Hallie over at Moxie Wife is having an Awesome Gifts For Guys Link Up Party to help you find the perfect gift for your honey. Fun! Here are my suggestions.

Brian is pretty easy to shop for since his wish list is always 95% books. However, it can get a little boring after awhile so I’ve tried to change it up a bit.

I tend to like gift-basket or theme style gifts so these are some of the ones I’ve done so far with the items I’ve put in them at one point or another.

Time to Relax Basket

• Books & a magazine
• Concert CD of The Clash
• Earphones
• Favorite snacks (ie. peanuts, beef jerky, chocolate, red hots etc)
• NFL Green Bay Packers 36-Ounce Crystal Freezer Monster Mug
• Bottle of root beer

Coffee Break Basket

• Mystic Monk Coffee
• K-Pack Coffee in his favorite flavors
• A new coffee mug (Mystic Monks have some cool ones or a Packers mug is always a hit with Brian.)
• A book to read (natch)

Prayer Basket

• A prayer book or book on spirituality
• An icon (he loved this St. Joseph one I bought him one year. You can find other nice ones at Printery House or get a Russian Orthodox icon from Not of This World. They have some amazing ones of the Blessed Mother/ Theotokos.
• Rosary
• Votive candle

Amore Basket*

• Coupon for a Date Night
• Scented massage oils
• CD of a playlist of songs we listened to while we were dating.
• Candy kisses
• A love note telling him how much I appreciate all the little (and big) things he does for me and the family. I gave specific examples. Months later I was putting something away in his wallet and I found the note tucked in there and it was well worn. He must have read it a number of times. I was touched that he still carried it with him.

* (This Amore Basket is good for NFP, Phase 3 while the next basket is good for Phase 2. LOL) 😉

Movie Night Basket

• Coupon for a Movie Date Night
• If we are going out – 2 Movie Tickets
• If we are staying in – A new DVD. (It was a hit when I got him the Sherlock series.)
• Pack of microwave popcorn (or coupon for movie popcorn)
• Various packs of “movie candy.”

What Does He Enjoy?

These are all things that my hubby enjoys but you can think of endless baskets depending on your hubby’s taste. Other ideas – Game night (board game or video game), sport memorabilia basket from his fave team, camping goods, tools, art supplies, food. (ie fancy BBQ sauces, hot sauces, beers, olive oils…), really, just whatever he enjoys.

Big Ticket Items vs On a Budget

A couple of times I saved up for big ticket items. He did not ask for any of them but I knew he would love them. (And he did.)

• Kindle Fire (HD versions are also out now.)
• Keurig Single Cup Coffee Machine
• Netbook

Other times money was tight so we kept it simple. One year I gave him books (surprise) and a collage photo frame with a photo of us together as well as with all the kids. He loved it and took it to work to put on his desk. He still uses it today and every Christmas I update it with new photos, especially as more kids came along. 🙂

And again, a heart felt love letter has zero cost but it is priceless.

A Few More Ideas

I actually bought his for myself but I think it’s a great guy gift too.

New Trent iMirror 6000mAh Heavy Duty 2A/1A Dual USB Ports External Battery Pack – This works great for the times when you need to charge your phone but you don’t have an outlet handy. I use this for my iphone and I’ve gone from 10% to 100 % and still had power left in the external battery.  It also works with ipads and other brand phones.

If none of these work for you, I found some cool gift ideas at Real Simple.com. I particularly liked…

the foosball game,

the iphone wallet

and the record book ends. (Um, can I get a pair for myself?) 😉