Gift Ideas For A Stronger Marriage

The birth of Christ was a divine expression of God's love for us.  Christ gave up so much to come down here, and he did it for us, not for himself.  The gifts we give each other at Christmas should also be an expression of our love for those around us, and a well chosen gift for our spouse can not just express our feelings, but also serve to strengthen the relationship. Below are some gift ideas for things help to do that...


Coupon book
This is one that you can put together for pennies, but it may take some time.  There are ready made coupon books for couples, I would recommend making your own and using the Five Love Languages as a guide for creating both sexual and other coupons.  Some examples are:

Words of affirmation coupons good for things like a love letter or 5 minutes of sincere praise and gratitude.
Acts of Service coupons for specific chores or favors you are willing to do for your spouse that you normally don't do, and know they don't enjoy doing
Physical Touch coupons good for things like a 30 second kiss, a half hour of just cuddling, a shower together, making out in the car, a back rub, a foot massage, specific sexual acts, positions acting out specific fantasies
Quality Time coupons like letting them pick what you do for date night, or what movie you will watch, going for a walk, or reading a book together.

Just be sure that each coupon is for something you intend to joyfully provide, you are committing yourself to do those things.  Also, if there is something you would like to try with your spouse and have been hesitant to ask for, you can create a coupon around that as a way to gently invite them to do that with you.

Some Time At The Spa
Most local spas offer gift certificates that can be given as a gift. Some spas do couple's massages where the two of you can lay on massage tables side by side, holding hands as you each get a massage.  Saunas can be a nice place to make out too, but if you plan on doing anything like that be sure to check what kind of sauna they have first.  Some of them are so tiny there is no room to have fun.

A Short Story
If you ever wanted to try your hand at being a writer, you can write a short erotic story for your spouse staring the two of you.  You can start with a realistic situation, like the kids all take off to spend the weekend with their grandparents leaving the two of you alone, of more fantasy based.  Be daring and specific in terms of the plot and the language.  Fantasizing about being sexual with somebody you are actually allowed to be sexual with is not wrong.  If your wife likes romance novels she'll love this, and most every guy loves to see passion in his wife.  For extra kick, read it out loud to them when you are in bed together.

Tickets to a concert, play or sports event
Pick something they would love to see and get two tickets.  One of those tickets is for you, not a friend of your spouse.  Even if it is something they love and you can't stand, go, enjoy being with them and choose to have fun.  You may find your horizons broadened.

Lingerie
Guys, don't buy lingerie for your wife.  They know that it is really for you, and chances are what  you pick out won't work as well for them as what they would pick for themselves.  Even a gift card has that 'This present is for me you' feeling.

Ladies, YOU go buy some lingerie for yourself.  Pick out something that makes you feel sexy and remember that 'the more it teases the more it pleases'.  If you look like your are about 3 seconds away from being naked then you are on the right track.

Gift wrap it and give it to you husband to unwrap when the kids aren't around.  Enjoy the look on his face when he realizes what it is and have a good laugh, then put it to good use (and not just that one night either).

Another options is to go shopping for it together.  It's a great way to spend (the first part) of date night.

A Marriage Strengthening Book
This one can be a bit risky.  You don't want to pick a book that makes your spouse feel like they are being criticized or that you are out to 'fix' them.  Instead pick books that will help you do fun things together. There are a number of books out there on fun things couples can do for date night, or books/videos teaching you how to give a massage to each other.  I would encourage you to not order those books online, but go out to your bookstore where you can look through them for a bit first and make sure they are right for you.  With a how-to book on massage you can add in some massage oil and thick bathrobes and make a nice package out of it.

An Intimate Game
There are also a lot of games on the market for couples who want to combine the fun of game night with the fun of intimacy.  You do have to be careful however, the artwork on the box or game pieces may not be appropriate, and the game play may wind up making somebody feel on the spot about doing something they are not comfortable with.  Check the reviews for comments about that and also be sure the game can be customized to suit your tastes. Another option is to make your own game, or invent sexy rules to a game you already have.  Strip Uno?

