Shopping for my Husband...aagghh!

This weekend is my hubby's birthday.

For the past five years, I've taken him to a NY Yankees game for his birthday because he is a die hard fan. We're trying to get around to all the stadiums as the Yankees play the home team. So far, we've only made it to Camden Yards when they played the Baltimore Orioles. Last year we had tickets to see them play the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field, but we were flying standby on my mom's flight benefits and the flight was oversold so we didn't make it. I was very bummed because last year was the big 3-0 (shh...don't tell him I told you!) and I wanted it to be special. All the more reason why I want this year to be something good.

Unfortunately, this year we don't have the time or money to get to an away game, and with it being the last year at Yankee Stadium, tickets are so hard to get, especially in the price range I'm willing to pay. Granted, I love my husband, but I also don't think that we should break the bank to celebrate one day. Especially, when we have a house that is in dire need of repair!

So, now I'm facing the dilemma of what to get him. He's very hard to shop for and if you ask him what he wants he only tells you a Books-a-Million gift card. That's fine if only one person was buying him a gift, but when my family asks what he wants and I tell everyone a Books-a-Million gift card, it seems like it will get kinda boring. Especially when he's given them the same list for the past few years and Christmas this year! He tells me he'll love it, but I don't know. Thankfully, he's also now added tools to his list. Books & tools. That's all. Oh, and underwear and undershirts, but I cross those off the list because he has drawers full. He's still living in his bachelor days of not doing laundry more than once a month!

What's a wife to do? The other day I was at Target and I noticed they now sell power tools and stuff. I figured since we'll be doing a lot of travelling to work on our house, we'll need to be bringing some tools with us each time we go instead of leaving them there. So, I got a carry on travel tool bag. Hopefully he likes it. Something tells me it will be getting returned for something different, but we'll see.

Still, though, I don't think a $15 bag comes close to being on the same level as Yankees tickets. So, after some more thought, I decided to sell a few things on Craig's List to make some money so that when we're on vacation with his family at the beach in a week or so we can rent jet skis for the day. Should be fun!

I'm also going to make him his favorite meal this weekend which is chicken and grapes with couscous and buster bar dessert. I'll try to post the recipes, accompanied by photos, next week.

My question for you is: do you have a husband/man in your life that is hard to shop for? What do you normally end up doing in these situations?

Hopefully next year I'll be able to go back to Yankees tickets for his birthday. But, I still have the dilemma of Christmas every year.