Have no flipping clue what to buy your partner?

I don’t know about you but when you have been together for as long as my husband and I have ( almost 14 years) you start running out of ideas of what to get for each other when it comes to birthdays and all those special occasions.

If you have been following my blog or you know me personally, you might have realised now that for me, small gestures have big impact. Which means, a gift doesn’t need to be expensive. My best gifts from my husband have been the ones in which I feel he has really considered me when buying them or even better, making them!

These are a a few of my favourite gifts that come to mind…a handmade box he made me for our first ‘being together’ anniversary, a picture he painted of me, and I kid you not, a hairdryer! I had been using this crappy little hairdryer for ages and kept on saying, ‘I really must get myself a new hairdryer’ but as I tend to do, just hadn’t got to it because not knowing what hairdryer to buy, I tend to put it off and not buy myself anything. So I was really happy when I received a mystery delivery (aren’t those the best!!??) and inside was a hairdryer that hubby had bought for me. I just loved that!

As you may have realised, my favourite gifts are surprise gifts for no occasion. Occasion gifts tend to have too many expectations around them so in my case, often disappoint, because they just don’t live up to what goes on in my head. Surprise, spontaneous gifts are the best because there is no reason, no pressure, no expectations but simply a gift which says ‘I was thinking about you so I bought this.’ Who doesn’t want that?

So, without any further preamble from me, because I know that everyone is busy and it’s always so hard to think of what to get your loved one, I have put together some gift ideas for him and her that I think would go down well. Some are expensive and might be more of an ‘occasion’ gift, some are more reasonably priced and can be given at any time. The main idea is that they are given with thought and love and you can’t go wrong with that! They are obviously based on my opinion so they might not suit everyone but these are the things that would appeal to me. Some of these are things that are currently in stores so if you want it but can’t find it, I apologise for that. I will be doing this regularly so look out for more ideas if these don’t inspire you. Some of these gifts I’ve chosen this time round are quite pricey but if you’re really on a tight budget have a look at 10 Ideas For (Practically) Free Presents for Your Partner.

FOR HER:

Yoga Mat

I recently discovered these yoga mats by Sentiens and just thought they were absolutely beautiful! If your woman is a yoga fundi, this would be an amazing gift! You can find them here at www.sentiens.co.za.

Make-Up Course

This might not suit every woman, but I really appreciated this gift from my husband. I am not very good when it comes to putting on make-up or anything make up related actually and I was wanting to learn a bit more. So, although my husband is actually quite happy with me not wearing any make up, he bought me a voucher for a make up lesson at Mac which included purchasing products as well. You can read about that here. You can find Mac at www.maccosmetics.co.za

Big Magic

I just finished reading Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert. If you are a creative, wanting to be creative, don’t think you’re creative, I highly recommend this book! I just love the way she writes with such authenticity and directness. This is a book you will want to re-read every couple of months and make notes of certain pages. It is also a book you can both read as it is not only for women. I bought this book for myself but definitely would have appreciated it if my husband had bought it for me. I bought mine from our local bookstore but you can get it just about anywhere.

FOR HIM:

Bamboo Travelling Mug

I was at Woolies the other day looking at all the items they had on show for Father’s Day and I really liked these bamboo flasks. I think they would look good on any desk, in any hands, or in any car cup holder. In fact, I think I might be purchasing one myself…for him…I mean. You can find them online here or on www.woolworths.co.za

Coffee Course

This is a gift I bought for my husband one time when he was becoming a bit of a coffee snob and he really enjoyed it. It was a Coffee Appreciation Course at Origin. Besides the fact that he came home completely wired after having drunk so many cups of coffee, it was well worth it. There are a couple of other courses available so you can choose what will be best for your man, although this can also be for her or for both of you. Have a look at www.originroasting.co.za for info.

Leather Bags

When I went to Italy 2 years ago (with my mom and sister for 2 weeks!!!) I bought my husband a beautiful leather laptop satchel bag. I hadn’t seen anything as nice here and it was Italy…you’ve got to buy leather products there! But if you can’t quite make it to Italy, here are some beautiful leather products I recently discovered on this very awesome site aimed at men called Thebroshop.co.za. Here are just a few of the items that they sell but go have a look as they have all things man related. This is a great find and I will definitely be returning to this site for some more cool products.

I am always on the lookout for great gifts to buy each other so let me know what you think of these and if you come across anything else that we might not know about. For more ideas, have a look at ‘Some great gift ideas for him and her.’

What have some of your favourite gifts been that you’ve given and received?

***This month of July is all about appreciation. Join us in our ‘Appreciate Your Partner 30 Day Challenge‘ and let’s see what it can do for our relationships. Are you with me?