Year after year, there are sales ads and gift guides dedicated to helping you find the perfect Father’s Day gift. What if I told you that there are 5 gifts that your husband would love to have and they cost you absolutely nothing?
One of my husband’s biggest complaints has been that most holidays are too commercialized and we get away from the meaning of what we are celebrating.
I used to think he was just being a grouch, but I’ve come to realize that there was a bit of truth in his rant. We often focus on getting the perfect gift on Father’s Day, instead of focusing on the person we are celebrating.
This Father’s Day, try giving your husband these 5 things. It will save you some time in line at the store.
Respect
In the book Love & Respect: The Love She Most Desires; The Respect He Desperately Needs, Dr. Emerson Eggerichs describes why a man’s need for respect is so important:
That a husband values respect more than love is very difficult for many women to grasp. God has made you to love and see life through pink lenses focused on love. Of course he values your love–more than words can describe–but he spells love R-E-S-P-E-C-T.
As women, we tend to try to influence our husbands by browbeating them.
Maybe if we can guilt trip them enough, they will listen, or do what we have asked them to do. However, men crave respect as much as we need love.
What would happen if we started respectfully requesting things? I think husbands would choose respect over a Father’s Day gift any day.
Admiration
Do you remember the first day you laid eyes on your husband?
Do you remember the first time you saw him holding your child?
Do you remember the feelings of love and admiration that overwhelmed you?
Don’t let the day-to-day frustrations and miscommunication keep you from having those same feelings. Nothing makes a man feel more proud that to have his wife admire him for who he is, and what he does for his family.
Give him a kiss when he comes home and thank him for working hard. Tell him how proud you are of the sacrifices he makes daily. Then watch for a smile.
Emotional Support
As women, we often make the mistake of thinking our husbands don’t need emotional support. Perhaps it’s the masculine subliminal messages we have been receiving through everyday culture. Men are people, just like we are.
They have bad days, disappointments, fears and grieve losses. As wives, our job is to support our husbands in every way, but especially with emotional support.
If they can’t find solace at home, they will fulfill that need in another way.
This Father’s Day, take some time to listen to your husband.
Even if you don’t have a solution to his problem, take the time to listen.
Hear his concerns.
Hold his hand while he talks.
Appreciation (Not Just on Father’s Day)
This is one that has been difficult for me in my marriage. One of the unique things about marriage is that it often teaches you about yourself, just when you thought you were learning about your spouse.
There have been many times I have ranted and raved to my husband that he doesn’t appreciate me and the things I do for him. I have demanded respect and admiration and remind him of all the motherly things I do.
In mid rant, my husband reminded me that he does fatherly things that I should be appreciative of.
And suddenly, I stopped looking at me for a moment and looked at him.
Appreciation shouldn’t be a bidding war to see who does more and deserves more praise. I can show my husband I appreciate him in little ways.
I can allow him to dream without shooting down his ideas. I can tell him how much I appreciate him verbally, through text or a written note.
I can praise him when he makes a good decision, and respectfully disagree when we are not on the same page.
Physical Touch
I don’t have to elaborate much on this one do I?
Come on, this is how your husband got the opportunity to celebrate Father’s Day right?
Physical touch can be as simple as a kiss hello or goodbye.
It can be as intimate as hand holding around town running errands, or alone time on date night. I’m pretty sure your husband would put physical touch at the top of his Father’s Day gift list.
It might even be neck and neck with respect.
Nothing says Father’s Day more than gifts from the heart.
What other free gifts could you give your spouse this Father’s Day? Tell me all about them!
