With the holidays coming up, it’s hard to find the perfect gift, especially for your significant other. Having been with my boyfriend for two Christmases and two birthdays now, I’ve had to improvise with the gifts. While I do buy him real gifts, I find that the ones that are hand made are often the ones he loves the most. So I decided to compile a list of some ideas that either he gave me, or I gave him. I hope this helps!

1. Scrapbook

I made this gift for my boyfriend and he made me one for my birthday as well. I took some of my favorite moments that we had made together and compiled it into a homemade scrapbook with a cute written page next to each image. My boyfriend, however, decided to make a written entry of everything we had done since a few days before Christmas 2014 and up until April 2015 (my birthday). He then would include pictures, receipts, etc. from that day, as well as the entry of what we did that day. I loved that gift, as it was the most thoughtful gift anyone has ever given me.

2. 52 Reasons I Love You

I made this for my boyfriends 18th birthday. I took a deck of cards and hole punched the top left-hand corner of the cards. I then took a binder ring and used it to hold the cards together. I also included images ontop of the cards. Instead of writing directly on the cards (although you can do that!) I would write on another sheet of paper and Mod Podge it onto the cards!

3. 26 Reasons I Love You

This was a gift for his 19th birthday. I wrote something that I loved about him, or our relationship, that started with the letter of the alphabet. For example: for ‘A’ I would write ‘How athletic you are’. I would then underline the ‘a’ in athletic.

4. Food Gifts

This was a super easy gift to make. You can do the one listed above, or others found online. I made one for his 18th birthday that included Reese’s Pieces that said ‘I love you to pieces’ on it. It was cute AND it allowed him to have a nice snack to enjoy.

5. ___ Reasons I Love You

For this, you can do whatever number you want. For me, I chose to do 15 since my boyfriend and I have been together 15 months. I then bought blank thank you cards, similar to these). I then glued the back of the envelopes to a poster board and put the cards inside the envelope. However, before I put the cards inside the envelopes I would write something I loved about him.

6. Open When Letters

These are seen all over Tumblr and Pintrest. The concept of them is super easy to grasp, and you can make them as personal as you want. You simply take another blank card and on the outside (on the envelope) write ‘Open when…” . An example might be ‘Open when…you miss me”. You then write a letter for your significant other to open when they miss you, or whatever you choose to write on the front. You then close the envelope. Simple as that!

7. Date Themed Gift

I gave my boyfriend this for Christmas 2014. I got him a comfy blanket, two movies, a bunch of boxed candies, popcorn, and popcorn holders. I then wrote a cute note on each of the items I gave him. For the blanket it would say ‘because what’s a movie without cuddling with a comfy blanket’. I also made cute puns about the movies (I bought Endless Love and Grown Ups). It’s a super easy idea and it also allows you two to have a fun date together in the future, win-win!

8. Coupon Book

This one is another simple one. You can write ‘good for…’ on an index card, or some other piece of paper, and then attach them together at the end, similarly to the playing card example above. The idea behind it is that your significant other can redeem these coupons later on. Ideas can include good for one…backrub/movie date/home cooked meal/etc. They can be things that you will have to pay for or things that are free. The choice is yours!

I hope this article helps you with thinking of gift ideas for your significant other!