With Valentine's Day just around the corner, many of us (myself included!) are scrambling to buy the perfect last minute gift for our significant other. But what do you buy for the person who has it all?
Traditional wisdom suggests that you find something slightly quirky, DIY, or off the beaten path (If that's what you are looking for, this guide from Brit + Co is probably the best of the bunch: http://www.brit.co/valentines-day-gifts-for-guys/. My guy LOVES the PDT cocktail book).
However, from my experience, those are the types of gifts that get shoved in a drawer and forgotten about forever (and if you aren't a DIYer, don't bother trying to DIY). People are much more appreciative of gifts that they will actually use!
So, I present to you... A practical guide to gifting:
1. Gift an experience to share together.
Classes and experiences are my absolute favorite type of gift to give. The Boston Center for Adult Education offers some wonderful cooking classes with guest chefs from restaurants in the area. In July, the boy and I celebrated his birthday with a steak cooking class hosted by the executive chef at Smith & Wollensky. It was awesome.
BCAE offers "early bird" pricing when new classes are released (30% off) and other promos sporadically (up to 50% off!), so make sure you get on the email list!
My man getting his chef on.
P.S. Check out the awesome dishes we cooked at our class on the Smith & Wollensky website (recipes included)! Cajun marinated ribeye (here), creamy corn with manchego (here), and seared scallops (here)!
If you're not in Boston, another source for cooking classes with a wider audience base is Sur La Table. Other options that go over well include tickets to a concert, show, or sports event, and trial memberships for new gyms or studio classes (e.g. the Boston ClassPass trial membership).
2. Gift a luxury he wouldn't buy for himself.
Top examples here include technology (e.g. an iPad, a Roku player), cooking implements (we love our Wusthof Classic steak knives), and clothes (this year, my SO is getting his first pair of Lululemon sweatpants. Shh... don't tell him! He doesn't read the blog.). Luxury socks also might be a good bet (I haven't used them yet, so I don't know for sure!).
A Roku player turns your TV into a smart TV.
Reasonably priced and great for Netflix streaming!
3. Give a gift that supports a favorite sport or hobby.
This works well for any gift-giving holiday! If he plays tennis, get him new tennis shoes,
or offer to get his racquet restrung! If she does hot yoga, get her a yoga towel and a pair of grippy socks. One of the best gifts I received last year from the boy was a pair of spin shoes for my weekly spin class. If you buy the Boston ClassPass trial recommended above, you might also spring for some new workout tops as additional gifts along the same theme.
I haven't ordered the gift yet, but this year, my guy may be getting some new gear to support his snowboarding habit. These types of gifts are easy, yet come across as very thoughtful, and you know they will be used!
Accessories for favorite pastimes
always make great gifts.
4. The gift that keeps on giving: A monthly subscription service.
No, I'm not talking about magazines here! Birchbox, Blue Apron, and Craft Coffee are some of the best in the monthly-subscription scene (read more here) and have a few options for gifting. Blacksocks, the luxury socks mentioned above, also offers a subscription service. Every month (or more frequently), a box will ship in the mail full of new fun items.
In a future blogpost, I'll review my experience with Blue Apron (spoiler: It's been awesome).
Also, another coffee subscription company, Mistobox is doing a fun Valentine's Day promotion right now: $5 for a 2-oz Valentine Coffee-Gram. I may have already purchased one for my guy...
Craft Coffee, sent straight to his door, every month.
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So what are you getting for your guy/girl this year? What was the best/most well-received gift you ever gave? Let me know in the comments!
xo,
Ev
P.S. A quick note on gift wrapping. This tip was pretty life-changing for me, but you may not need the help. The paper on the sides of the item should be shorter than the height of the package. You can get much crisper folds if you have less paper to deal with.
Gift wrap on the sides of the item
should be short to make folding easy!
