V-Day Gifts for Your Man According to My Man

Hi Trendies! Mary asked me to guest on her blog once again, and write a companion piece to go along with last week's Trending report. I am happy to oblige, as always. With no further ado, here's 5 ideas for Valentine's Day gifts for your beau.

1. Slippers / Pajamas / Bathrobe

Being in the dead of winter, Valentine's Day presents a great opportunity to stay cozy. And what better way to stay cozy, especially on a lazy Saturday/Sunday, than in new slippers, pjs, and a bathrobe. Extra credit if you get them monogrammed -- I know I love the classic terry cloth Land's End bathrobe Mary got me with my initials on it.

Also, my old slippers didn't survive our recent move. It was for the best. Let's be honest, slippers can get pretty gross. However, I've seen advertised on Facebook a new slipper company (I get the weirdest targeted ads) that has a little shoe that comes with it in order to allow you to wear the slippers outside! The site is mahabis.com -- $100 seems pretty steep, but the idea just might be worth it, hint hint.

2. Ever since opening our wedding gifts, I've discovered the joys of drinking from fancy barware. There are few more enjoyable comforts than pouring a delicious cocktail into a couple of glasses, and savoring the flavor with a loved one or guest... when you're of age, of course. To go along with the fancy glass, get some fancy ice cube trays. I have giant cubes as well as spheres. The spheres are supposed to have some science behind them to stay frozen longer, but I must admit they are a bit difficult to create. Either way, the giant cubes and spheres just look plain old cool.

3. Back to the cold weather gear, one of my favorite gifts ever from Mary was my scarf! I was the in the Notre Dame Marching Band back in the day, and our uniforms featured a unique plaid. Imagine my surprise when Mary presented me with a scarf in the exact same plaid pattern! It looks like that particular scarf is no longer for sale, but any classic plaid pattern will remain classy looking for years to come.

To go along with the scarf, why not some nice gloves as well? Maybe I just have dirty hands and feet, but I find that gloves don't last too long before kicking the bucket, so there will always be a need for another pair.

4. It's tough to classify this next category of gifts. Basically, it's great to receive a gift that is totally unexpected, something I didn't even realize I needed, but that I'll use all the time. Two gifts that Mary has gotten me that fit this model are a recipe/cookbook stand for the kitchen, and a monogrammed dop kit (that she got for me not long after we traveled to visit her mom for the first time... apparently mine was looking rather ragged!). But suffice to say, they are often put to use! The cookbook stand is especially nice since it has a little Plexiglas shield to hold the recipe open (if you're actually using a cookbook) and to keep your recipe free from splashes (especially handy if your recipe is on your phone or tablet!)

5. Finally, this last category is also hard to classify. I play drums, and as I was telling Mary, it's been an uphill battle all my life to convince family that random drum accessories I don't necessarily ask for make a great gift! Seriously, give me some drumsticks, or a music book, or a little gizmo I can hit with a stick and I'm a happy camper. I'm sure whatever your significant other's hobby is, he'll feel the same if you got him something related to it, whether he's into fishing, or woodworking, or whatever!

Have a happy Valentine's Day, readers!