What would you really want as a gift?

[UtterNewb]

I didn't see anything in the rules saying this type of post is inappropriate, I apologize if it is.

 

I need help getting a great gift for a man I'm seeing. I think men are really hard to shop for anyways, they want such specific things, and if you ask, then it ruins the surprise. And as he says "we just buy ourselves whatever we want, so we already have it". I've been dating a guy for a couple of months and got him a knife for Christmas. It's useful, and something even I would appreciate getting. It seemed practical and reasonable. 

 

We enjoy drinking whiskey together. When I picked up the present he gave me, it was obviously a really nice bottle of whiskey that we had recently enjoyed together, until I started to peel back the wrapping paper and the liquid was clear. He had wrapped a necklace around the neck of the bottle, a sapphire and diamond necklace set in 14k white gold to compliment my grandmother's ring, which both contains my birthstone, and is the only jewelry I wear every day. 

 

Now Valentines Day is coming up...His first love is bass fishing. He has giant boxes full of tackle and such. He makes his own lures, has a subscription to his favorite magazines, has all the rods he needs. He had a really nice boat, but sold it buy a house this year. What can I possibly get this man that he doesn't already have? I would be so grateful for suggestions. I'm a single mom paying my daughter's private school tuition on her own. My budget is fairly tight, so ideally I get him something really thoughtful, even hard to find, but not more than a couple hundred bucks at most.

 

Thank you in advance, and I wish everyone a most pleasant day.

[DINK WHISPERER]

Welcome to the forum. Maybe a guided fishing trip since he doesn't have a boat right now. 

[UtterNewb]

I like that idea Dink Whisperer, but do you think someone that revels in taking others to special spots to catch the biggest fish of their lives would appreciate it? Or is it too commercial? I have no idea what guided trips are like.

[SWVABass]

@DINK WHISPERER that’s a good idea, or maybe there is a decent kayak out there in your price range to get him back on the water.. not sure maybe somebody will chime in with one

[soflabasser]

Welcome to the forum. Go fishing with him more often, he will appreciate it more than any gift you can give him. Also print a bunch of pictures of his favorite recent catches and make a album of these pictures.

[Bluebasser86]

I always love it when my wife goes with me and shows an interest in what I love doing so much. Maybe ask him what his bucket list fish are. Every fisherman has one, the fish they'd love to catch more than anything else. It will seem like you're just taking an interest in it, then get him a guided trip to go catch whatever his top fish are. My wife got me the chance to catch a peacock bass during our 5 year anniversary in Florida. I was as excited to catch this little fish as any I can remember in my adult life, even ran out of my shoe while I was landing it, still have one bare foot when my wife took this picture 

[crypt]

either the guide trip or go fishing with him. any man that is that thoughtful about your jewelry will appreciate the gesture.

[DINK WHISPERER]

Or do both, get him the trip and go with him on it. Even the proudest of men enjoy a day with their lady and someone else guiding them for once. Good luck

[Sam]

I second the guided fishing trip.

 

Use the Internet to find guides and places to fish.

 

If you want to go 100% first class, go to a destination that has a lodge and great fishing together, like Saltgrass Lodge in Louisiana. Check it out and then find something along those lines.

 

Or a trip to Branson and the BPS and Lodge plus fishing.

 

Good luck and have fun.

2 minutes ago, DINK WHISPERER said:

Or do both, get him the trip and go with him on it. Even the proudest of men enjoy a day with their lady and someone else guiding them for once. Good luck

Took my wife who grew up on a Pennsylvania dairy farm down to Louisiana for a redfish fishing trip and we had a ball. She had the time of her life.

 

Good suggestion you made for consideration.

[LionHeart]

Since he sold the boat, does he even fish any more? I sold my boat 5 years ago and just got back into fishing.  My point is, without the boat, his interest may have changed for a while.  Men are pretty basic for gift ideas.  We want something that will make our life easier.  Tools are always good.

 

I remember one Christmas when I was deployed, I bought my wife a very nice floor steamer.  I thought it was a great gift because she always talked about how difficult it was to clean our floors.  As a man, I would have loved the gift.  I quickly learned that was not a good gift to get a women.  We still joke about it.

