Mine just asked for pliers, vise grips, some nice wine and a gift card from the hardware store (I know, a little boring, but he'll get to buy the RIGHT stuff, as surely, I'll get the WRONG stuff.....)
last year I gave my BF 200 AA batteries (I kid you not) and they were much appreciated.
this year... dunno.
(I got my dad, this year, a really lovely wooden bowl he can keep stuff in. He has neuropathy and has real difficulty handling things or picking them up, so I'm hoping that he can keep stuff in the bowl and get them out fairly easily.)