At some point over the winter, I developed a craving for fresh-squeezed orange juice, but whenever I would order it—at restaurants, on Fresh Direct, wherever—the juice in question was always some pale and decidedly not-fresh-squeezed imitation of the real thing. So not long ago, my boyfriend Seth presented me with this excellent Cuisinart citrus juicer, which I now use just about every morning. I know you’re thinking a juicer is not the world’s most romantic gift, but to me, it actually kind of is, because it means Seth was paying attention, and what’s more romantic than that? OK, your turn: what did you receive, and from whom, and why do you love it?
I have the mushiest, most sentimental guy. Our first Christmas, he gave me roots of peonies (my favorite flower) and a ring that he handmade from a craft store. I wear it every day! He also regularly surprises me with food treats – I love onion rings from Wahlburger and the birthday cake shakes from Epic Burger.
He also bought me an omelet pan which he uses to make omelets every Sunday morning. I’ve never actually used it. Frankly, that’s the best gift.
Every mother’s day my son (who is now 30) writes me a letter about a reason he loves me. Sometimes it’s something I never realized he knew about or noticed. I have a stack by now and if my house ever burned down, those letters and my dog are the only things I’d grab.
I know how you feel about the juicer, because one of the things I love about my husband is how good he’s always been at buying me gifts based on my actual interests/needs, instead of going for the generically romantic. He recently bought me a portable lap top stand because I often work from home and have a cat that must be on my lap at all times. This makes both possible.
My then boyfriend, now husband of nearly 12 years went through my stack of Lucky Magazines and the pages I had stickers on. From that he picked out a lovely gold Zoe Chicco necklace with a tiny diamond, however, he didn’t realize it wouldn’t ship immediately and was worried I wouldn’t have something to open on Christmas. So, he found a literal “Linus blanket” that was a limited run created in partnership with Project Linus. That fleecy blanket with the satin edges and a patch that bears Linus holding his blanket is still a wubby for me when I need comfort. And the necklace has stood the test of time. He is a good gift giver- he takes notice as well and these days buys me solutions to the juicing kind of issue. However, that Christmas was fun when we were young and broke. We were still new yet those gifts made me feel known.
When we were first dating, my now-husband secretly looked through my jewelry collection – which is extensive, albeit not fancy – to get an idea of my style. He surprised me with two silver rings that year on my birthday, and our dating anniversary, that are so *me* that I knew he was a keeper. One looks like vines are wrapped around my finger, the other is a 3D sphere that you put your finger through and it has a cool X design over the finger. I wear them every single day.
Congrats on finding a guy who pays attn! Haha! I’ve got one of those (the guy, not the juicer 😉). Well, most of the time. My favorite surprise gift was an antique gold signet ring from my parents. I had mentioned it a long time ago to my mom, who is an antique nut (read:Hoarder). But usually, I’m thinking this: https://images.app.goo.gl/U51N5AttyJKYZmLm8 And she’s thinking this: https://images.app.goo.gl/eUSrYXagfShGMPsx9. Thankfully, we were on the same page!
My oldest son (14) was on his 8th grade east coast trip this past May. His class traveled to Virginia, DC, Philly and NY. He brought home a special Mother’s Day gift….a coffee mug with the map of the US, showing red and blue states. It says “I have a Dream.” When you pour in hot liquid, the red states turn blue. I love that he knows me so very well.
The year before, he gave me a $20 bill with a note that said, “Dad says I can’t give you money, but I don’t care.”
Francine, I would love to know where to get one of those mugs!
Me too!
My son picked it up from a museum gift shop. I found the same one on Amazon and Google Express.
Let’s hope this friggin’ nightmare changes soon. I’m really, really worried this will carry over to 2024.
https://express.google.com/u/0/product/5175267876791404377_2280668011060600278_131261411?utm_source=google_shopping&utm_medium=tu_cu&utm_content=eid-lsjeuxoeqt>im=CK62_d2BjseR8gEQ8obgjMjiupvlARiwwc0HIgNVU0QokJ_16AUw48fLPg&utm_campaign=131261411&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIqeaxg8-H4wIVEarsCh0tQQxnEAQYASABEgIS5fD_BwE
My husband ordered a cryptogram book to keep me busy while recovering from surgery. I have already done every one that’s available in local stores, so he researched to find one that got good reviews, which I didn’t already have. The quotes, when revealed, put me in a positive frame of mind. Plus, he took me to appointments and is looking after me (even when I was tossing my cookies). This is love, is it not?
