90 promises, written to be redeemed
Coupon book ideas that actually get cashed in
The whole point of a coupon book is that someone hands one back to you months later and holds you to it. So the ideas that work are never the grand ones — they are the specific, slightly inconvenient ones. “One real date night, phones in a drawer” gets redeemed. “A night of romance” sits in the drawer forever, because nobody knows what cashing it in would even look like.
Below are all 90 of ours, grouped by who they are for. Take them as they are, or use them as a shape to write your own in — every one of them is editable once it is in a book.
$44.99 — a real hardback, posted. Pick the ones you mean, and we print and bind them to order in landscape boards, one promise to a page, despatched within 10 days. The digital book is included.
What one looks like
The second line is the one that does the work. It is the fine print — when it can be redeemed, what it does not cover, how much arguing is permitted — and it is the difference between a promise and a sentiment.
For your person
The ones that get redeemed are never the grand gestures — they are the small surrenders. A morning you handle alone, an argument conceded in advance, the remote given up without a sigh. Specific beats romantic: “one real date night, actual plans” lands harder than “a night of love” because it sounds like something that will genuinely happen.
- Breakfast in bedRedeem: any lazy Sunday
- A 10-minute massageMinimum. Renegotiable upward.
- One guilt-free napI'll handle everything
- “You were right”Single use. Choose wisely.
- Movie night, your pickYes, even the musical
- One chore-free dayDon't even look at the dishes
- One real date nightPhones in a drawer. Actual plans.
- Big spoon on demandNo wiggling out early
- A slow morning walkCoffee in hand, no agenda
- The last slice is yoursWitnessed. Sealed. Binding.
For your best friend
Friendship promises are about showing up when it is inconvenient, which is the whole currency. The 6am airport run, the rescue call ten minutes into a bad date, an hour of listening with no advice attached. Nothing here costs money and all of it costs something.
- Airport pickupYes, even the 6am one
- Coffee run, on meYour usual, memorized
- One judgment-free vent60 minutes, all ears
- The rescue callBad date? Phone rings in ten.
- Moving-day musclesPizza accepted as payment
- Plus-one on demandWeddings, reunions, anything
- Brunch, my treatBottomless gossip included
- A handwritten letterActual paper. Actual stamp.
- A playlist made for youEvery song chosen on purpose
- Hype person for a dayUnreasonable enthusiasm guaranteed
For the parents
Parents are the hardest people to buy for because they have the things and will not ask for the rest. So promise time and admin: the phone call that is not rushed, the tech problem solved without sighing, the Sunday lunch where they sit down and you cook.
- A real phone call30+ minutes, no rushing
- Sunday dinner, on meI cook. You sit.
- Tech support house callPrinter included
- One garden afternoonYou point, I dig
- Old-photos afternoonBring the embarrassing ones
- A grocery runSend the list. No improvising.
- Frame that photo, finallyHung straight and everything
- A drive-you-anywhere dayRadio rights: all yours
- I'll call when I landEvery single time. Promise.
- Teach me the family recipeI'll finally write it down
For the kids
Keep them redeemable and keep them soon. A child cannot hold an abstraction for eleven months, but they will guard a coupon for one extra bedtime story like currency — and the anticipation is half the gift.
- One extra bedtime storyVoices included. All of them.
- A yes dayWithin reason. Mostly.
- Ice cream before dinnerOur little secret
- Blanket-fort sleepoverLiving room. Snacks provided.
- You pick dinnerYes, even breakfast-for-dinner
- Skip-the-chores passJust hand it over. No words.
- Extra screen timeOne episode. Okay, two.
- A puddle-jumping walkBoots on. Dignity off.
- No-singing-in-carpool passOne whole ride. I'll try.
- Pancakes shaped like anythingResults may vary. Love won't.
Roommate treaty
Half domestic diplomacy, half joke, and the joke is what makes it get used. The bin taken out unprompted, the dishes done on someone else's night, one silent morning granted with no questions.
