How do you say Thanks!

Every now and then I'll make DH a really scrummy dinner and make sure we have all his favourites. Set the table, light some candles and get dressed in some yummy lingerie.
Otherwise a nice massage at the end of a long day.
A weekend away, if finances can stretch that far.

ETA - even simply just telling him how much you appreciate what he does and gives up for your family. Sometimes I think we often forget to say it.

Edited by MamaT

Sorry if i go off on a slight tangent here, but have you heard about the 5 languages of love book?  My DH and i read it and it's soooo interesting - basically there are 5 languages of love - words of affection, gifts, touch, acts of service and quality time, and everybody has one or two main languages with which they give and feel love.  The trick is knowing your partner's language (which may not be the same as yours) and learning to speak their language to show your love so they recognise it - my language is mostly words of affection so i need to my DH to tell me stuff, whereas other people might feel more loved if they're given gifts - hope i'm explaining this so it makes sense!!!!!!!!  Anyway, reason i thought i'd mention it here is that if you know your DH's love language it may help you choose the best way of showing your appreciation   Am not saying  you guys don't know how to communicate at all, or you're not showing him love (!!!!!!!) but just trying to give a tip for showing your appreciation in the best way possible - he sounds like a great DH, and it's great you appreciate him

Sometimes its just the little things like making him coffee in the morning or putting the toothpaste on his toothbrush. Asking him what HE wants to do in the evening or the weekend... Maybe you could encourage him to get a different job that he does enjoy more.

I know how my DP would like to be thanked...

Haha sorry, that's a bit crude. But a baby free night would be awesome once in a while.

Other than that, if he has any hobbies etc - when you have been without for a while it's nice to just have something NEW, no matter how small or inexpensive that something new is. For example my DP would probably be stoked with a t shirt, mountain biking shorts or some new part for his mountain bike. Probably the best (tangible) gift I could give him though would be a packet of m&ms - he's a bit of a romantic and associates the candy with some of our first dates. Lol.

ETA - Oh, and I know it's probably not possible but what cheered my DP up immensely was an end date for his job (and he used to work in the same industry as your DH)

Edited by Delli

Awww, not having hobbies makees it hard on you - I love knowing that if I hit the bottom of the barrel when it comes to presents, I can always resort to fishing gear.

Is he into sports at all? Encouraging him to try and find a social team could give him a good break and help him make some friends too. Our gym arranges social sports, and if you want to play but don't have a team you can let them know and they cast around to see if anyone needs another player.

ETA for a laugh that my hubby plays social sport for his work, and a chap on his team there said they needed an extra in another social league he was in. DH, who isn't a particularly huge guy and is decidedly a pakeha, ended up playing the rest of the season with this team of huge beefy Maori chaps, I bet a few people wondered where they dug him up from

Edited by Hopes