Have a professional portrait taken of yourself in black & white or sepia tone, and present it to him in a silver frame for his desk. Or find a beautiful keepsake photo album with many pages for his snapshots–he is more sentimental than you think.
Surprise him by chartering a day of sailing and bring along a home-made gourmet picnic lunch. You could find a great old print of a sailing vessel and have it framed for his study. Many Cancer men like to cook, so select a cookbook written just for guys. Or give him a set of lessons on French or Thai cooking–he will be intrigued. Give him a new coffee maker, a deluxe toaster-oven, new placemats to replace his ratty ones, a starter set of sturdy pots if he’s a bachelor. Send him an old fashioned pecan pie that you bought or better yet, made yourself.
He’s a homebody, so give him a digital satellite system for direct television to give him a wide variety of channels. Silver is his lucky metal, so give him a silver or silver plated key ring to keep his keys organized. Cancer likes to save their money, so you might give him a United States Savings Bond. You may think that’s a boring gift, but he will be touched by your thoughtfulness and impressed by your patriotism!