Father's day is coming and already women across the globe are looking at the prices on BBQs and weedwhackers. But what if your hubby isn't one of the whacky-grill happy guys out there, what do you do for them?We have a running joke about Father's Day around here. For Mother's Day what I usually want is for Mr. Hotness to take over my job for the day. Meaning he does what I usually do: get the kids dressed, make all the meals, change all the dirty diapers, and let me take a nap. So, I always tease him that I'm going to give him the same gift for Father's Day. I will take over his job for the day. Meaning that we reenact Mother's Day all over again. Doesn't that sound perfect? =)
Actually, Mr. Hotness helps out a lot around here, especially now that I'm a pretty useless pregnant mess, and I really want him to feel special on his special day. I'm not quite sure, yet, what I will be doing this year but here is something we've done in the past that he seems to really enjoy:
Mr. Hotness doesn't want much out of life other than a black convertible BMW M5 with cinnamon leather interior. This makes him a rather difficult person to shop for. He hates gimmicky, kitchy, or cheap little things. So, I usually get him some nice new clothes for summer and then I give him some very very valuable coupons. You've probably been given, or at least heard of coupon gift books, right? With cute little coupons that say, "This coupon is good for one free breakfast in bed," or something along those lines. They are cute but rarely used. Well, I make my coupons so good that they always get used. Here are some of the coupons I've given in the past (and these are things that I never do unless there is an emergency or a coupon)
1. This coupon is good for 5 ironed shirts. In order to redeem, coupon must be presented at least 10 hours before shirt is needed. Expires: September 5th. (After all don't all coupons expire?)
2. This coupon is good for 4 hours of computer gaming at anytime, free of guilt, backlash, mocking, or kids bugging you while you play. Must be used in hourly increments, and all time is rounded up. Time cannot be extended without presenting an extra gaming coupon. Expires: Sept 5th.
3. This coupon is good for one month of no garbage. This includes moving garbage cans to and from the street on garbage day. This coupon is good for one calendar month and does not carry over into the next month if presented after the first of the month. Expires: Sept 5th.
4. This coupon is active immediately. For the rest of the month Mommy promises not be grumpy when you are home. Expires June 3oth. (I only did this once. It was very hard to do some days, but I did it and it was actually an interesting experiment for me and Mr. Hotness LOVED it)
I've done other coupons, but I think you get the idea. They are all things that he really values and none of them are pleasant for me, he knows this and I think that is why he values them so much. And he really does use them. Now, if you want to go above and beyond the coupon you can do what I did last year. After years of ironing coupons I finally gave Mr. H. something really special. The Magic Ironing Hook (If you knew how much I (and he too, for that matter) detest ironing you would know that this is worth more than gold). I printed this sign on cardstock, laminated it, then affixed it to a nice over-the-door hook so it could hang in our closet. Most mornings I'm rushing to get them ironed before he gets out of the shower, but the magic hook hasn't failed him yet. Actually, the first time I gave it to him it was only good for 3 months (I wanted to see if I could really keep up with it), and then for Christmas I gave him this one without an expiration.
The kids and I make badges that say "I love my dad," and they wear them to church that day.I make his favorite meal (either chicken cordon bleu or meatball subs), and dessert (lemon cream pie or something sickeningly chocolate).
He gets to sleep in and nap with guaranteed silence from the kids or the phone.
On the Saturday before, I usually kick him out of the house to go do whatever he wants (like test drive cool cars that I will never be able to buy him) and we take him to dinner.
Now, if I can get my computer-camera issues taken care of (yet again), I will post some fun homemade F-day card ideas later this week.
What have been some of your most successful Father's Day gifts?
25 comments:
You are a sweet wife! I love the magic ironing hook coupon. Very clever!!
I could never keep up with the ironing! You are amazing for that magic ironing hook. My hubby is much the same as yours in that he has a grill and a weed whacker, and anything else on his list is not in my budget ;)
my husband is hard because he doesn't want much (in my price range, at least) and he doesn't like to give clues. and he's not cheesy at all. when i first saw the title of your post was father's day coupons, i thought, "jared would laugh at me." but with the kind of things you put on the coupons, he might just enjoy them. thanks for the idea.
i am encouraging him to plan a day doing whatever he wants on the saturday before; i am making one of his favorite meals--bbq ribs--which i won't make very often because they are so fattening and labor intensive; other than that, i am out of ideas. so i may just do a coupon book.
