Joyful Family Life: Valentine's Gift Ideas for Him

The men in your life deserve some Valentine's excitement too, so I'm glad that Dollar Shave Club reached out to me about creating a gift guide. Sometimes I need the extra motivation to find that perfect gift for my husband, and while making this list, I figured out how I want to celebrate this year. Yea!

If you know your husband's love language, Valentine's Day is a great time to use that knowledge. The 5 Love Languages, devised by Dr. Gary Chapman, help you show love to your spouse in his most needed way. The list includes: quality time, service, kind words, gifts, and loving touch. This guide will call upon those five categories to help you pick an amazing present for Valentine's Day.

1. Gather letters from his friends and family members. Ask each person to write him a note about why he is appreciated, or why their friendship is important, or something sweet along those lines. Compile the letters into a folder, and give him the gift of appreciation this year. I first heard about this idea from Today's the Best Day. My husband teared up last year when he read his letters. I bet your man would love this idea too.

2. Skip the dinner and movie date - go hit the town like high schoolers again! If the two of you simply want to spend time together, go somewhere where you can actually talk, play, and enjoy each other's company. Visit a local arcade, hit up the mini-golf course, ride Go-Karts, or try out samples at the ice cream parlor. If you two are really adventurous, prank your friends with silly phone calls or toilet paper someone's house. Just have fun together, and make some funny memories this year!

3. Is there a chore your husband hates to do? Show him you listen and care by serving him this Valentine's Day. For example, get his car detailed, or pay for an oil change to save him the hassle, or make some room in the garage for him to park. Pay the neighbor kid to mow the lawn. Spend an hour ironing all of his work shirts. Think of something unexpected that your husband would appreciate, and take care of it for him. Add a sprinkle of paper hearts around your service project. Surprise him with service.

4. If your husband loves to receive thoughtful gifts, there are loads of resources for you to choose from. Would he rather have a sentimental gift or something from his favorite catalog? I recently stumbled across the company Man Crates. They have awesome gift packages for men - an actual crate comes stuffed with truly manly themed items. Check them out. "Srsly."

And if your husband's razor looks like a pitiful mush of soap scum, visit Dollar Shave Club. New razor sets come to your house every month for an unbeatable price. Easiest Valentine's present ever, and his face will be kissable forever.

5. Finally, sometimes you just need to bust out the candles, turn down the lights, set Pandora to your favorite slow jams, and pull out the massage oil. Touch has a loving, healing, and bonding power in a marriage. Give him the best massage you can.