It all depends on how much you want to spend.

Maybe..... bike shorts, aerobottle system, registration to a cool race he has not been sure to do (little push to make him do it).

Tell us what's your budget.

You could spend lots of $$ on top of the line stuff, or a combination of less expensive things. I love presents so I always try to have a stack of things for my husband to open on birthday, Christmas, etc...

If he's new to the sport, but he's got all the basics, there's always a million "fun" options. Does he read -- get him a book or two, or a subscription to one of the Tri magazines. What about clothing -- I got my husband a LiveStrong cycling jersey and a West Point jersey to wear for fun while training. Does he have to train indoors during the winter -- what about some DVDs like the Spinervals training videos, or the triathlon documentary "What It Takes". Speaking of which, if you're looking to spend a little money, invest in a bike trainer or a wetsuit or something like that for him.

Or, in the gift certificate realm....gift cert to the local spa for a sports massage after his next race. Or a pre-paid registration at a local bike clinic or masters swim class. Or registration for both of you to do a 5k or something together if you're active, too. Or just a gift cert to an online tri retailer like trisports.com or all3sports.com so that he can surf online and grab whatever he might want.

Whatever it is, hope he smiles when he opens it.

Some random ideas associated with tris but not directly:

a bike tie tack (if he wears ties) - I found some here and here

which also led me to bike cufflinks, button covers, ring, etc here

or runner cufflinks here

this site had a number of similar fun stuff to browse through

** I have never used any of those sites... I just thought that type of thing could make a fun gift and started googling ;)

I know I would love a massage. I get my wife one like every year to try and drop the hint that I myself would love a nice deep tissue massage.....still waiting...

It's kind of tough to make suggestions not know what he already has.

Some of the training DVDs are a good idea, or books...but my favorite remains the massage/spa idea....i'm drooling just thinking about it.

Oh, and cycling/running stores usually have an awesome selection of racing socks, with funny things like donuts or chili peppers on the side. I have a few sets of them, but more would always be nice....and theres a good selection so you can probably find some that fit an inside joke or have some kind of personal meaning.

thanks for all the suggestions. i agree a massage sounds like a great idea for anyone, but my bf hates to be touched. i tried once a long time ago to get him one and he had no interest. (jpaulson- I am sorry your wife has not picked up on the idea that you may like a massage too) anyway, i did get lots of other ideas. thanks again.

I guess I can relate to that... I think that massages are kind of creepy, when you really think about it. I mean, sure they're professionals but they are still rubbing you down, and that can be kind of weird.