40 Gifts for Him on his 40th Birthday

I have spent a lot of time this year thinking about my husband’s impending 40th birthday this year, wondering what to do and how to make it special.  He didn’t want a lot of fuss and then Penny from Parentshaped, gave me the fantastic idea of getting him 40 presents to mark the occasion.  I though this was a wonderful idea and got to work.  However, finding 40 different gifts is quite a challenge and I wished that I had started shopping much earlier.  But I did it and it was worth all of the effort involved as my husband was beyond thrilled and loved the variety of the presents and I was able to dispel the myth that buying presents for men is difficult.

So here is my definitive guide to 40 gifts for him.

First of all here are a few tips;

• Start early.  If you have a significant birthday coming up, start planning and shopping early.  I made the decision quite late on and had to go on a panic shopping spree a few days before the big day to make sure I had the right number of gifts.
• Make a list.  A list is useful as it keeps a record of your ideas but is also a place to keep a record of what you have bought and how close to your total you are.
• Keep to a budget.  Forty presents are a lot and it can get expensive but remember that you don’t have to pay for all of the presents.  Home-made presents are just as nice and you could get the children to chip in and make or bake something special for the big occasion.
• Collaborate with family and friends.  I did my haul by myself but afterwards a few people said that they would have liked to contribute.  See who wants to make a contribution and see if you can make a couple of the presents really special.

Sporty Gifts

My husband loves sport.  Sport of any kind but in particular rugby and football.  The first thing I thought about was tickets to go and watch a match of some sort but as I was on a budget, any premiership matches were too expensive.  He went to see the WASPS a few weeks ago with the boys and they had a fantastic day and all said how much they would like to go and watch them play again and when I looked at tickets for their new home; the Ricoh arena, you could buy a family ticket (two adults and two children) for £35 which I thought was great value.

Magazine subscriptions are a favourite present idea of mine and I managed to pick up a half-price subscription to Rugby World magazine for the year which I know both he and my youngest son will enjoy.  Subscription gifts are great as they last long after the birthday and it is nice to receive something nice in the post every few weeks.  You can also buy digital subscriptions for a lot of magazines now too which might be preferable.

Sport also offers endless possibilities in the form of clothing, memorabilia and equipment.  Rugby and football shirts can be pricey but there are so many different products on sale online and in the shops that you are bound to find something that will suit.  There are always sporting autobiographies on sale and even though he isn’t a big reader, my husband loves these.  I picked up Roy Keane’s autobiography quite in one of our local supermarkets and he seems to be enjoying it.

If you are buying for someone who prefers doing sport to watching it, why not buy a voucher for a sporting experience; a lesson, a session, gym membership maybe?  If they are into one sport in particular, is there any equipment that you could buy.

Tech/Gadgets

People often think that men are difficult to buy for but I think that there is so much choice these days, that you can treat the men in your life quite easily.  Gadgets and Tech products are always popular and I have gathered a few ideas for the man who has almost everything.

If the man in your life has a ‘man cave’ where he likes to spend time, whether that is a shed or a specific room in the house, this is the perfect inspiration for lots of gift ideas.  You could buy something to decorate this space such as a neon sign or light which would make a great gift.  Find out more about this gift idea from Neon Mama.

My husband used to pride himself on being able to get up early in the morning, but years of very early mornings and general parenting has changed all of that.  The Lumie Bodyclock is a very clever little device.  It is essentially an alarm clock that wakes you up naturally using natural light combined with gentle natural sounds to wake you gradually from your sleep and gets you off to a positive start to the day as it encourages a good mood, productivity and energy levels throughout the day.

The Lumie Bodyclock Active also has sound functions such as wave sounds that can help to lull you off to sleep along with a white noise function that can mask any noise that might prevent sleep and also natural morning sounds such as a dawn chorus or a rooster to encourage your natural wake up.

Easy to set up, the Lumie Bodyclock 250 has many different functions too; a radio, different time settings for the wake-up light in the morning, sun ray effect, dimmable bedside light, security light and night-light function.  It can also be used to complement a light box for SAD sufferers.

