10 men in their 40s share what gifts they'd want for special occasions if they had a $100 budget

Celebrating within a budget

When you are a 40-year-old family man, you have a lot of responsibilities on your shoulders. You have to work in order to provide for the family and raise kids with your spouse. Most of your money goes into paying for essentials and the rest is usually used to gift your spouse or kids something special on their birthdays and other occasions. These men often wish to buy something for themselves but since they dwell on a strict budget, spending an extra dime on self-care or indulging in activities they enjoy, seems out of question. So, u/SignificantSalt8874 on Reddit asked a specific question to the middle-aged men of the community which read: "Happily married men in your 40s, with young kids (under 10), and zero free time, what's something that can be purchased off Amazon for around $100 that you want for your birthday or the holidays?" A lot of men, even those who do not fall in the age bracket or have a family, felt like answering this interesting question and here are some of the most thoughtful answers that many dads and middle-aged men can relate to.

1. Time is precious

A 47-year-old married father of two (9 and 6) in the UK here. I’ll answer honestly and from the heart. The language may not be welcome, but it’s honest. We just—more than anything—want some time on our own. Others have said it, but we genuinely don’t want items or anything that costs money. We’ve honestly got all the things we need. The majority of men I speak to don’t need things to feel content and secure. Honestly. If anyone wants to buy us things, it’s to satisfy their urge of “but I like to give gifts” - please resist this urge as that is about the giver, not about your middle-aged man. What we want more than anything - more than anything - is to be left alone and not asked any questions for a few hours. And we don’t want to be made to feel guilty about it afterward and beforehand. As I said, I know the language I’ve used may not be welcome but I wanted to be honest. u/yearsofpractice

2. Less is more

Quite honestly, absolutely nothing. I think a lot of people my age feel the same way but are too polite to say anything. But I told my family in no uncertain terms: give me the gift of “less stuff.” I have a good job, so if I want/need something I go out and buy it, and I get the exact thing I want. If I have to find a spot to store whatever it is you’re thinking of getting me it automatically means I don’t want it. I have everything I need already. u/dcmcderm

3. Meat thermometer

I got one recently as a gift that I never would have bought for myself and it made the best turkey ever at Thanksgiving that got compliments all around. Not dry at all and perfectly cooked. It told me to take the bird out of the oven about three degrees before reaching temp and I'll be damned, the meat thermometer was right. The temp kept going up over the next 10 minutes and landed at exactly the right temp. The other thing is it does a pretty good job of estimating the remaining time and adjusting it on the fly so once we saw that we weren't going to hit the planned time for dinner, we were able to bump up the temp and see it adjust downwards to our target time. Needless to say, big fan. u/DudeYourBedsaCar

4. Vehicle renovation

Get my vehicle detailed. I don't meet the age requirement but I'm a father of a 9-year-old, 8-year-old and 3-year-old. The back seat is just completely insane. I don't have the time or energy to deal with it. But if someone wanted to be a homie and get my truck detailed it would mean a lot. u/ Numerous-Cover-4527. We try to do it once or twice a year. At first, my husband was not sure about it, why get the car cleaned up so nicely? Then he drove around and... yeah, we gotta get this done. u/imperfectchicken

5. Vacation with spouse

Watch my kids for a few days so I can take a vacation with my spouse without them. u/SmittyMcSmitherson. Wait, a couple of days of full-time babysitting is only $100? Where is this service? And do you get your kids back at the end? u/Neither_Cod_992. Use the Rover app. Tell the dog walker that they're hairless pit bulls. $30 a day and she'll walk them for an hour, feed them and pet them. What else could you possibly need? u/pissclamato

6. Gift cards

$100 visa gift card. If I want something I buy it. Chances are you’re going to get the wrong version of the thing I want and I won’t use it. In my opinion, either something personal to the person or super generic like a gift card. u/contrarianbynature.  If you’re going to do this just send cash or Venmo. Keeping track of the Visa card is a pain, and the sender has to spend a small fee as well. Skip the middle man and the pleasantries. Note that this doesn’t mean in any way that I’m ungrateful, but we shouldn’t have to hide behind this veil of “effort” we call gift cards. u/ClintHour

7. Self-care sessions

I think there are physical gifts men would like: A Brio Beardscape. But I'd like to suggest something different: it starts with a 10-dollar bath bomb. Many men will go their whole lives without feeling pampered, gently touched, or truly taken care of, without something expected in return. Many men will never enjoy things women take for granted like having their hair washed when they get a haircut. Many men will never have their partner set up a romantic night for them. You know your man better than most. Maybe you don't think this is their vibe but think about it. But if my wife told me she sent the kids to her parents for a night and spent that 100 dollars on Amazon on a bath bomb, some massage oil, or my favorite takeout and actually just gave me a night where I felt taken care of and wanted... Drew me a bath, washed my hair, touched me gently... made me feel wanted without expectation of something in return. It'd be the greatest gift ever. u/Coubsauce

8. Kitchen essentials

A nice chef knife and cutting board. Like, something nice enough to bother keeping sharp and maintained. But not too nice because my knife skills are still pretty basic. u/_thepet. If it’s your first real knife, I suggest looking at the Mercer Renaissance 8” chef's knife or the Vitornox Fib rox. If you are into Japanese knives, I highly suggest Shiro Kamo, Gesshin stainless, or Takamura (either VG10 or SG2) 210mm gyutos as a starting point, as well as a Larchwood end-grain board (medium or large one-hander from the Larch Wood Canada store). u/EmotionalBrontosaur

9. Lego sets

Lego. u/bradfo83. I had an unopened Star Wars set from 10 years ago, kids wanted to play with it and I let them. The set is completely messed up, pieces are missing, etc. Just checked the price out of curiosity and an unopened box was around $700 on eBay. I am still crying when I think of it. u/CaseyFake. Just wait for Black Friday and get yourself something awesome! Well, that's my plan but I also know it will be definitely more than 100 bucks. u/Orbit1883

10. Affordable goodies

That's me! Pizza cutter, electric heated throw (I work from home and it's way cheaper than heating that room), a voucher to an experience day so I can have a day off (in my case it's for a jam and chutney-making day), vouchers for whatever the major home improvements store chain in your country, cheese (plenty of suppliers online), men's snacks such as pork scratchings, annual gold subscription to Flight Radar 24, posh shower gel, some nice socks, some might appreciate a nice photo frame to put in a picture of their kids, a decent power bank. If he flies a lot do not go higher than 10,000ma capacity and a decent USB cable and charger. People think a USB cable is a USB cable. Believe me, there can be vast differences. u/Fwoggie2