Gifts for a Husband Who Has Everything: Ideas for Two

Buying for a husband is harder than buying for almost anyone else. You know exactly what he owns, because it is in your house. He buys what he needs. And when you ask, he says the words every spouse dreads: "I don't want anything."

Take him at his word. He does not want a thing. What most husbands who have everything are short of is time with you that is not about the house, the kids or the calendar. The best gift gives you a reason to sit down together. The second best is something small and well made that he would never buy for himself.

The test: will you still be using it together in a year?

Games for evenings together

A two-player game turns a night in into a small occasion — and starts a rivalry that lasts.

• A three-in-one board with chess, checkers and backgammon in one folding set. One gift, three games, and room on the shelf. Rusty on the rules? Chess rules for beginners.
• A cribbage board. Possibly the best card game for two ever devised, with a folding wooden board and a lifetime of rematches. How to play cribbage.
• A wooden maze strategy game. Race your pawn across the board while walling him in. Learned in a minute; argued about for years.
• A backgammon set in a stitched case. For the couple who want one serious game with real strategy — and a doubling cube for when it gets competitive. See backgammon doubling cube rules.
• A deck of cards and a list of games. Card games for two has a dozen.

Something for his pocket

• A pocket watch with an open gear-work cover. For weddings, anniversaries and a waistcoat he has been waiting for an excuse to wear.
• A memento mori coin. Heavy, a little dark, and a reminder to make time for the things that matter — which is rather the point of the gift.

Something for his desk

• A Newton's cradle. He will claim not to need one and touch it every time he passes.
• A metal infinity cube or flip fidget for the hands of a man who sits on long calls.

Anniversary gifts for a husband

The traditional anniversary list gives you a theme to work with:

Write the date and a line inside the lid or on a card that stays with the gift. "First game, first year" on a cribbage board turns a game into a keepsake.

How to choose

• Think of how you spend time together, and buy for that. If evenings are on the sofa, a game. If you travel, something small that packs.
• Choose weight and wood over gadgets. Things that feel substantial feel like gifts.
• Pair two small things — a deck of cards and a cribbage board, a coin and a note — for a gift that looks considered.

For more ideas, see gifts for men who have everything and stocking stuffers for men.