My husband is turning 37 next week. Can you ladies please give me some free/low cost memorable things I can do to celebrate his birthday? We had some financial setbacks, so I don't want to spend more than $20.
Thanks so much for all who responded. I have gotten great ideas. So many that I will have b-day ideas for the next 7+ years! Thanks again.
This year I decided to do a scavenger hunt. Thanks to L. C for this idea. Although it did not go 100% as planned, it was a big success.
My husband loves the TV show 24, so I decided to send him on a mission. He was working late, so the plan was for me to tell him about his mission when he called to let me know he was on his way home. I would play the countdown (like from the show) and tell him about his mission like how Jack Bauer does at the start of the show. HOWEVER, my husband usually calls me to let me know he is on his way home, but on his birthday he just showed up. Even though all the clues and gifts were hidden, I had just put the kiddies to bed so I was not ready. When he came to our front door, he saw the envelop taped to the door and he did not know about his secret mission because I was waiting for him to call. But that was ok. I just sent him back out and told him to give me 15 minutes. He was curious about what was going on, but he obliged.
When I was ready, I called him and played the "24" countdown and read my scripted message. His cellphone ring has the same countdown "music", so when he heard me playing it, he thought it was feedback and was a little confused. I had to tell him what I was doing and then I started the whole thing over again. He thought that was so funny.
When he got home, he saw an envelop on the front door. This was the first clue out of five. I did not spend a lot of money. The gifts were: 1. A cup of Dunkin Donuts coffee. 2. A video rental of a movie we wanted to watch. 3. A slice of our wedding cake. (Not the original, but a slice from the bakery who made our wedding cake.) 4. Birthday cards that the kids made and a my card where I had written a love poem inside. 5. This is the best part. The last gift was a lap dance from the best stripper, ME!
He was going through the missions and everything was working fine. Until...
In the envelop of clue 4, I put $100 and $50 dollar bills (I got fake money from the Dollar Tree.) In the 3rd clue, I gave him instructions to go to the dirty clothes bin to find the 4th clue. However, I did not say which one of the two that we had in our bedroom/bathroom. I was hiding on his side of the bed. He thought I was hiding there and when he did not know which one to go to, he walk to his side of the bed and asked me. He saw me in my stripper outfit and started laughing and said, "I think I know what my last gift is." When he got to the final clue, I started playing some music (the kind they play in the strip clubs) and started doing my "dance". When came into the bedroom there I was in my stripper outfit. He had the biggest smile on his face.
My husband loved that I had planned this. Just last night when he called to let me know he was coming home, he said that he was calling to make sure there were no secret missions that he should know about. Everyday since his birthday, which was last Thursday, he told me that he loved his birthday gift and he will remember it always.
Thanks again L. C. This worked out great!
L. - I do not think that you will have time to do this - but maybe you can do a shortened version! I created a daily calendar for my husbvand one year for Christmas. I listed the many reasons why I love him. Some of them were sillt - others quite serious. I also used quotes that I thought would be meaningful to him. It took a good bit of time - but it was very inexpensive! Good luck!
Years ago I did this for my husband...do a scavenger hunt:
1. place a free classified ad (in the back of the local newspaper), when the paper comes out circle the ad with a red heart (I put inside info...ie, pet name) and place it where he'll find it (kitchen table, etc.). The ad will tell your husband to go to a place (ie, wine store) where there is a bottle waiting for him at the front desk (you can tie a bow) and a note telling him the next destination. I spent less than $10 on the wine.
2. next destination can be a movie rental (have a movie paid for and on hold with a note stating the next destination)
3. next place can be friend's house with homemade cookies waiting (his favorite flavor) and a note sending him to the next place
4. next place can be your kitchen with glasses for the wine and a note telling him to come to your bedroom
5. have candles lit all over the room, soft music playing, etc.
There are many ways you can do this that may be more toward you and your husband's taste but it's low cost and not too difficult to put together.
My husband loved it!
Maybe a friend/family member can keep your kids for the night (or until very late).
Have fun,
L.
I didn't know what to do for my hubbys b-day last year either and we were also short on cash- so I wrote him a story (about us/our life together) and made a book out of it. I drew the pictures in the book (I am NOT an artist- they were pretty silly). He loved it- said it was one of the best gifts he's ever gotten. I wrapped it all up like a nice gift in a box with tissue paper. Also I have given "coupon books" for back rubs, 1 hour of doing what he wants when he wants to do it, bringing coffee/breakfast in bed, plus some racier options :). Mostly just showing how much you love him.
Good luck!
J.
I know that everyone is different, but my husband would rather have an experience than a gift. So you could plan a day with the kids maybe the beach, park, or something like that and throw in a picnic if you want to. And you could make him breakfast that morning (i rarely cook breakfast so my husband loves that) if there is something that your husband likes to do, like a game, or watch a movie, you could do something like that with him in the evening. If you wanted to you could put the kids down early if they will go or if you want to try to skip the afternoon nap for an early bed time, and you guys can hang out and have some alone time. throw in a bottle of wine or his favorite beer, and you can make a cake and have the kids help decorate it, knowing that their little hands threw on sprinkles and that their fingers were swirling through the frosting will be so special to him too. one other thought is for a gift maybe make hand prints of the kids and make a card. i know that was alot, hope it sparked some ideas! Best of luck!
If you have a family member close by ask if they would keep the kids for the evening or over night. Then borrow or rent a movie that he would like. Fix dinner maybe spaghetti, tossed salad, and garlic bread or breadsticks. Have a box of microwave popcorn on hand for movie. After dinner and a movie maybe a foot and back massage. If he has worked all day or even all week he will appreciate the gesture. The whole night should cost around the amount you want to spend and it will also give you both a little alone time to reconnect to each other.
I totally understand only wanting to spend a little money- does he have a favorite item? My husband has a full size blanket he has had since a child, so for his 30th bday I got the binding fixed up, and had embroidered on it "Happy 30th Birthday Day, Love Maggie"(our daughter name :-) )), in all the years we have been together spending tons of money and all, that was his favorite gift of all time, it is now something our daughter can have and pass it along- Maybe that will help you! Hope you have fun getting his bday together!!
What we did one year was... get a $5 t-shirt @ Hobby Lobby and some fabric paint. Let the kids put their handprints on the shirt. We also put the footprints on the back. We have made more as the number of kids increased and as they got older. He now has a few of them axs our family has grown to 5 kids now. They are his favorite gifts.
Inexpensive and memorable.
T. B.
Have a nice picnic in a park...
my husband LOVES me to make photo books from snapfish (or any photo website). if you have a digital camera and computer already, that's an inexpensive option! and you can usually go to retailmenot.com and get a coupon code for free shipping! i'll keep thinking for you!
oh! here's somthing - one night a couple of weeks ago my hubby and i had a walmart and waffle house date! we did spend about $25 total, plus we had grandparents to babysit (free!) but we ate at waffle house first, then we each had a $5 bill and 10 minutes to go into walmart and buy each other gifts! it was so silly, and we had great fun.