- Your dishes, done by meYes, even that pan
- Trash week, coveredNo reminders needed. Once.
- Thermostat rights, one weekI'll just wear more layers
- First shower, all weekHot water and everything
- The remote is yoursOne night of total power
- I'll replace what I “borrowed”Starting with the oat milk
- Quiet mornings, guaranteedThe blender sleeps till nine
- No-questions guest passYour cousin? Fine. It's fine.
- I'll take your worst choreOne week. Zero complaints.
- Inspection-day deep cleanLike we never even lived here
Sorry in advance
An apology you can hand over before it is needed is funnier and more honest than one afterwards. These work because both of you know exactly which fault is being pre-emptively forgiven.
- I was wrong (in writing)Signed. Dated. Frame it.
- A grudge, officially droppedYour pick. Gone forever.
- One free “I told you so”I'll stand there and take it
- The real apologyEye contact. No “but”.
- You win the next debateEven if I'm right. Especially then.
- One argument, concededMid-fight. Watch me fold.
- First to break the silenceNext standoff, I crack first
- Aux cord surrenderFull ride. I won't touch skip.
- I'll admit it to the group chatScreenshots allowed
- I'll laugh at that storyThe one about me. Again.
Adulting backup
The unglamorous ones get cashed in most. Nobody wants to ring the bank, sit in the waiting room alone, or assemble the thing with the instructions in four languages — and doing it with someone is the entire gift.
- I'll make the phone callThe one you keep avoiding
- Flat-pack assemblyZero sighs. Maybe one.
- Spider relocation serviceAlive. Outside. Far away.
- Tax-season moral supportSnacks and silence provided
- Dead battery rescueCables already in my trunk
- A freezer full of mealsFive dinners. Labeled. Stacked.
- Resume read-throughHonest, but gentle
- Router exorcismOff and on, with conviction
- Parallel parking valetToss the keys. Look away.
- Waiting-room companyDMV, dentist, wherever
Certified silly
Not every promise has to mean something. A few in a book that are purely ridiculous are what stop it reading like a chore list, and they are usually the first ones redeemed.
- One dramatic readingYour old texts, performed live
- I'll be your alibiDetails negotiable
- Standing ovation on demandAnywhere. Full volume.
- Paparazzi for a dayI will find your good side
- Birthday-song soloIn public. In key. Ish.
- Personal laugh trackEven the bad puns
- One conspiracy theory, entertainedI'll nod the whole time
- Personal bee bodyguardI do the flailing for you
- Pun amnesty weekNot one single groan
- One interpretive danceTopic: your choice. No refunds.
Anything goes
The catch-all, for books that do not fit a category — and the place to look if nothing above sounds like the two of you.
- One big favor, no questionsCash it in. I'll show up.
- A homemade dinnerThree courses. Real candles.
- Midnight dessert runNo judgment after midnight
- A whole day offline, togetherPhones in the freezer
- I plan the entire weekendYou just show up
- Slow dance in the kitchenSocks on. Music optional.
- A surprise picnicWeather is my problem
- Game night, your rulesHouse rules. Even the weird ones.
- One adventure, my treatPack a bag. Ask nothing.
- A compliment a day, for a weekHandcrafted. Never recycled.
Or start from the occasion
Each of these has its own list, written for that occasion rather than filtered from this one.
- Valentine's DayA hardback they can hold · the digital one comes with it
- AnniversaryPaper, cotton, whatever year you're on — this one is bound in boards
- BirthdayFor the person who says they don't want anything and means it
- Mother's DayShe doesn't want another candle. She wants you to call more.
- Father's DayHe has enough socks. He does not have a free Saturday with you in it.
- ChristmasSmall to give, big to receive, and nothing to put in the bin on Boxing Day
- Long-distancePosted to their door, or sent to their phone in the next minute
Put a few of these in a book.
Start your book →Free to make, and they open it with a secret code — see how it works.