Jewelry
Yes, this one can be expensive, but I'm not talking about buying some nice jewelry just because it is nice.  Find something that will be a symbol or reminder of something that connects the two of you, something meaningful.  For men it can be cuff-links, or a tie clip, or a ring

It isn't about what it costs, it is about what it means.  I gave my wife a pendant that was made mostly of wood, but it was wood that came from the tree where I asked if she would marry me.

These are just some initial suggestions, feel free to post any additional ideas in the comments below.  You might also want to write out a special Christmas Wish List just for your spouse's eyes only.

Whatever you do this Christmas for gifts, be sure to make your spouse feel loved.

Making The Holidays Merry For Your Marriage

Christmas is a wonderful time, but often it introduces stressful moments and new demands on us that can take a toll on our relationship with our spouse.  It doesn't have to be that way though, Christmas can (and should) be a time where your emotional, spiritual, and sexual bonds with each other are strengthened.  Christ came to this world to make it possible for you and your family to be together forever.  He wouldn't want the celebration of his birth to become an obstacle to having a wonderful relationship with your spouse.  Here are some suggestions to help Christmas become something that strengthens your marriage:

Do Christmas Things Together
There are lots of tasks that are specific to Christmas.  Putting up the tree and decorating it, putting up Christmas lights outside, shopping for gifts, baking, cooking Christmas dinner, etc. etc. etc.  While it is not practical to do all of those things as a couple, there are many that can be shared.  Shopping for gifts for the kids together can be a great date night activity.  Men, don't assume you can't help with Christmas dinner, ask what you can do to help.

Service
Often Christmas opens up opportunities to serve others, and this is something that can sometimes be done as a couple.  Also, going a little further out of our way to serve our spouse and express gratitude for them is very much in keeping with the spirit of Christmas and helps shed holiday stress

Keep The Spirit In Your Home 
Christmas can make it easier to keep the spirit in your home.  Music can be a powerful force to bring in the spirit, and Christmas overflows with music.  Play positive Christmas music softly in the background to create that Christmas feeling in the home and car.  Likewise, there are inspiring Christmas movies that also invite the spirit into your home.

Above all, do not let the business of Christmas keep you from having family prayer, prayer with your spouse, personal prayer, family home evening, and personal and family scripture study.  Be sure that the parts of the scriptures relevant to Christmas are read aloud at some point.

Family Traditions
For a newly married couple, each will have their own families traditions they grew up with, and over the years they will merge and augment those to form their own unique way of celebrating.  My father came from Scandinavia.  Our Christmas traditions were influenced by those of his homeland.  When my wife and I started having Christmas on our own rather than at her parent's or mine, we had to define what 'our' Christmas would be like.

Traditions are good when they remind us of important things and help bring us closer together.  If you don't have some Christmas traditions unique to your family, it is never too late to start one.  One we started for our family is that each year we get a new ornament for the tree that in some way refers to one or more important events from the past year.   We have a ornaments that commemorate the births of our children, the purchase of our first home, and other milestones.  This has made decorating the Christmas tree a trip down memory lane, a reminder of the blessings we have received over the years.

Make Time For Intimacy, And Make It Special
Absolutely do not let intimacy take a back seat to Christmas preparations, instead take the opportunity to make it something extra special.  Deliberately plan your days and evenings so that you will have time and energy for each other.  Make yourself a gift for your spouse, literally even!  There are a lot of Christmas themed things that can be done to spice things up.  You can even have intimate Christmas traditions that only the two of you know about.   You can send each other Christmas wish lists that are for their eyes only and set about making something from your spouse's list your gift to them.

Don't limit intimacy to the bedroom either, go for a romantic walk in the snow, make a snowman, see if you can still ice skate, go spend time together enjoying the beautiful sights, sounds, tastes and experiences that are only available this time of year.

That should be a good starting point for you to work with, the details will have to be up to the two of you. I count the opportunity to be together with my wife for eternity to be the greatest blessing God has given me, and I know that would not be possible had Christ had not come, so to me Christmas and my marriage are strongly linked to each other.

I hope you all have a VERY Merry Christmas.

What do you REALLY want for Christmas?

I love combining my intimate life with holidays, and Christmas is the pinnacle of all holidays.  Christmas is also about giving, which should be a hallmark of our intimate lives too, so it seems a natural pairing to me.

