I'm in the newer phases with my bew and I got him a fancy travel set (from OFF 5th, lol) with inflatable pillow and eye cover thingy and some other stuff since he travels a lot.
When I told my sister she was like

I mean its in a really nice case! LOL
So OP I totally understand your scenario. And I am back to the drawing board also.
Dizamm at Zales. He isn't playin. He set the bar high, early. (Which website was this? LOL)
At this point I wouldn't try to meet it financially, but in thought. Show that you're paying attention. If he's a foodie (and if you can cook!!!) you can make him a REALLY nice meal. Pair with a nice wine. Men like food, lol.
IA with a boxed DVD set of one of his favorite shows as a child/teenager. Like Fresh Prince or Martin, or something even more random. See if you can find out what his favorite gaming console and game was as a teen/child. Pop up with a Sega Genesis or something and you might have dude hooked for life, lol