Calendar – Calendars are great homemade gift ideas for boyfriends that give them something practical they can display and use to plan events while at the same time being a sentimental gift that shows thought and effort. Chose twelve pictures of the two of you that you like then make them into a calendar either using a kit, website or your own creative skills (depending on your level of sticking and cutting ability). Another nice touch is to write messages within the calendar, or to mark occasions in it ready such as birthdays, anniversaries and things you’re planning to do together. And then he has no excuse not to send you flowers on your anniversary…

Sewing/knitting – If you sew or knit then a jumper or scarf can make great homemade gift ideas for boyfriends too. Make sure it’s nothing too garish or embarrassing (unless you’re feeling mean) as he’ll probably have to wear it whether he likes it or not. If you get it right though it can be a great sentimental item that’s practical too – and will remind everyone who seems him just who he belongs too.

Games – Making a game requires effort but can be a great result as it’ll give you something fun to do together. Buy a large piece of cardboard and a few smaller pieces to cut into cards, develop some rules and draw out a course through the main board (you can steel dice etc from other games). You can make this as elaborate as you like and can include rules like ‘truth or dare’ or ‘remove an item of clothing’ to make things a little more saucy and revealing (warning though – truth items can lead to massive rows…).

Sketch/painting – If you’re artistic then doing a sketch or painting of the two of you can be a particularly creative homemade gift idea for boyfriends. They look great to display (depending on your ability) and if you do will he will no doubt be brimming with pride at your artistic talents. For extra brownie points be polite and turn a blind eye to those big ears…

Collage – A collage is a nostalgic and sentimental gift that takes lots of time selecting precisely which pictures to use. Standing loads of pictures all around the room can leave surfaces looking cluttered, whereas a collage can show various different pictures all in one place so have more of an emotional impact.

A meal/cake – They say that the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach and for most of us that’s entirely true. Bake a guy a cake and he will be your friend for life, cook him a steak and you’ll instantly be the best girlfriend in the world. Any kind of food make great gift ideas for boyfriends and if you make it romantic they can provide a wonderful experience for you both.

Homemade beer – If you really want to be a cool boyfriend then forget cake and make him some beer. Fermenting your own beer is a relatively cheap way to get loads and loads of alcohol that he’ll love – it shows time and effort and will save him loads of money in the long run. It’ll be your own brand and every time he drinks it he’ll be reminded of you – useful when he’s about to hit the town wasted!

Underwear – Not for him – for you. Sew/cut up some of your underwear and make it as sexy as possible (read as ‘skimpy’). There’s no better present…