for little to nothing out of pocket
This is actually what I did for my husband. I bought him a Lacoste Essentials $60.00 gift set. Used a 10% coupon code
Went through Mr, Rebates and earned 7% back on that
and then paid with my swagbucks gift cards.
I ended up with $2.30 OOP for a very nice gift pack for my husband
A couple years ago my husband got this awesome collage picture frame and printed out a bunch of pics of us and our kids. I was really surprised when I opened it on Christmas. The frame was gorgeous and that in itself would have been an amazing present. But the fact that he took the time to go through pics, have some blown up and put it all together was really special.
No fair! There are lots of great ideas here. But who is going to help us find hip, inexpensive gifts for our husbands? Things that guys *really* want.
Couple of ideas
1) magazine subscription (so many deals are coming up. 12 issues for less than $5)
2) A book (so many awesome reads out there. I go to my local library and buy the books they “discard” or try thrift stores they have a vast array of books)
3) I run a lot so I use tons of bengay on my shins. My hubby heard me complaining and got me these awesome knee-high neon blue socks. They are amazing! After my run I lather up and walk around in these socks
I think the best gift is the simplest one. Listen to what she talks about and try to find something that will make her everday life easier!
https://www.etsy.com/shop/thepixelprince
ROSS SIMONS HAVE GREAT ITEMS IN CLEARANCE! CHECK IT OUT!!
Men! I know you guys want to head straight to the electronics department.. but if you want to get your wife something nice for christmas, hit up the black friday jewelry sales at the mall. Claires, JC Penny, Kohls.. anywhere with a jewelry/perfume section, really. You can get really, really nice jewelry on ridiculous clearance.
I would love a TJ Maxx gift card from my hubby this Christmas. My favorite gift he ever gave me was a pair of inexpensive earrings that he picked out.
I’m going to post my suggestion at the beginning rather than make you read my ramble just to get to the real reason for the post! Finding something she wants really shouldn’t be too hard or cost too much. My husband and I make little lists of what we would like to have as a suggestion for the other one to go on. Seriously, on my list this year is a new pair of pajamas! If there’s something your spouse wants that may be on the pricey side, you could try mentioning it to other family members and ask if they want to chip in on the cost. I’ve done this before and it makes buying the gift alot easier than trying to pull all of it out of your own almost empty purse (or wallet, as the case may be). Whatever you decide, Merry Christmas and I’m sure you’ll find something great!
After reading alot of the comments and suggestions on here, I realize I’m not in too different a boat as everyone else. My husband and I have 2 young children (2 and 1 years old) and alot of our money goes towards diapers, used to go towards formula, baby wipes, baby clothes, and all the other baby needs. Unfortunately, this leaves little else left over after paying bills and what not, so there’s really not alot extra for ourselves. Last year (and part of this year) have been the toughest for us so far. In fact, we actually didn’t buy ANY presents for anyone at Christmas (not even our babies!). It felt kinda bad not to be able to give anyone a present but when I look back on it now, I think my family and his were just happy to share the holiday with us and they got to play Santa and enjoy the looks on our faces as we opened our presents.
Thankfully this year (even though it’s almost over) is shaping up to be better than last year and we’ve set a $40 limit for each person on our list…but that doesn’t mean we have to reach that limit. It’s just a cap.
Etsy has tons of handmade jewelry (that is unique and can be personalized). I know I would love one of those necklaces with my kids names stamped on it and it is under $40. Although it isn’t terribly expensive…to me it would be priceless.
How about making a funny “beefcake” calendar of yourself with one of the vistaprint calendars that are free right now? (you pay shipping) You can have a friend take photos of you for each of the months (silly poses, flexing, etc) and then make the calendar.
I’m making one of these for my grandma with pictures of my boyfriend (she just loves him and he moved to another city recently and I think she misses him more than I do!). I’m gonna do action shots for each month, like baking a birthday cake for January (her bday month) and riding his surfboard on the front lawn for a summer month.
If you wanted to step up a gift like this you could even clip gift certificates (either your own or for businesses) that are specific to each month.
My husband started a tradition of getting me a photo book (like from Shutterfly or Snapfish) each year for Christmas, documenting the past year in pictures. It’s my favorite gift to get and i LOVE looking back through them. With all the deals they have these days, you can get one pretty cheap – it just takes time!