Today (August 21st) is a special day for us – it’s the day we first started our cross-country drive from AZ to NC last year. The day symbolized sadness as to what we’d be leaving behind, but hope for the future of our little family. Suffice to say, we love living in NC and are very happy with our decision, yet we do miss all our family and friends back in AZ dearly.
John’s birthday is August 24th and I’m so excited to celebrate my husband turning a year older! Last year, we were on Day 4 of our drive, so we didn’t do anything for his birthday. I got him a card and we went out to dinner, but we were also completely exhausted from being on the road for four days with our little ones. I think a week after his birthday I made him a cake…but that might have been the year before, I honestly can’t remember.
This year, we are doing something completely out of the ordinary for us.
We are hiring our first babysitter for the girls!
My mom and sister are the only people who have ever watched our girls, so this is a big first for us. I will admit that I prefer to be watching my girls myself, but the lady who’s watching them is actually one of the women who works at the girls’ daycare, and the girls LOVE HER (like more than me, seriously) so I know they’ll be in good hands. And it’s not even that I don’t “trust” anyone – it’s more that I don’t want to subject anyone to the life that is my little ones 😉
If it was my birthday, we would not be hiring a babysitter. Instead, we’d make dinner and watch a movie together after the girls went to bed. However, it’s John’s birthday, and he wanted to go out on a date with me (can’t say I blame him…hahaha, jk). We’ll probably spend $50 on the babysitter and $50 on dinner, but some alone time with my husband sounds perfect right now, so it’s money well spent.
However, birthdays do NOT have to cost $100. They can cost much less (and much more, of course). It really is up to you and your spouse. John and I don’t normally go “all out” for any holidays, so for birthdays it can be fun to splurge a little. For my 30th in July, we went on a boat tour and John took me shopping. It was perfect 🙂
The idea of birthdays got me thinking about frugal ways you can celebrate the man in your life. I’ve compiled a fun list of ideas to share with you all.
Frugal Birthday Ideas for Your Husband
Make him a coupon book. I’m sure you’ve seen these all over Pinterest, but coupon books are a creative gift idea for your husband (as long as you follow through with them!). Ideas for coupons include back rubs, watching a movie of his choice, cooking breakfast or dinner of his choice, giving him a “free day” to do what he wants (this is especially sweet if you have kids), taking on his chores for a week, and more. While I strongly encourage doing these types of things regularly in your marriage, it never hurts to give a little extra!
Write him a love letter. Confession: Maybe John and I are just super unromantic, but we’ve never written love letters to each other. I think what we lack in writing, we make up for in talking, though. John and I are very vocal about our wants/needs and we communicate regularly with each other. However, writing a love letter is the perfect way to express your thoughts to your husband without any distractions. Give it to him with his favorite meal and you’ve created a great, frugal gift.
Send him golfing for the day. Golfing isn’t necessarily frugal, but it doesn’t have to break the bank, either. Weekday rates are typically much cheaper than weekend ones, you can offer to gift him 9 holes instead of 18, you can look for a Groupon, or you can choose a city golf course instead of a high-end country club. If your husband is anything like mine, he won’t care where he’s golfing…he’ll just be happy he’s playing!
Bake him a dessert of his choice. Other than last year (I think…), this is a tradition in our family. Whoever’s birthday it is gets to pick a dessert of their choice for me to make. I love baking, so this is a win, win! John picked a German chocolate cake this year, but I’m thinking of making this chocolate coffee cake for him and adding shredded coconut on top. Does that cake not look incredible?!
Let him be in charge of the day. John and I used to do this before we had kids. If it was my birthday, I got to pick everything we did for that day. My day normally involved shopping, watching my favorite show at the time, and going out for dinner and drinks. John’s day normally involved going to the casino, watching his favorite movie, golfing (possibly), and going out for dinner and drinks. With kids, this idea can still work, you’ll just have to cater your plans around nap time 🙂
For John’s birthday, we’re going out to dinner tomorrow, I’ll bake him a cake on Sunday most likely, and on Monday I’ll cook him whatever he wants for dinner. I’m also getting him a wallet and a belt which I’ll let him pick out over the weekend.
What’s your favorite way to celebrate your husband’s birthday? What are your frugal birthday ideas for your husband?
Alexandra @ My Urban Family says
atI love the idea of just picking exactly what you want to do for that day. It’s a perfect excuse of not being productive for a day and just having fun 🙂 The love letters are a cute addition to that too!
Christina @ Embracing Simple says
atHappy belated birthday to your hubby! And congrats on your 1 year move anniversary, what an exciting milestone!! 🙂
Holly@ClubThrifty says
atCongrats on finding a babysitter you trust! That’s the hardest part. I think it’s easier to hire a sitter as the kids get older. Now that my girls are 4 and 6, they can talk and tell me if anything happens.
Daisy @ Simplicity Relished says
atI think baking my husband his favorite dessert is a fantastic idea. We usually do birthday dinners at home, and the birthday person picks out their favorite dish to make together. It’s way cheaper than a meal out, and I daresay we’re pretty good cooks! 😉
Sarah Brooks says
atOooo that’s an awesome idea!! I agree – homecooked food is usually so much better than meals out! I will have to keep this in mind for the next birthday in our family!
Abigail @ipickuppennies says
atMy husband’s birthday is 6 days before Christmas. So he got shafted for many years, having everything rolled into Christmas and/or friends not being in town. I tend to let hm name his activities… within reason.
We usually use movie/popcorn/drink tickets from a rewards program for a free trip to the movies. He gets to the pick the restaurant — again, within reason — and he gets a small present to differentiate it from Christmas.
If you don’t do rewards programs, you can buy discounted gift cards online for movie theaters or restaurants. You can also scope out his favorite eateries (and even some other places) to see if they have birthday freebies/discounts.
Sarah Brooks says
atOh those are great ideas!!! I always forget to tell restaurants that it’s someones birthday when we do go out, normally because we’re not actually out on the day of, so I feel guilty haha. My mom’s birthday is 4 days after Christmas – I also try to get something else to differentiate it from Christmas gifts. It’s hard shopping for people who’s birthday is that close to Christmas!!!
Jess @ Best Credit Cards Canada says
atThe coupon book is always a cute idea although, we usually forget to actually follow through on them. I like the idea of the birthday person getting to the pick the day, this is more or less what we do too. And mine always includes a dinner out as well. Congrats on getting a sitter for the first time! I totally understand that is a big step. We have a 15 month old baby and we have never hired a sitter either. We will when we’re ready. And I’ll look forward to it hahah!
Sarah Brooks says
atThanks!! I will say our date night out was MUCH needed!! Whenever we’re alone, we flirt more and just generally enjoy each other more. It’s really nice to be reminded of that hahahaha.