My guy is hard to buy for too. In fact, sometimes I would rather have a bunch of cheapo stuff than ONE thing that costs a heck of a lot. I got a $200 bottle of perfume on Christmas ... nothing else. But, boy oh boy... that perfume smells nice!!! Haha! If my husband actually cared about ironed shirts, I'd do that for him. No, no, I have a lot of creativity that I must shell out... and soon. Stay tuned.
The best Father's Day gift I got my husban was for his 1st Father's Day - I bought a hammock & stand and put it on our lanai. It became his favorite place to nap and just get out of the house for a bit of quiet. Three years later, it wore out and I need to get him a new one!
Luckily, my husband LIKES to iron his own clothes. Yes, LIKES it! It's Mother's Day every day there's ironing around here! :)
I think I have ironed once in the 10 years I have been married ... that is what the dryer is for in our house :) !!
However, you are one clever and creative wife/mother. You definitely know how to make your husband feel special! That is what is most important, figuring out what specific things make your man happy.
GREAT idea! i did coupons one year for hubby's birthday (he's not a dad yet) but they were nowhere near as nifty as yours. now if only i could remember my perfect father's day gift dream...
The magic hanger is BRILLIANT.
Tony's birthday is in June also, so I try and make Father's Day Sunday all baout him...favorite food, dessert, nap etc.
Those are great ideas. I don't iron, either. I'm still not quite sure I am doing for my husband. Probably not too much because we are not going to be home.
Hmmm....well, I know what my husband would like coupons for...
Great father's day - you are amazingly creative. My Ex is a busy bee and hates surprises - we were never good at surprising him anyway. This year is a challenge (first one as "EX") b/c I don't want the kids to blow him off (like they did me on Mother's day b/c he refused to take them shopping) but I know he really doesn't want anything. What to do??!!
This is my first visit to your blog and I love it! (Found you through Scribbit.) I will definitely be using the coupons for Father's Day!
You are way too generous!! Our household does not iron. My kids don't even know what one is!! And I work away from home, so you'd better believe I come home grumpy. And husband already gets 5+ hours of game night each week.... But he is a great stay at home dad.... I got a car wash for Mother's Day. Maybe he should get the same for Father's day???
These are great! I can see why they'd get used. My husband would love #3 and #4 ( : Hmm. . . thanks for the ideas ( :
We have someone come over on Saturdays to do our week's ironing for us at a very affordable price, my husband insists he wants the creases right and I am no good at it..so, that's done, i think i will try some coupons, thanx for the great ideas!
Just out of curiosity, was there anything significant that occurred on September 5th?
The way we iron around here is by throwing the item in the dryer for 10 minutes. And I love it because it means he takes out whatever is in the dryer and puts it in the basket for me so he can "iron."
I love your coupons with expiration dates! That's great.
Our most successful Father's Day gift to date was a hand painted cereal bowl that our son made two years ago...it melted my husband's heart and he uses it all the time.
Great ideas! My hubby would especially like the gaming one. The magic hook is also very clever.
Those coupons are a great idea! I would never, ever be able to promise not to be grumpy for two weeks, though. You are a better woman, clearly! :)
Heidi
You are WAY nicer and more thoughtful a wife than I am. DON'T tell my husband there are women out there like you. Shhh....
You are full of good ideas!! I don't have any to reciprocate, but I appreciate your passing these along!
Great ideas and nice blog. It is so true, "man gifts" are so expensive and are never in our budget, so this coupon idea will work nicely.
Oh, those are sweet! We both detest ironing at our place too (along with unloading the dishwasher) :)
Very cute ideas!
Love the coupons...I may just have to do something similar for my boy! I think I would have to do something like...I give him coupons to do specific things...like, "It is now time for you to stop what you are doing and go hit a bucket of balls at the driving range" or something like that...very cute...very clever...very Ice Cream!!!
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