How to Celebrate Your Husband's Birthday with No Money

Creating an Experience

Plan a scavenger hunt for your husband. Create a scavenger hunt based around places that mean something to you and your husband. Clues could be for where you had your first date, where a funny moment happened, or somewhere you’ve always wanted to go. If you have kids, you can let the kids create the scavenger hunt by making up clues that go around the house.

Explore nature with the family or just the two of you. For a nature-loving husband, spend some time outside if the weather is nice. Go for a walk, hike, bike ride, or swim, depending on the season. To make his birthday even more special, explore nature during a sunset or sunrise.

Play a sport outdoors with friends or family. Get together with friends, family, or neighbors and play a game outdoors. Pick a game or sport that your husband likes — this could be soccer, football, kickball, basketball, frisbee — the options are endless. The game can be competitive or just for fun. If the weather isn’t ideal for playing outside, ask a church or local school if you can use their gym.

Visit a museum if they have a scheduled free day. Many museums and zoos have specific days when admission is free. This could be once a week, monthly, or on special occasions, so check with the museum or zoo beforehand to see if this is a possibility. This is a great activity for your husband’s birthday if you have kids as well, but can also be fun for just the two of you. Call or go online and visit their website to find out if the museum or zoo of your choice has free days.

Research free activities to do in your city. Most cities have free activities going on throughout the year. When it gets close to your husband’s birthday, do some research online or check the newspaper and see if there are any free events he might be interested in, such as concerts, festivals, or games.

Spend time volunteering for your husband’s birthday. If your husband has a favorite charity or organization that he’s passionate about, spend time volunteering with him. Helping others is always a great way to spend a birthday and will have your husband feeling positive and fulfilled. Ideas for volunteer options include visiting your local SPCA, helping with a canned food drive, or even just helping out a neighbor.

Let your husband be a king for the day. Treat your husband to a day of all of his favorite things that don’t cost money. Examples might be letting him sleep in, cooking him meals, or giving him control of the TV. If your husband loves spending quality time with you, let him plan the day. You can play his favorite games, visit his favorite places, or even just spend quality time in bed.

Binge-watch your husband’s favorite TV show. For a relaxing and low-key birthday, spend a day watching your husband’s favorite TV show. Pull up Netflix, Amazon Prime, or another streaming device and start watching. Many libraries allow you to check out entire seasons of TV shows or movies.

Give your husband some alone time. While many husbands love spending quality time with their friends and family for their birthday, alone time is also appreciated. If your husband has a busy work schedule or hectic lifestyle, give him some alone time for his birthday. This could include letting him go fishing for the day, have the TV to himself, or just creating a stress-free environment.

Finding a Present

Create a video for your husband. Record a short video of yourself talking to your husband. You can tell him a story, share old memories, or just remind him how much you love him. If you have kids, record them saying nice things about their dad or telling stories as well.

Make a coupon book with coupons your husband would like. Coupon books are classic presents that your husband will be able to use for the rest of the year. You can create coupons for activities, chores you’ll complete for him, or other special perks. Put expiration dates on the coupons, or allow them to be used whenever your husband wants. Your coupons could be for things like 1 home-cooked meal, a nap without interruptions, or 1 outdoor adventure. For more suggestions, go online and research coupon book ideas.

Have your husband’s friends and family write him a letter. For a sentimental keepsake, ask your husband’s friends and family members to write him a letter for his birthday. The letter can be full of funny jokes, memories they’ve shared, or even a list of their favorite things about your husband. Gather all of the letters together and make them into a book.

Serve your husband breakfast in bed. Give your husband a morning gift by serving him breakfast in bed. If you already have the ingredients to make eggs, toast, pancakes, or any other breakfast food, whip them up in the kitchen, put them on a nice plate or tray, and surprise your husband as he’s waking up.

Find old photographs and give them to your husband. Look through old photographs and find some that he might like to look back on. Nostalgic presents are always appreciated, and you can even put the pictures in an old frame or create one yourself.

Invent a family trivia game. Create a game for your husband by thinking of trivia facts about your family members or friends. They can be simple questions like “During which month was your aunt born?” or trickier questions such as “What’s your best friend’s favorite movie?” Write the questions down on notecards and keep them together with a rubber band or binder clip. Write down the answers on the opposite side of each notecard.

Create a personalized playlist for your husband. If your husband loves music, make him his own personal playlist. The playlist can be full of his favorite songs, or songs that are important, funny, or nostalgic for the both of you. Download the playlist onto his computer, iPod, or phone, or burn it onto a CD.

Write special notes for your husband and put them in a jar. Cut up strips of paper and write a note on each one. They could be memories the two of you share, jokes, the dates of special events, or characteristics of your husband that you love. If you have children, let them come up with notes for their dad as well. After each slip of paper has writing on it, fold them up and put them in a jar. For a final touch, decorate the jar to say "Happy birthday" or another festive message.

Planning a Party

Print out free party decorations online. There are tons of different websites that allow you to pick out decorations to print for your husband’s get-together. You can print banners, party favor bags, or birthday cards — if it’s made of paper, there’s sure to be a template for it.

Make a special dessert with ingredients you already have. If you already have cake mix in your pantry or cabinet, great! But a birthday doesn’t have to be celebrated with a typical cake. Check your refrigerator or pantry for ingredients to make other sweets, such as cookies, brownies, or chocolates. You can ice these desserts just like you would a cake, making them equally as festive. If you don’t have any sweets in the house, create a celebratory dish using fruit or veggies cut up and displayed festively.

Plan a potluck picnic with your husband’s friends. Invite your husband’s friends to a park if the weather is nice, or to an indoor location if it’s chilly. Tell them each to bring a dish to share with everyone, and you can create a dish from ingredients you already have at home. This way, there’s plenty of food to go around.

Have a throwback birthday party for your husband. Plan a party where you play games your husband played as a kid. You can set out your husband’s favorite games and have your guests bring their favorite games as well. If the weather is nice, tell your guests to bring outdoor games as well as indoor games.

Show one of your husband’s favorite movies. Create a movie theater experience by inviting your husband’s friends over for a movie, or just make it a family event. Dim the lights and pop some popcorn if you have any. If there’s a movie your husband wants to watch that you don’t already own, try checking with your local library.