First Christmas gift for relatively new boyfriend - ideas please!

[Retro12]

Hello everyone,
I'm looking for some gift inspiration for my boyfriend. We've been dating for 10 months, so this is our first Christmas together and I want to get it right!
He's someone who appreciates nice things and quality, but I'm a bit stuck on what's appropriate at this stage - don't want to go too over the top or too underwhelming.
What have others done for a first Christmas together? Any gifts that went down particularly well (or badly!)?
Budget-wise I'm thinking around £400, but I'm really just after ideas and experiences.
Thanks in advance! x

Way too much unless you both high earners and drop 100£ per person meals out three times a week.

What is your weekly spend on dates?
are you £20 cocktails at high end restaurants?

A weekend away is fine , as you both get something out of it.

£400!

For my BF's birthday (of a year) I got him a place on a course for something I knew he'd love. I'd have paid more, but it actually only cost £12.

For Chrisrmas we've agreed a planned event and overnight stay will be our gift to each other.

I couldn't spend £400 on someone without being sure it's exactly what they'd want if they had £400 to spend on themselves.

For me, as an adult, treats are much more about time spent well than things though.

Except that it could make him uncomfortable?

Been dating mine for just 5 months. Have bought a jumper and their favourite brandy

I’ve always spent approx £500 on DH since our first Christmas together (when we had only been together for 5 months), and he’s always spent over quadrupole this on me - ignore everyone else OP, what’s normal in some relationships/families isn’t always normal for others.

Some of the earlier gifts I got for DH were designer ties, cufflinks, tie clips and they were always really appreciated as I don’t think men typically buy these themselves. Also high end fragrance. Weekends away to European cities. Nice laptop bag. High end scarf.

I would go for cashmere jumper, Lego, hardback book, nice pens, high quality sheepskin slippers, and a decent thermos - all assuming the £400 is going on a pile of things.

I wrote a similar post last year. I am glad I didn’t spend £400 as we split up a few months later. £400 is a crazy amount to spend on someone you have only been with for 10 months. £50 is plenty.

A trip to Rome. If you go in Jan/Feb flights are cheap and a reasonably nice hotel is about £100 a night. I did this for my DP when we were about 10 months in and we had the best time.

A vintage sports shirt of his favourite team / designer socks / Vintage bottle of his favourite tipple / Designer sunglasses / Ridge wallet / a framed photograph of his favourite landmark or sports stadium

Ugg slippers? Quite an indulgent purchase but they last for years!

An expensive aftershave - Tom Ford, or Creed.

Tickets to a show together? I’ve booked a comedy for me and DP, and booked a nice restaurant for beforehand.

Paying the gas bill is useful, but it’s not a gift, is it?

How about a weekend away with perhaps a theatre ticket (or similar experience that suits him)?

Youre careful to specify you don’t want to seem over the top, but then propose spending a really over the top amount. So I think this could go really wrong if he’s bought you something thoughtful but normal such as a signed book, or a bottle of perfume you like.

My now husband got new glasses for our first Christmas! I really didn't like the ones he was wearing so treated him to new ones. They cost nowhere near £400 though! Even after 15 years of marriage, I wouldn't spend that much on him though.
I think, in your case, I'd buy him a nice shirt or aftershave.

Don’t get him Amazon vouchers 🙈

Could you book a weekend away or spa trip? You could buy him a nice leather weekend bag, nice toiletries to put inside and then a home made voucher for where you’re going.

Not that this is a huge issue for you as you’re happy to spend, but say he did spend a bit less on you and was embarrassed, you could downplay the cost of the trip away and say you had a money off voucher or something!

Thankyou!

£400 is a fraction of what he spent on me for my birthday! He is so generous and is always treating me to dates and even the most inexpensive thoughtful things. It's an amount that I have set by for him so I just wanted some ideas of what others have brought this year.

I think I am going to go down the night/weekend away route as I have a couple of presents for him to open already.

This is the route i'm going to take - great idea, I will make up a toiletries bag and pop the voucher in! Thanks xx

This really made me laugh 😆

At that stage of a relationship and with that budget I'd book a weekend away somewhere swanky, and then get a little token for that (we went to a hotel which has a lovely spa, I bought him a little taster bottle of whisky from Master of Malt to drink on the balcony and a book for the spa plus the night away)

Engraved hip flask? I wouldn’t go above £100 personally.

The first weekend my now DH and I were together he bought me a Brics weekend bag because we used to do lots of weekend trips away together and for when I stayed over at his. I loved it so much & still use it all the time now 10 years later!