The last few years I've made a Christmas Wish list that is for my wife's eyes only.  If you don't ask, they may not know you want it.  It's been wonderful to actually be given things off that list too.

I encourage you to make a sexy wish list for your spouse, and ask for them to make one for you.  If you don't have a list from your spouse, here are some ideas on what to give them, or what to put on your own list.

A Love Letter
When was the last time you wrote your spouse a love letter?  If you can't think of it, it has been too long.  Grab some paper and a pen and pour your heart out to them.

You can make it romantic and tell them what you appreciate about them, what they mean to you, praise them, express your love for them, really open your heart.   Or you can make it passionate and  tell them what your fantasies are, what things you most enjoy doing together in private, remind them of great times in the past, tell them how being intimate with them makes you feel and how eager you are for it. Or you can do both in the same letter.

Handwritten is probably better but not required.  It costs next to nothing, just some time, paper, pen, and the willingness to open yourself up and show your feelings.  If you want, you can go to a card shop and write the letter inside a touching, risque or funny holiday card.

An Erotic Short Story
Instead of a letter, you can write a short story for them staring the the two of you.  It's a great way to let your spouse into your head so they can see your fantasy through your eyes.  There are no limits to the setting or situation.  It can be passionate and erotic or light and funny.  You can even just be yourselves in your own lives living out your desires.

Do something new
If there is something you know your spouse would love you to do in the bedroom but you haven't had the nerve to go for it, perhaps make it a Christmas gift.  Push aside your inhibitions for one night and give it a shot.  You can be their Christmas miracle. Or take something you already do up to the next level.

A key turning point in our marriage came one Christmas when my wife decided that her gift to me would be that she would make love with me every day for a week.  This was at a time when she was just starting to enjoy sex after years of not allowing herself to.  Three times a week was a bit of a stretch for her but she decided to do this as a gift she knew I would love and as an experiment to see if she could, and if she could enjoy it.  That week turned the spark of her sexual awakening into a flame that is still spreading. 

Make love by the Christmas tree
It may be hard to arrange things so you have sufficient privacy from your kids or house guests, but it will be worth it.  There is something wonderfully magical about a room where the only lights are from the Christmas tree.  You could even do yourself up as a present and let them unwrap you, just a little paper and ribbon in the right places and gift tag saying you are for them.

Intimate wear
Lingerie, silk boxers, short bathrobes, sexy consumes, fishnet stockings, or just a gift card so they can pick something like that out themselves (although it is fun to shop for it together).

Coupon Book
There are places online you can buy books of intimate coupons, but I think it is better to make it yourself.

You could have coupons for showering together, making out, 60 second kisses, long hugs, special positions, taking intimate photos, oral sex, 30 minutes of caressing with no sex, even being their sex slave for the evening.  You can be as wild or tame as you are comfortable with. 

A 'Couples Only' Game
There are a number of games on the market intended for loving couples to combine both intimacy and fun.  Some are board games, some are card games, some are for playing on your smartphone as a way of keeping in touch while apart. I'm not going to make any recommendations, but it may be good to pick a game that can be customized.

You can also create your own game.  Just add some new rules to a game you already enjoy.  Uno, Monopoly, Scrabble, Settlers of Catan, be creative.  You can also create a game from scratch. It doesn't have to be complicated.

Make the Bedroom a nicer place to be naughty
Nice bed sheets, romantic lighting, mood music or just spend some time decluttering and organizing things in the bedroom.  The nicer the room, the easier it is to relax and enjoy each other there, and the less distractions there are.

Daring accessories
If you are both up for it, handcuffs, blindfolds, soft braided rope and other aids for the adventurous. Don't do this unless you know they are OK with using those things.  You don't want this to backfire on you.

A Weekend Away at a Hotel
A weekend away from everything, with most of it being just the two of you and a Do Not Disturb sign on the door is something that should happen at least once a year if at all possible. Usually we start it off by going to the temple, and after that it's just us.  Sometimes we've just gone out exploring places we've never been and had some wonderful romantic times.
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Even if you don't do any of the above, do make sure that you and your spouse use the holiday season to strengthen the bond between you.  Be each others best gift.