The holiday gifting dynamic between husband and wife can be complex. Some couples try to outdo one another in some sort of passive-aggressive competition to show who loves the other more. Some partners enjoy minimalist holidays and put restrictions on the quantity and price of the gifts they give. However, many marriages are comprised of one partner that is great at giving thoughtful, heartfelt gifts, while the other is not as great and winds up buying a bunch of last-minute Starbucks gift cards.
Historically, the burden of poor gift ideas has fallen to the husband. But, no longer! The Manual is here with excellent gift suggestions that will keep you out of the dog house. Whether you only need one great gift, or all 11, these will all do the trick.
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The Knot Together Journal
If this is the first holiday you and your new bride spend together, you’ll want to make it memorable. Even if she’s not the mushy, sentimental type, the Knot Together journal will jerk the tears right out of her. This thoughtful journal helps you through the honeymoon phase and supports a lasting marriage. It provides daily prompts like “What’s the hardest part about joining my family,” or “When did you first know you loved me.” It may seem cheesy initially, but when looking back at this on your 50th wedding anniversary, you’ll both be glad you bought it. Plus, it’s super affordable!
Hydros Slim Pitcher and Bottle Bundle
Suppose your wife is the practical type who enjoys a functional gift with an attractive and thoughtful design. In that case, the Hydros water pitcher, slim pitcher, water bottle, or gift bundle is an excellent option. These sustainable and space-saving water filtration devices have interchangeable filters made from natural coconut shell carbon in a BPA-free casting. Tiny yet powerful, these filters can filter for up to two months or 40 gallons of water, whichever comes first, and filter five times faster than the competition.
Aarke Carbonator 3
Is your wife a seltzer fiend like many women (and men) in the U.S.? If so, a thoughtful gift that she’ll love and will significantly reduce your annual seltzer budget is the Aarke Carbonator 3. This sleek and stylish water carbonator is one you wouldn’t be ashamed of displaying on your countertop. With a precision nozzle and a BPA-free refillable water bottle, there are no cords or batteries—just delicious carbonated water with the press of a lever. Aarke also makes great flavor drops to spice things up.
Brava Oven
Sometimes investing in a big-ticket holiday gift can be a life-changing decision for both you and your spouse. The Brava is one of those gifts. It’s a multifunctional cooking device for the kitchen that uses patented Pure Light Technology to provide healthy, delicious food. It comes with thousands of pre-programmed recipes and nine pre-set cooking functions from reheat to air fry, all controllable from your phone. When you cook with light instead of heat, that means no preheating, meaning you get to spend less time in the kitchen and more time at the dinner table.
Aether Marsh Pullover
This Marsh Pullover (or any clothing, really) from the urban, chic Los Angeles-based Aether will be the perfect gift for the fashionista wife. Initially a men’s brand with a mission to create fashionable yet functional modern active outdoor wear, Aether launched its women’s line in 2012 with the same premise. Aether also offers a line of shoes and other accessories to complement any garment.
Plants From Plants.com
A gift from Plants.com is perfect for the partner with a green thumb that also enjoys not leaving the house. Plants.com provides an extensive shopping experience where you can search for plants by type, lifestyle, or room. They even have special Christmas and gift options. While shipping plants might seem questionable, we tested it out, and they arrive at your doorstep looking healthy and in pristine condition. Plus, if your wife isn’t the best at keeping plants alive, each plant has detailed plant care instructions. Also, the plants on Plants.com are reasonably priced—just in case you need frequent replacements.
Read more: Best Gifts for Plant Lovers
De’Longhi La Specialista Arte Espresso Machine
Like the Aarke Carbonator 3, another great holiday gift that could wind up saving your family some dough, in the long run, is the La Specialista Arte Espresso Machine from De’Longhi. This espresso machine offers the same tools your baristas use in your favorite neighborhood coffee shop. By crafting your own lattes, americanos, and double espressos at home, you can put the money you save buying daily coffees toward, say, better coffee in general.
Leeway Flute Glass
This set of flute glasses from Leeway is a great way to get ready to cheer the new year. Leeway sells curated dinnerware, glassware, and flatware to reflect how real people live life. It knows plates and glasses get broken, and spoons fall into the garbage disposal. That’s why Leeway offers designer-quality home goods at affordable prices.
Underclub
At some point during every marriage, the husband thinks it’s a good idea to buy his wife a sexy set of underwear or some lingerie. While sometimes this works out, many times it isn’t the right size, or the wife looks at the husband with that “you’re kidding, right?” expression. Instead, why not get her a subscription to a women-owned underwear company that knows what women (and men) want? With the subscriptions, your wife can choose between matching sets (a stunning complete lingerie set) or underwear bottoms (1-2 pairs of luxurious bottoms) per month. All subscriptions are curated by Underclub’s expert stylists to your wife’s preferences and feedback.
H20 + Refreshing Gel Moisturizer
When it comes to skincare products, women themselves have difficulty finding and sticking to a product they like. That’s why most husbands don’t have a great track record of gifting beauty products to their significant other, but H20 + is helping to turn that around. H20 + uses strict EU and Japanese quality standards that restrict the use of over 1,600 ingredients deemed harmful. In contrast, the U.S. standard only bans 30. The brand’s products utilize pure water technology dual-delivery hydration system that is never tested on animals and contains only naturally derived scents. The refreshing gel moisturizer is one of the top-rated products, but H20 + offers many great gift options.
Trifecta Meal Subscription
If there’s one thing that most wives like, it’s clean, healthy eating. Well, at least most of the time. Trifecta provides fresh meals backed by science to deliver maximum nutrition. Although the brand targets athletes, Trifecta is the perfect option for anyone looking to develop healthier eating habits. Professional chefs and nutritionists curate Trifecta’s menus to bring you fresh and exciting new meals every week.
A big objection that some people have with using the service is that you can select between clean, paleo, keto, vegetarian, or vegan meal plans. Still, you can’t actually pick your meals. Having had the opportunity to try a week’s worth of meals, we can say that they were all delicious and there wasn’t one we didn’t enjoy. Besides eating healthy, Trifecta meals are a great time-saver for anyone looking for a quick, healthy meal but can’t go to the market or cook.