We have been using the Lumie Bodyclock Active 250 for a few days now and it really does bring a sense of calm to out mornings which is very welcome.  The light comes on very gradually until fully lit, it fills the room with a gentle and natural light and we have it set to a dawn chorus when it is time to get up.  Find out more about the Lumie Bodyclock Active and the other Lumie products on their website.

An EasyLock is another clever little gadget which has amused my husband no end.  It is a handy portable lock that is really easy to use.  To use the EasyLock, you open the door, place the stainless steel latch into the lock plate in the door frame and then you press the lock down firmly.  Check the door is secure and the job is done.  Designed with students, travellers or people who rent in mind, this is a really useful thing to have.  My husband has locked most doors in the house and keeps joking about locking himself away.  Find out more about the EasyLock here.

Clothes

Clothes are always a good present for men, let’s face it, they always need clothes and if I didn’t buy clothes for my husband, he would end up wearing nothing.  I have been lucky enough to find two excellent websites for men’s clothing.

TShirt Grill is a brilliant website and one that I will definitely shop from in the future.  Not just for men, but for women and juniors too, TShirt Grill are “dedicated to giving its customers access to exclusive cutting-edge clothing via the internet…..the latest styles and designs at real value for money prices.”  They have the most amazing selection of t-shirts and hooded sweatshirts all screen printed with designs from TV programs, films, music, sports and with funny slogans.  The range is fantastic and I could have chosen lots not only for my husband but also for the teen who was quite keen on the designs that I chose for my husband.

I opted first of all for two of the many Star Wars themed t-shirts and then I couldn’t resist the Captain America t-shirt as this is another favourite in this house.  The favourite was the Keep Calm and Come to the Dark Side T-shirt which has already been worn and washed and I am really impressed with the quality of the t-shirts and they wash and wear really well.

TShirt Grill is well worth a visit and the prices are really reasonable too.

Staying on the clothing theme, Guide London is a very different style as it is men’s designer clothing but again I was really impressed with the range and the quality of clothes on offer on this site.

My husband wears a lot of shirts and generally wears white shirts to work every day, so I was looking for something with a bit of colour which he could wear for work or going out in.  Guide London have an amazing selection and they are all really unusual in design with nice detailing.  I chose the Mini Geo Printed Shirt and it is lovely; patterned but not too bright, a great colour, excellent quality and really smart looking.  If you are looking for something really smart or special, I recommend a visit to Guide London as they will have the perfect thing.

Socks might not seem like the most exciting present for a special birthday but as my husband’s socks seem to magically disappear, he is always happy to receive socks as a present.  The socks from London Sock Co are no ordinary socks, they offer socks that are designed to be soft, great quality and durable and they also have a Sock Club which is a unique monthly sock subscription service.

We were sent a pair of Simply Sartorial Skye Blue socks from their exclusive David Gandy collection and my husband was very impressed with the soft feel of the socks and said that these were the most comfortable socks he had ever worn.  Find out more about the London Sock Co here.

Personalised

Personalised gifts are a great idea for significant birthdays as they are a lovely reminder of the day.  I knew that I wanted a few personalised gifts within the 40 as they would be something a little bit special.  My first port of call was one of my favourite sites; Getting Personal.  I reviewed for Getting Personal earlier in the year and we received a personalised football book to review for Father’s day and so I knew that they would have lots of brilliant 40th present ideas and they did.  There are so many brilliant ideas but in the end, I decided on a pair of cufflinks.

Not just any cufflinks, they are engraved with EST and the year of birth.  They come in a lovely gift box and at £19.99 these make a fantastic gift idea.

Another of my favourite sites for gift ideas is Not On The High Street with so many unique and original ideas, I found the perfect thing; a personalised 40th birthday typographic print.  You add the person’s name and date of birth and then up to seventeen words that describe that person.  The results are stunning and we were both thrilled with the results.

This is the ultimate personalised gift and a lovely thing to create for someone.  The print measures 40cm x 40 cm and I opted for the unmounted, unframed version and then needed to find a suitable frame to put it on.