 

If he still fishes... game on.  A really nice digital fishing scale is something I think every fisherman would want.  The suggestion to a guided fishing trip ( really good one, just make sure the guide specializes in the kind of fish your husband fishes for) would also be great.

 

The possibiliies are endless regarding gifts for a fisherman.  Most of us have a hard time not thinking of things we want.

[12poundbass]

27 minutes ago, LionHeart said:

remember one Christmas when I was deployed, I bought my wife a very nice floor steamer.  I thought it was a great gift because she always talked about how difficult it was to clean our floors.  As a man, I would have loved the gift.  I quickly learned that was not a good gift to get a women.  We still joke about it.

Yikes! Women want these things but don't want you to get them as a gift. 

 

My sister in-law years back had been talking about getting a stationary bike to start exercising. Her boyfriend at the time thought he'd be nice and surprise her with it. Oh boy that was the wrong thing to do! I'm married to her sister so of course I had to hear all about it for hours LOL. I personally thought it was nice that he got it for her. Thankfully for me other guys make these mistakes and I get to learn from them. 

[Bluebasser86]

33 minutes ago, LionHeart said:

I remember one Christmas when I was deployed, I bought my wife a very nice floor steamer.  

I think you could probably make it onto this show. 

 

Women sometimes don't react to what we see as a practical gift as we feel like we would if the roles were reversed 

[burrows]

200$, 300$, bass pro gift card

Trust me a man can never have enuf tackle rods and reels.

[Frisbie385]

Tackle Warehouse gift card. They are 10% right now

[Oregon Native]

It's nice your being thoughtful....like the above suggestions.  Go fishing somewhere and take a picnic basket....or go to a place where you can rent a cabin overnight by a body of water that you can just walk down to and fish close by.  

Good Luck

[CroakHunter]

Not to get all mushy or anything but presents don't really do it for me. Like you said, if men want something, we go buy it. Some of my favorite "gifts" from my wife have been homemade dinners, a good bottle of (wine for us) whatever you like to drink, hanging at the house with not a care in the world, and going to bed early with our kids staying at one of our parents. So I think if you could do something like that and then get him a card with a hand written piece in there about how thankful you are for your Christmas present. That would mean a lot more to me than a $200 gift card. Men are simple, feed em, water em, rub their belly, and tell them they are a good boy. Another bonus to that is that since you are on a budget, it's saving stress on you for worrying about your budget or if you got him enough. I hate stressing about money As I'm sure the majority of people in the world do as well

[Bassin' Brad]

1 hour ago, CroakHunter said:

Not to get all mushy or anything but presents don't really do it for me. Like you said, if men want something, we go buy it. Some of my favorite "gifts" from my wife have been homemade dinners, a good bottle of (wine for us) whatever you like to drink, hanging at the house with not a care in the world, and going to bed early with our kids staying at one of our parents. So I think if you could do something like that and then get him a card with a hand written piece in there about how thankful you are for your Christmas present. That would mean a lot more to me than a $200 gift card. Men are simple, feed em, water em, rub their belly, and tell them they are a good boy. Another bonus to that is that since you are on a budget, it's saving stress on you for worrying about your budget or if you got him enough. I hate stressing about money As I'm sure the majority of people in the world do as well

Lotta truth right there. 

[Ratherbfishing]

3 hours ago, LionHeart said:

I remember one Christmas when I was deployed, I bought my wife a very nice floor steamer.  I thought it was a great gift because she always talked about how difficult it was to clean our floors.  As a man, I would have loved the gift.  I quickly learned that was not a good gift to get a women.  We still joke about it.

Ha!  Do you mind if we call you "dual bag"?  

 

[LionHeart]

7 minutes ago, Ratherbfishing said:

Ha!  Do you mind if we call you "dual bag"?  

 

Thanks for the laughs man.  It actually went very similar to that.  I was super excited to give it to her.  I had done considerable research and was so proud of it.  Of course, we were very young in our marriage at the time, and I now see the error of my ways in gift buying for my lady.

[slonezp]

For the fisherman that has everything. http://www.bigeyeleather.ca/  My son bought me a walleye leather wallet for christmas. I'm quite impressed with the both the durability and craftsmanship

[jbsoonerfan]

I could care less about a gift, trip or whatever. A picture of my wife and I together in a frame with a nice note from her telling me how much I mean to her is more important to me than anything she could buy me. Sometimes all we want is to know we are appreciated and loved.

