Every year my husband begins badgering me some time in October about giving him a gift list.
This is a direct quote from the email he sent me last month: “Please send links to the products, including color and size if applicable, of precisely what you want.”
Ummmmm.
I find this amusing for three reasons: First, hello, what happened to creativity and the element of surprise? I know, that’s so 1994, but it sounds fun and I kinda feel like we should try it. Second, I am super easy to shop for, of course there are always things I want/need, but regardless of what they purchase, make, or find for me (I still have the first rock Dude 1 gave me shoved in my sock drawer), I will be thankful and happy and will possibly return it for a bigger size because they see me as way smaller than I am no matter what size I tell them I wear, And, finally, he never even goes shopping until a day or two before Christmas Eve. I don’t get the urgency.
This year I told him he’d have to read my blog to find out what I wanted for Christmas. I figured that if I’m going to do all of the leg work of finding the products online and then creating a shopping road map for him he should at least be subjected to my witty banter and clever one liners like everyone else.
I’m 99% certain he plans to log on December 23rd and look through my archives for this post.
Best Gifts for Moms: 10 Things You should Put On Your Husband’s Shopping List
1. A nap. The kind where there are no sounds of kids in distress in the background. The kind where you don’t get a bazillion questions before you lay down. The kind where no one is sad or hungry or angry or bleeding when you wake up. He can’t buy it, but he can make it happen. Note to husbands: Think about DIYing her one of those coupon book thingys with the kids but instead of stuff like free hugs (she can have those when she wants) and a night off of dinner (she can have those when she wants too, it’s called you’re paying for Dominoes) make every single last one of them for Guilt Free/Worry Free Naps.
2. A cleaning service. Not weekly, not biweekly, heck not even monthly. Just once. If you don’t have one that comes in regularly, ask for a one time deep clean. And tell them to do all of the hard junk when they come (baseboards, windows, ceiling fans, etc) so you can ignore them for a few months again.
3. A bag that can carry basically every single thing you own. These are some I love…
C.Wonder Tote, $78. Leather Shopper, $129. Denim Shopper, $17.95. Reversible Travel Tote, $98
4. Monster headphones. If you like to hide in your bathroom from your kids travel frequently and need to slip away to some fresh jams, Monster DiamondZ Rose Gold Headphones
5. A shoe fund. And a chance to blow it. A gift card loaded with enough cash to cover the two pairs of boots I want and a whole afternoon to shop with a friend sans whiny sidekicks is my idea of a joyful gifting experience.
6. The #Cube™
7. Toms. But, be sure you tell him to buy them from Target. Every time someone buys a Toms for Target item a meal, a blanket, or a pair of shoes will be given to someone in need. You get your cute gift and do good for another human at the same time. Win. Win. Personally my feet look pretty nursing home-ish in Toms so I don’t rock them, but they have a ton of other cool products to choose from too.
8. Slippers. I have the fur lined Crocs in nurse tan which means I can’t even answer the door in these without fear that the fashion police will see and put me on house arrest. A chicer pair would be nice to sneak around in for when we have company over and I don’t want to look like I pulled an all nighter in the E.R.
9. A photo gift. I make my mom a calendar for her wall or a photo book every year and I usually just go ahead and make one for myself while I’m at it because they take a good time investment to complete. Maybe if someone else would do it for me, as a gift, so I don’t have to do it for myself… I use Minted for every single one of my photo gifting needs.
10. Family time. A weekend away, even if it’s just a weekend where I don’t have to put on real pants and be in front of anyone’s face unless it came out of my womb or is bound to me legally until death, would be nice. A family hike, or a family-walk-on-flat-ground-because-hiking-is-hard-work, or a family movie, or a family nap (oh yes please, I miss those) can all be on the agenda. And everyone has to agree to take a selfie with mom to commemorate the day.
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