<p>^^^^ NEM-
YOU are a GREAT wife!! Springsteen tix! By the time I checked the tix here, the only seats left were in the nosebleed section behind the stage.</p>
<p>Mom60-
Happy b’day to hubby!!! My h’s birthday is next week, and all I’ve gotten so far is a card. I got a flight on a helicpoter for someone (not hubby- it was before his time) once, but it was a cool gift (and I got to go along!)</p>
<p>If worse comes to worse, the little pad of IOU’s work-- just get some post-it notes and write little things that you will do for gim inthe coming year- which he cna cash in as desired (ok everyone, get your head our of the gutter and think of <em>some</em> clean gift ideas).
Nice bottel of wine or champagne is good too.</p>
<p>… but I guess this shows I’m getting older.</p>
<p>EDITED: And before any of you hand-wringing, mouth-breathing, bed-wetting pinko comsymps jump on me for not picking a diesel SmartForTwo, I just want you to know that I NEED a car with 611 horsepower to get to work. So there.</p>
<p>my mom’s friend rented a bentley for her husband for the day. boy was he surprised when he saw it in the drive–she told him it was just for the day (or weekend, can’t remember) before he blew a gasket about the price.</p>
<p>he had a great time driving around town and picking up all his friends. i think she took him out to a fancy pants dinner too. </p>
<p>How about a donation in his name to some worthwhile charity, area of medical research, or other deserving organization that would interest him? Our kids’ grade school used to sell coupons to give as teacher gifts for a half dozen different such things.</p>
<p>OK…I gave my husband the dance lessons FOUR years ago. He still has the gift card sitting on his dresser. Never went. I gave him golf lessons FIVE years ago…he never used that either. This year he said he needed new dress shirts for work. I bought him those. I resisted the temptation to buy ties to go with them. BUT I did get one nice sweater. Everyone else in this family makes a list. DH doesn’t. One of these days, he’s going to get coal.</p>
<p>If H liked the map of the city in which he grew up, why not go onto ebay and see if they have any mementos of that city–period photographs, postcards, etc.?.. or maybe look for a book that is a history of that city.</p>
<p>DH is so hard to buy for…my mom gets him The Atlantic Monthly and The Economist. History/current events books go over well with him. I just got him a digital camera for our 24th anniversary – he travels overseas a few times a year and is always borrowing the kids’ camera. Now he has his own. (J&R rocks!)</p>
<p>Am thinking about buying him a cherry filing cabinet for all of his at-home paperwork for the synagogoue and as part of the gift, I’ll file every flippin’ paper…</p>
<p>I’m the one who gets power tools. He gets kitchen equipment.</p>
<p>H’s Christmas present is sitting on the floor in front of our 15 year old TV… a new one. He can’t open it until then. I figure it will give him hours of guy stuff to talk with son about… which thing plugs in where in the dizzying array of stuff you now need to watch what’s not really worth watching. (Except for H’s hero Alton Brown, he’s cool)</p>
<p>jym, yes I’d like to think of myself as a great wife, but it is not because of the Springsteen tix ;). LOL, my DH, is the one who really bought them for us, but it is his thing more than mine. I look at it as his present, but I enjoy going as well. He really loves going to Springsteen concerts!</p>
<p>jonri, I followed your suggestion, went to Amazon and searched on the city of his youth, and came up with a board game. Looking into it, I find that it is considered one of the best games on the market. Apparently European companies are constantly developing newer and better games, while in the US there is only one company, Hasbro, which just keeps churning out Monopoly in various themes. At least that’s what I read during the 2 hours I just spent trying to find a place that will send me this game by Monday. I sent a request to an Ebay seller who has a new copy to see whether he/she can send it fast. Keeping fingers crossed!</p>
<p>I’m having a Grinchey Christmas - long story. Nobody’s getting much. Our family gift is a trip to Disney, so everybody is just getting stockings otherwise.</p>
<p>But H is getting an electric griddle (technically from D, but it was my idea, and I paid for it), and I know he is going to be thrilled. It will be perfect for his signature crepes, and now he can make more than one at a time.</p>
<p>By the way, once I gave him the turn-table for his records, and last year it was the DVD recorder. Both gifts went over well. He didn’t expect either present, which was the best part.</p>
<p>Not going the mall is a good thing, isn’t it, 1sokkermom?</p>
<p>I found the game I learned about thanks to jonri’s suggestion, and it is on its way to me (at great expense for 1-day shipping)… I wish I’d bought UPS stock years ago.</p>
<p>Well as a (middle aged) male I can tell you some of my favorite gifts (haven’t read the thread sorry for any repeats):</p>
<p>1) a dark boozy fruit cake. I love them. Don’t know if it’s a guy thing. In case I don’t get one, tomorrow I’ll be picking up DS for Christmas in Manhattan…I have a trip to Bloomingdale’s basement planned to get me one. If I get one as a gift that’s OK, the more the merrier. And I never have to share since everyone else hates them!</p>
<p>2) bird feeder. I have a few. I use safflower so the squirrels don’t raid it.</p>
<p>3) battery powered ice melter for the bird bath. Beats filling it with hot water every winter morning. Birds gotta drink in the winter too.</p>
<p>4) big heavy wind chimes. Not the wimpy high pitched ones, more like ones that sound deep like a buoy (sp?)…love to hear them when it’s windy.</p>
<p>5) Uggs—the dark chocolate color. I’m not an uggs kind of guy, but I got them as a gift and love them. Esp in that color…I think the tan ones are a bit girly, just my opinion</p>
<p>6) Watches. I don’t think a man should have just one but then again I just like watches. Different ones for different occasions. A nice Seiko, silver metal band and dark face is good for I’d guess about $300. Never a ring or God forbid bracelet…</p>
<p>7) Really soft sweatshirts that are a bit too large and that don’t say anything.</p>
<p>Personally I don’t like tools as gifts. I love tools but they aren’t gift material. To me it’s the equivalent of giving your wife a vacuum cleaner or can opener. Unless the guy asks for something specific.</p>
<p>2331, I happened to see an interesting article on really dark, really boozy, fruitcakes. They are to be had at Caribbean bakeries or, if you’d like to make your own, you start a year ahead of time:</p>