 

 

Sorry if that was a little goofy sounding, but for me it is the truth.

[Redlinerobert]

The best gift my wife could give me is time.  We are both very busy with work, and I really look forward to time spent with just the two of us. 

 

Now depending on budget, a fishing trip would be great for the both of you.  You can hire a guide or go to a lodge.  There are quite a few in the states that are nice and there are different places suitable for different budgets. 

 

Personally, I'd love to take my wife to Brazil on one of my Amazon trips, but the fist sized bugs would drive her bananas.

[UtterNewb]

There were some great suggestions, thank you gentlemen,. He sold his baby, his good boat, but he still has a boat, and a has access to a really nice boat that belongs to a friend that happens to be a guide. He mentioned he wanted a fishing bow, but he likes top of the line stuff, beyond my budget, and his grandfather owns a bow shop, so he already has a connection. I asked him if he had a dream fish, and he said, "no, I catch 'em all". 
@dinkwhisperer I love your suggestion, about spending time fishing with him. He feels quite passionately about waiting until there are perfect conditions for someone's first trip out on the water because he wants it to be fun, and a very pleasant experience, you know, to get them hooked :). He's had quite a lot of success with that technique. I'll go out in the woods in the winter because I can stay warm moving around, but he knows I'd freeze my bum off sitting still waiting for a fish to bite, and that would significantly reduce my enjoyment. But I'm more than happy to spend time with him out on the water. Some of his favorite fishing spots also happen to be some of my favorite bird watching spots, so it's a double win for both of us. 
@LionHeart I'm surprised you lived to tell the tale. I actually really do get excited about stuff like that too. I loved researching and thoroughly looking into my options before getting my hiking boots and raincoat. Ohh and the new convection toaster oven I got had me so excited I talked about for days before and after it's arrival. But unless I specifically ask for that, it is NOT the present I want from the man in my life. I was just talking about this today. One of the many differences between men and women is that men love gifts that are practical, and women specifically love gifts that have no practical value, or are pretty and practical (a new saddle would be a good example). If she kept you around she must have seen the value in your thoughtfulness and effort though. It's way better than exercise equipment. Holy Toledo!

@CroakHunter @Bassin' Brad @RedlinerobertI think you are right, men just want respect and affection. Oh, and food. Some good food, a nice libation and an early bedtime is called "Saturday night". He wouldn't know it was a special thank you lol. I already brought out my nice paper and fountain pen and wrote him a thank you letter. The response was very positive. As far as time goes...we are juggling four kids (three are his), two jobs, his is more than full time and he works until 10-11pm 5-7 nights a week, and has his kids every other weekend. On his non-kid weekends he tries to arrange to go in early so he can leave early, which is very considerate of him. We live nearly 40 miles from each other, and knowing the burden he bears I usually drive to him. He makes it apparent how much he appreciates my effort. So you can see how I'm stuck trying to find a way to show my appreciation. We are both already inclined to do the suggested things. 

You know, one of the benefits of us both having been in a very long term relationships with people that were not engaging or inclined to make much of an effort, is that we both deeply appreciate consideration and exertion, and we both enjoy giving it.
@jbsoonerfan That's not goofy at all. 
Thank y'all!

[IndianaFinesse]

 

Yikes! Women want these things but don't want you to get them as a gift. 

 

My sister in-law years back had been talking about getting a stationary bike to start exercising. Her boyfriend at the time thought he'd be nice and surprise her with it. Oh boy that was the wrong thing to do! I'm married to her sister so of course I had to hear all about it for hours LOL. I personally thought it was nice that he got it for her. Thankfully for me other guys make these mistakes and I get to learn from them. 

He might have been better off committing suicide than doing that

[bigbill]

I’m giving my misses money for her family trip to Italy. As a gift for me I need nothing. After having cancer everyday is a gift that I’m still on this side of the green.  It’s going on six years now I’m cancer free. I did buy some new topwater baits.

i Just used my gift cards from the 2016 Christmas presents. I had a pile of them.