Valentine's gifts for your husband: 40 ideas that say you'd marry him again
Forty Valentine's gifts for the husband who says he doesn't need anything, from a night without the kids to fifty reasons you'd marry him again.
40 ideas ·
Valentine's Day gets harder the longer you're married. The early years were easy: dinner out, a card, something red. Now there's a mortgage, a calendar full of other people's plans, maybe kids, and a husband who'll tell you he doesn't need anything. He's probably right. What he rarely gets, though, is proof that you still notice him, and that you'd pick him again.
These 40 ideas are sorted into sentimental gifts, gifts for your first Valentine's as husband and wife, time together without the kids, gifts for the husband who wants nothing, small things he'll use every day, and last-minute gifts you can still sort on the 13th.
If you choose a gift made of words, borrow from our 60 reasons why I love you, for him, or let the free reasons generator draft ten from your own memories.
Make it a book: Reasons You're My Valentine holds fifty reasons, one per page, written from your memories and illustrated to look like your people. Start yours
Sentimental Valentine's gifts for your husband
Husbands hear "love you" on the way out the door. They almost never hear why. Written down, it's the gift he'll keep.
- A book of fifty reasons you love him, one per page, from the night you met to the way he still warms your side of the car, with the two of you illustrated on the cover.
- Your wedding vows, framed, with a new promise for this year written underneath.
- A letter about the moment you knew you'd marry him, left in his coat pocket for him to find at work.
- A box of the things you've kept: the ticket from your first date, the napkin with his number, the hospital bracelet.
- A recording of the song from your first dance, with the story of why you chose it.
- A jar of 52 folded notes, one reason for every week until next Valentine's.
- The photo from your wedding he likes best and you never framed, framed.
- A set of open-when letters for the weeks he's away or the days he's had enough.
For your first Valentine's as husband and wife
The first one after the wedding is worth marking. Make it about the marriage, not just the day.
- A book of reasons you married him, written while the wedding is still fresh.
- A wedding-day photo turned into a print with the date, the place and the first line of your vows.
- Dinner at the restaurant from your engagement, ordering exactly what you had that night.
- A bottle of something from your honeymoon, to open on your first anniversary.
- A letter to be opened on your tenth Valentine's, sealed and dated.
Time together, without the kids
For many married couples, the most romantic gift is an evening that nobody else needs anything from.
- A night away, with the babysitter, the dog and the school run already handled.
- A year of date nights in a box: twelve envelopes, one plan for every month, sitter included.
- A booklet of love coupons for the things he'd never ask for: a lie-in, the remote, a whole Saturday with his friends.
- Tickets to see his team, with you beside him for once.
- A cooking class for two, or a whiskey or wine tasting, followed by dinner.
- Your first date, recreated, down to the same order and the same terrible film.
- A sunrise walk to somewhere with a view, with coffee and breakfast packed for the top.
For the husband who says he wants nothing
Take him at his word and skip the things. Give him something he can't buy.
- Something of his restored: his grandfather's watch, the guitar in the attic, his old leather jacket.
- A day planned entirely around him, with nothing left for him to organize.
- A message from each of his oldest friends about why they're glad you married him.
- The book he loved as a boy, a first edition or the same printing, with a note inside.
- Fifty reasons you love him in a book: the only gift he couldn't have bought himself.
- An afternoon off from every job on his list, with the jobs done by someone else.
Small gifts he'll use every day
- A good wallet or key ring engraved inside with your wedding date.
- A mug with your inside joke on it, for his desk.
- A star map of the sky on your wedding night.
- His favorite coffee, roasted by someone local, with a new grinder.
- A photo from this year on his phone's lock screen, chosen and set up by you.
- A good bottle of what he likes, with a label you've written yourself.
Last-minute Valentine's gifts for your husband
Left it late? You can sort all of these today, without the post.
- The digital book of reasons: it opens as soon as you pay, so you can send him the link on the morning.
- Digital love coupons, printed at home and folded into his card.
- A table booked at the place you had your first date or your first anniversary.
- A video from the kids, his parents and his friends, collected on the group chat.
- Breakfast in bed before the house wakes up, with his card on the tray.
- Tickets to a film, a gig or a game that evening, babysitter booked.
- A handwritten letter with three things you love about him now that you didn't know when you married him.
- His favorite dinner, cooked at home, with the phones in a drawer.
How to choose a Valentine's gift for your husband
Think about what he's stopped doing for himself since life got busy: the game he used to play, the friends he doesn't see, the lie-in he never gets. The best Valentine's gift for a husband often gives one of those back.
Then tell him why. After years together, a gift card or a watch is easy to forget, but a few lines about the man he's become, or fifty reasons you'd marry him again, is the one he'll keep in the drawer by the bed. For the card, here's what to write in a Valentine's card, with 100 messages to borrow.
If you want the words to be the gift, Reasons You're My Valentine asks about your years together and helps you write fifty reasons he's the one you'd choose every February, one per page, with the two of you illustrated on the cover. You read and change every word before anything is printed. The digital book is $12 and the hardcover is $49. For something smaller, love coupons start at $8, and here are 60 love coupon ideas to fill them with.
For a printed book in the US, order by Tuesday, January 26; our Valentine's gifts page has the dates for other countries. After that, the digital book opens as soon as you pay, so it works right up to the morning of the 14th. Shopping for a boyfriend instead? See our Valentine's gifts for him, and for something with his name on it, personalized Valentine's gifts.
Questions people ask
What should I get my husband for Valentine's Day?+
Something that shows you still notice him: a night away without the kids, something of his restored, tickets to see his team with you beside him, or fifty reasons you love him in a book with the two of you on the cover.
What is the most romantic gift for a husband?+
Words he'd never hear otherwise. Your vows framed with a new promise for this year, a letter about the moment you knew, or a book of reasons you'd marry him again are the gifts husbands keep long after the chocolates are gone.
What do you get a husband who has everything for Valentine's?+
Time and words rather than things: a day planned around him, messages from his oldest friends, or a book of reasons you love him, which is the one thing he can't buy for himself. Here are more gifts for someone who has everything.
What can I give my husband for Valentine's at the last minute?+
Something that doesn't depend on the post: the digital book of reasons (it opens as soon as you pay), digital love coupons printed at home, breakfast in bed, or a table at the place you had your first date.
When do I need to order a printed book for Valentine's Day?+
For a printed book delivered in the US, order by Tuesday, January 26. The digital book opens as soon as you pay, so it works right up to the morning of the 14th.
