<p>I’m soliciting gift ideas. What can I give my wonderful husband for our 20th anniversary? </p>
<p>He’s 46, self-employed videographer, Ironman triathlete, wonderful dad. Frugal, practical, health nut. </p>
<p>I won’t put any limitations on your ideas because this brainstorm is wide-open. Throw anything at me. </p>
<p>But, please keep in mind this thread is rated PG-13. ;)</p>
<p>Well, I’ll try to phrase this so it makes the PG 13 rating. I read somewhere that some woman wrote a book after she gave her husband a unique 40th birthday gift. She gave him the gift of intimacy every day for the next year. Apparently, it was so life-changing and life-affirming that she needed to write a book about it. It would appear the gift was a big hit. </p>
<p>Of course, you could always go with a weekend getaway. Or a tie.</p>
<p>Good thread. It reminded me that I should start thinking about what to get H for our 25th this fall.
Your description of your H is similar to mine. Especially the frugal description.
What about planning a weekend doing something that he loves but you don’t. In our case possible ideas would be backpacking or remote camping or sailing.</p>
<p>How 'bout a surprise trip? And by surprise, I truly mean a surprise! Make ALL the arrangements (reservations for B&B/hotel, restaurants, concerts, etc.) and then show up at his place of employment the day of and steal him away. That’s what my husband did in December for our 25th. He showed up at the school where I work, and told me to grab my purse and coat because we were leaving. I was completely surprised … I told him I couldn’t leave because I wasn’t finished with my work (I’m a school nurse). No worries, he had already made arrangements with my principal for a sub to come in and take over. When we got to the car, he opened the back and I saw suitcases and a travel book for New Orleans. I was in shock! We went straight to the airport and took off. While waiting for our plane at the gate, he suddenly said, “Oh no, I forgot your makeup!” I said “I don’t care … I’m just so excited!” He was only kidding. He had packed every single thing I could possibly need. The trip was so fabulous because I didn’t have to do a single thing to plan or pack for it. We had a fabulous time and it was a wonderful, wonderful gift!</p>
<p>SplashMom that sounds like a wonderful trip.I have always told my H and kids the greatest gift is one that they do all the planning. Whether a trip or a meal.I used to tell my kids when they asked what I wanted for my birthday was one day of no fighting. They would always say No think of something else. I think the problem with that as a gift for the H is that the wife is usually the one planning the trip anyway.</p>
<p>I am also interested in the replies you received as my H and I have our 20 year anniversary coming up soon.</p>
<p>I don’t have any specific suggestions, but years ago H and I started the practice of getting a joint gift for ourselves for the big anniversaries. One year it was a piece of art that we chose together, another year it was a new set of dishes (yes, he likes to pick out that sort of thing!), and this year - our 25th - it’s going to be a trip. We enjoy doing this together, and feel we can splurge a bit, since it’s like two gifts in one. Plus it takes away the “what do I get him/her” problem!</p>
<p>Well, we recently celebrated our 25th! We planned a long weekend at an upscale hotel (did not break the bank, as we were able to book it with Priceline bidding). We had wonderful concierge service for activities/tickets and dining suggestions. We went to Washington DC and we had a fabulous time. The gorgeous weather (springtime) really made it even more delightful.</p>
<p>PARIS…that was my 25th gift to H
we are pretty frugal as well…we went off season(February) with frequent flyer miles.
BUT it wasn’t rated PG-13</p>
<p>H took me to Paris for my 40th birthday and I would love to be able to repeat that for our 20th anniversary, but there is no room in our budget for a trip like this with D1 off to the east coast for college next month.</p>
<p>Since there’s a lot of research that joint and novel experiences act to renew your romance, I would suggest planning a joint and novel experience (especially a slightly scary one), like skydiving or hanggliding, for the two of you, followed by an excellent dinner and a really nice hotel room. </p>
<p>Source for “joint and novel”: [Dull</a> days wreck a marriage faster than fighting - Health - Behavior - msnbc.com](<a href=“http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/30808963/]Dull”>http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/30808963/)</p>
<p>Keep the ideas flowing. Our 20th (or 22;) ) is coming up in a month :)</p>
<p>I do not consider scydiving slightly scary! It would be petrifying!!!</p>
<p>Our anniversary situation is complicated by the fact that I am already working that day (DH as well) and it is the first day of school for DS. Should we just ditch everything? ;)</p>
<p>You don’t have to celebrate your anniversary on the precise day. You could celebrate that whole week ;-)</p>
<p>^Kelowna celebrate a week early, then have a nice dinner at home on your actual anniversary. If you try to rush something, whatever you plan, you will feel shortchanged due to work and family commitments.</p>
<p>DougBetsy-
You said waayyy out there. My friends went several years ago on a high end charter to the Galapagos Islands where they spent nearly two weeks on a catamaran. It was the most amazing experience. He’s an avid outdoorsman. She likes the outdoors, but isn’t an uber athlete. I think the biggest key is your sense of adventure.</p>
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<p>I agree, trips make very memorable gifts. REI offers guided trips to many wonderful destinations. Or you can get him an uderwater case for his video cam and book a trip to HI for the two of you.</p>
<p>^ I can’t help it!! First, I’ll admit I’m a B&H Photo Video junkie so I love their site.
When I read the idea about an underwater case I went looking and found snorkel googles that have a video camera in them!!</p>
<p>[Liquid</a> Image VideoMask Series D311 - Large LICM-311 - B&H Photo](<a href=“http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/608413-REG/Liquid_Image_311_VideoMask_Series_D311.html]Liquid”>http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/608413-REG/Liquid_Image_311_VideoMask_Series_D311.html)</p>
<p>Several years ago H and I and went snorkeling. H got disposable underwater cameras. The quality is lousy but the pictures are so much fun. Beautiful fish and many of each other just looking goofy.</p>
<p>You may have inspired quite a few vacations here DougBetsy!! Thanks for the great thread! 
I hope you find an idea that works. It sure is fun reading them!</p>
<p>The suggestions here are so overwhelmingly female that merely reading them I feel like I’m getting PMS (and I’m a 54-year-old GUY). This is the equivalent of a guy asking what he should get his lovely wife for their anniversary, and a bunch of knuckle-dragging dudes suggest stuff like hockey tickets, a brake job, and a subscription to Hustler.</p>
<p>What part of a trip to the Galapagos, traveling the island on a catamaran, or skydiving sounds like PMS to you? I can’t think of many men that would complain about the ‘gift of intimacy every day for a year’!</p>
<p>To put it in terms you can understand, the mate that takes his wife to an all inclusive resort in the Cayman islands, takes a few walks on the beach, lounges in the pool with the swim up bar, has a couples massage in an outdoor cabana by the beach, and a few romantic dinners, will find he has a…ummm…closer relationship, several closer relationships with her, than if he…
Takes her to Olive Garden and turns on the hockey game in bed…again. Then he wonders why she is asleep when he rolls over to ummm…talk to her.</p>
<p>What is your male perspective of what the OP should be planning?</p>
<p>I suggest hockey tickets, a brake job, and a subscription to Hustler.</p>
<p>More seriously, he’s probably got something nice planned for you. Most guys will look at milestone anniversaries as an opportunity to do something nice for their wives and are happy with genuine appreciation of that effort so make that a priority.</p>
<p>Specifically for him given your description, I would not buy camera equipment because it’s a business gift but what has he had his eye on any special bikes that he’s too frugal to purchase? I imagine he’s logging hundreds of bicycle miles a month so it’s something he might really enjoy.</p>