5 Favorites – Gifts for my husband

I’m joining Hallie at Moxie Wife this week for 5 Favorites. 

Michael’s birthday is coming up next week.  Neither Michael nor I list Gifts as our primary (or secondary) love language, but I still like finding thoughtful and fun gifts for him.  Unfortunately, he’s ridiculously good at guessing the presents I’ve gotten for him (without trying) or deciding he’s going to go ahead and get himself something that I’ve gotten for him before I have a chance to give it, but I’m listing here some of the ones he hasn’t guessed in the past.  I don’t think he’s going to guess his birthday present this year, either!  (I hope.)  Since he reads here, I’m not including that  gift in this list, but I’ll post some others.

1.

Pig Next Door Bacon of the Month Club

Last Christmas, I got Michael a subscription to The Pig Next Door’s Bacon of the Month club.  This is a gift that keeps on giving.  And gets shared with the family.  And doesn’t lead to clutter.  Win!  We’ve really enjoyed trying the different bacons.

2.

Leather Jacket

One year, my older sister found a fantastic deal on a leather jacket – she combined a sale and coupons and maybe another deal – and I bought Michael a leather jacket.  It’s been a few years, it’s still in great shape, and we both like it a lot.

3.

Kitchenaid Stand Mixer

Believe it or not, I actually didn’t think we needed a Kitchenaid stand mixer.  Michael wanted one, though.  So I saved and bought him one.  Now I’m really glad he wanted it, and we both use it a lot.  Another gift that keeps on giving, and one that can be used by the whole family.

4.

Books

Both Michael and I like to read.  A lot.  And it’s always fantastic to find a new author or an old favorite that hasn’t been revisited in a while for Michael to enjoy.  Of course, if it’s an old favorite, there’s a much higher chance that he’ll order it himself or get it from the library in the 6 weeks before Christmas when it was going to go in his stocking.  Grr.  But I do like finding things that he likes, even though he can sometimes be a bit skeptical of my choices.  He usually enjoys them in the end.

5.

Retreat

One year I got Michael a retreat for Christmas.  I booked the weekend at a retreat center, got him the train tickets, arranged for the pickup and dropoff at the station, and sent him on his way.  He was totally surprised, and he really enjoyed the retreat.  This one can be done fairly inexpensively, if necessary – a friend with a guest room (no TV and the phone turned off, of course!) and a book from a spiritual master can provide a retreat if there’s not a lot of cash to cover a retreat center.