"What do you want for Christmas, babe?"
"Hmm. I can't think of anything." *Shuts door and heads to field house.*
Sigh. Playoffs, bowl season, and basketball season mean one thing: limited communication.
We know coaches are a tough crowd this time of year. So to lighten your load, we thought we'd do the heavy lifting for you. We asked nearly 4,000 wives in the FNW Facebook group which Christmas gifts their coaches loved most and compiled a list of our 20 favorites to help you out this holiday season.
10 20! Gifts Your Coach Will Love
Personalized Dry Erase Clipboard
From Rachel: "My coach's birthday was just a few weeks ago, and I can say he’s never been so excited about a gift. I got him a dry erase clipboard for games that looks exactly like a basketball court with hardwood floors - the detail on it is amazing. On the bottom, it’s personalized with Coach Bunn. I knew he would like it, but i was talking to one of the other coaches last night, and he brought it up that he is absolutely in love with his new clipboard."
A Shutterfly Book with Pictures from the Season
Admittedly, I would have had to be better about taking pictures during the season. But if you are more on top of things than me, you can easily and quickly put together one of Shutterfly's high-quality photo books. They even offer a service now in which you can pay $10 for a professional designer to do all the work for you. Plus, there photo books are all 50-60% off right now!! Win, win, win. All the wins.
Engraved Whistle
You can engrave a whistle with his name, a quote, or a favorite bible verse. And you won't have to worry if he'll use it or not ... especially if he's a basketball coach. We found a few different options that we liked. The first image includes a metal box and rubber cover, click here. The second option offers an engravable note on the underside of the wooden lid. And for the third extra-fancy-pants-gold option, click here.
Stadium Memorabilia from a Favorite Team
You can buy ANYTHING, and I mean ANYTHING, from old stadiums or arena—stadium seats, a piece of hardwood floor, a container of melted ice from a hockey rink, a brick from Fenway (if you wanna drop $250 bones), or EVEN grass. Yes, a few years ago we bought my father-in-law a piece of outfield grass from the original Yankee Stadium.
Wallet Made out of Old Footballs, Basketballs, or Baseball Gloves
Coach's Leather is a company created by a coaching family, something Coach does to make a little extra money on the side (we all know what that's like). These are handmade leather wallets and keychains he recycles from old balls and gloves. I've seen and held one, and they are beautiful and high quality!
Pay for a Coaching Clinic (or Talk to the Booster Club About It)
There are tons of incredible coaching clinics around the country. One might even be nearby. Usually, the booster club will cover one or two clinics a year for the coaching staff, but if you are at a school with limited funds, or your coach would like to add another one to the list, this might be a good option. A few that came with rave reviews from the ladies in our group are: Nike COY Clinics, Glazier Clinics, and FCA Coaches Time Out.
Rocketbook Reusable Smart Notebook
These notebooks allow you to write down notes (or plays) and then blast them immediately to your cloud via their app. You can then erase the page and reuse. There are several different size options, as well as brands. The most popular seem to be Rocketbook, but Elfinbook and Vellee also have great reviews. The best part? They are SUPER affordable at around $20 a piece.
T-Shirt Quilt with a Few of His (Millions of) Tees
I mean, really. WHAT do you do with all of them? There's not enough storage space in the world to accommodate all of the t-shirts he has. But you hate throwing out that Playoff '08 shirt when they made it to the semis or the State Champs '96 shirt when they had that incredible team that everyone in town still talks about. There are probably a few quilters around your town or at your church, but if you can't find one, one of our very own actually makes t-shirt quilts. You can check out her website at www.LibbyAnnQuilts.com. Also, you can contact this Etsy shop.
Engraved Leather Portfolio
These are great to store resumes and other interviewing materials, as well as notebooks, flash drives, and playbooks. He can keep everything organized and look professional doing it. Get it engraved with his name to add a little extra flash. This one is available at Etsy for $24.
Painting of School Mascot
Dress up his home office or school office with a cool print of your school mascot. This might get tricky if you're the "Winters Blizzards" or something... but for all the lions, tigers, and bears out there, Etsy is filled with options of beautiful watercolor prints and originals.
Digital Highlight Video of His Glory Days
You might not want to do this year one because you will be setting the bar waayyy too high. But if you're a few years in and aiming for "Best Wife Ever" status, try contacting the schools your husband played for back in the day to get some of his playing film. Depending on the years he played, they might have some VHS tapes, DVDs or 8 millimeter film you can get copies of or borrow and mail back. You can get those old tapes converted to digital copies at places like CVS, Walgreens, or even buy your own conversion kit on Amazon. Local business might also offer these services.
A Kid-Free Weekend Away
What's better than a weekend away? A kid-free weekend away. And YOU GET TO GO TOO! Everybody wins! Even if it's just dinner and a night in a hotel where y'all can sleep past the dawn's early light, you know y'all are due for some alone time.
Wireless Headphones
Great for late nights on the bus or watching film (or WWE in my case) in the living room. They're easy to transport because you don't have to mess with the cords. Plus, they're affordable!
FitBit or Apple Watch
Which one would depend on the price range you're looking for. The FitBit has a ton of features, but if your husband is a tried and true iGuy, he might prefer the Apple Watch. Just be prepared to drop twice the cash.
Books on Leadership
Here are a few of our coaches' favorites (click the picture to read the reviews):
Gift Certificate to a Men's Salon
Okay, so don't balk at the word salon. What we're talking about here is buying him a day of relaxation -- a shave, a haircut, a massage, what-have-you. If he's feeling frisky and wants a pedicure, we won't judge. We've smelt that stench when he takes off his shoes every night and would appreciate a little relief.
Guys Weekend
Do some behind-the-scenes sleuthing and plan a weekend with a few of his best friends, just a couple days to get away and recharge after a long season. He deserves it. And he'll be a better husband when he returns.
MyPakage Underwear
These are the kind of underwear that keep things . . . separate, if you catch my drift. Which he won't, because everything will be tucked away. And because I feel uncomfortable right now, just go read all the awesome Amazon reviews.
Tickets to a Bowl Game (or the State Championship Games for an early gift)
You know what our guys want after obsessing over football for 6 straight months? MORE FOOTBALL. The good thing is that since there are now so many (stupid and obscure) bowl games, there's bound to be one near you. And if you're a Texas gal, you could even get him tickets to the Friday and Saturday state championship games (unless he's playing in them . . . way to go Coach) so y'all can spend the WHOLE WEEKEND watching game after game after game, back to back to back. It's gonna be great.
Dollar Shave Club Subscription
There are several subscription boxes that target males, but coaches are a special breed. My husband wouldn't go for many of them other than this one. The idea is that you get new razors every month for super cheap. Or you can get new FANCY razors every month for not-so-cheap.
[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZUG9qYTJMsI&feature=youtu.be[/embed]Christmas is a great time to celebrate him after (or during) (before) (or all three) a long season, so I hope this list gives you a good idea for the coach in your life! See something we missed? Let us know what gifts your coach has loved!