My husband and I were dating, and he gave me a portable drafting table for Christmas. I was taking classes at the local JC and really interested in becoming an architect. As someone else above said, I knew then that I loved him. We spent 25 years together, married just short of 21 when he died suddenly in 2011. I’m still realizing the depth of his love for me, so thank you for asking this!
For my birthday one year, my husband gave me the gift of him making the bed every day.
My SiL bought me a voucher to a local venue called The Cooking Room, for Christmas. I chose a demonstration class at the beginning of March (ended up being the coldest night of the year,my vehicle registered -38C on the way home🥶) and I don’t know when I’ve enjoyed such a convivial evening with 23 strangers so much! The food was delicious, the cook/instructors were funny and knowledgeable and the wine was flowing! We were all there to eat, learn and appreciate- no one was making noises about “oh I’m just so full from lunch I couldn’t eat another bite- dessert? Nuh uh”. It was fabulous fun and I can’t wait to go back.
A gift that wasn’t recent but was one of the best things I ever received was a Sodastream machine for Christmas 3 years ago. My son bought it for me when he could barely afford it but he takes all our bottles in and could see how much I love my sparkling water! I use it every single day- it really is the best.
Thank you for this, Kim. I needed something positive and all these posting are so life affirming and sweet and POSITIVE!
While irs not the most creative gift. my husband gives me beautiful perfumes.
The most recent is “DEBASER” D.S.& Durga. It’s gorgeous.
Caroline It’s not easy to buy scent for another person. That he chooses scent for you and chooses well is so lovely and rare!
The best gift I received came directly from my husband’s hands. For some reason, he took a course on how to make pop-up books, and unbeknownst to me, he made me the most beautiful pop-up book, complete with our home, our kids and our story. It is my most treasured item.
That’s SO lovely!
This is not a gift of the romantic sort , but I was moved nonetheless.
My son’s friend (who is interning for Mayor Pete) gave me a pile of Mayor Pete swag -I was surprised & deeply touched. I’m a huge fan and didn’t realize she knew.
You know, it’s really nice when you get the message that says “I see you!”
On a trip to the desert with my husband, I eyeballed a gorgeous, authentic Navajo squash blossom necklace in a vintage shop – tried it on but it was expensive and even though I had wanted one for years, I just couldn’t justify spending the money. I knew I would regret not getting it but that’s how it goes sometimes. The next day, while I was doing god knows what – probably avoiding heat exhaustion by being eyeballs deep in a pool with a g&t in my hand – he secretly called the shop, bought it, and had it shipped back home. He managed to hide that necklace for 6 months (!) and gave it to me for my birthday later that year.
I’m not a material girl but just to put this in perspective, I have an ex-husband who once gave me coloring books and a board game for my birthday. Unwrapped.
Not something I received lately, but the most thoughtful gift I’ve ever received was an atlas. I love maps and have since childhood. I just love leafing through an atlas looking at maps or looking at a roadmap or globe and daydreaming about places to visit. Years ago I had a terrible boyfriend who would relentlessly ridicule me for this (and many other things too. He was not a good boyfriend.) After we broke up I started dating my now husband. He knew I liked maps, but didn’t know about boyfriend 1’s taunting. One day, just because, he bought me a giant world atlas as a gift. This is when I knew he was the one.
I am also a map-a-holic. What a truly wonderful gift on so many levels.
I’m sure you know now that when someone ridicules you, it’s their own insecurities talking (not that it does suck to be ridiculed). But wow, what an extraordinary thing to ridicule someone about. Seriously, your love of maps? So very glad that you are rid of that dude. I had a boyfriend who needed to ridicule Don Draper (“he’s so gay”) while I was watching Mad Men.
A juicer is an extremely thoughtful gift, especially since it’s something you enjoy daily.
I received a dumpster for my birthday from my husband and proceeded to fill it up.
Even though we only use the basement for storage and I rarely go down there, I feel lighter having removed all of the junk that lingered for years.
After a trip to Scotland and England, staying in Airbnbs with electric kettles for tea, i came back home missing both my morning tea and morning scone. My husband surprised me with the Cuisinart electric kettle with 6 temp settings for different kinds of tea plus French press. And he ordered me a cookbook from the bakery in London we visited every morning, which had a great recipe for scones!
Which cookbook? Please share!
I second this 🙂 Would love to know.
Thanks for asking! Gail’s Artisan Bakery Cookbook by Roy Levy with Gail Mejia. Note: It’s British, so most of the ingredients are by weight (e.g., 200 grams butter) altho things like salt and baking powder in tablespoons/teaspoons, but I already use a food scale because it’s so much easier to just weigh things.