Luckily, eFRAME came to the rescue and asked if I was interested in reviewing one of their custom-made frames.  This is something I have never bought before and I was amazed how easy it was to find the frame that I wanted.  eFRAME offer a range of services; custom frames of a huge range of sizes and styles, ready-made frames, a new print and frame service where you can have your images made in the frames which arrive ready to hang, mounts, mirrors and you can even design your own.

I knew that I wanted a black frame and by inputting the size of the print, I was offered a whole range of different frames of different thicknesses and finishes.  Ordering was easy and the frame arrived within a few days and was extremely well packaged and the frame was in pristine condition.   The print looks perfect and I would absolutely use eFRAME again as I am very impressed with the range of options and the prices.

Another personalized gift men would appreciate, especially a superhero fan, would be a custom bobblehead figure. You can design the whole bobblehead and make it look like him by giving a picture and a complete set of instructions to the bobblehead manufacturer such as CheapBobbleheads. They are surprisingly affordable and easy to order.

My last personalised gift is something rather different but it made me chuckle and my husband certainly smiled when he opened this present.  U Star Novels offer you the chance to star in your very own novel.  From classics to romance novels, there are lots of books to choose from and whichever you choose, yourself and your partner and friends can feature as main characters throughout the novel.  I loved this idea and knew that this would be a truly unique idea. The personalised romance novels range from romantic and sensual through to more erotic selections and once you have decided on your story, you answer a few questions about the characters you want included; names, nicknames, hair and eye colour and preferences and they will do the rest to literally create your very own novel.

Fever in France appealed to me as it was a James Bond-style tale of intrigue and romance.  This is a really unusual gift but it is a really fun idea and it is great fun to see our names in print like that.

Music

I can’t remember the last time that I bought someone music as a present.  Fewer and fewer people buy CD’s these days as the world of music has turned to digital downloads.  Albumcards is a fantastic new service that enables you to send a personalised greeting card (the album cover) which contains an album download in the card itself.  How clever is that?

The Albumcards site is very easy to use.  There is a huge selection of albums to choose from.  Once you have chosen your album, you decide on a message to write on the card.  Add the name and address that you want the card sent to, pay and the job is done.  The card arrives with your personal message inside and at the bottom, there is a download code.  The recipient has to set up a free Albumcards account and they can download their album and the music can be downloaded onto any advice and is compatible with Android and Apple devices (they plan to release an IOS app next year)

If you are looking for a gift for a music lover, this is the perfect thing.  We received the latest albums from Sam Smith and Ed Sheeran and I can recommend both albums too.

Food and Drink

A lot of the forty gifts that I gave were edible.  My husband loves chocolate and so it was easy to pick up lots of different bars and boxes of chocolates that he loves.  This is a great way of filling the gap too if you have exhausted your gift ideas and need something inexpensive to make up the remaining numbers.

A meal out somewhere is also a nice gift or maybe a hamper, lots of places allow you to make up your own hampers which I think is a fantastic idea as that way you can fill it with things that you know will be used.  How about a nice bottle of wine or something stronger?  You can also make some edible presents with or without the children.

Super Heroes

Every dad wants to be a superhero, don’t they? My husband loves superheroes and has spent many years teaching the children about his favourite superheroes.

Thanks largely to Marvel, superheroes are back with a vengeance.  Everywhere you look, there is Marvel merchandise and I know that both my teenage son and husband love the whole Marvel concept and a lot of the products would be very well received.  One of my favourite sites when I am looking for presents for men is Truffle Shuffle, which have the most amazing range of products and an extremely impressive selection of all things Marvel.

I managed to pick up some rather cool superhero socks from Sports Direct and this gorgeous notebook from another site that I will be revisiting; Two Little Boys.

So there you have it, just a few of the forty presents that I gave to my husband for his fortieth.  I am really pleased with the selection of gifts and he absolutely loved them all.  I just hope that he isn’t going to expect this every year.

This post is made up a mixture of products that I bought and were sent for review and some ideas.  All opinions are my own.  A huge thank you to all companies that contributed gifts to review, I couldn’t have done it without you.

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