Your boyfriend is a lucky man. Your taking the effort to get him something he is interested in.
Best bet is to buy a shave ready razor from the classifieds. You will need a strop, a brush and quality cream or soap.
Ruprazor.com has great starter strop. cheep.
An affordable cream that give good results is TABAC. About 8 dollars. Surprisingly the cream or soap has a big effect on the quality and comfort of the shave. Cream is also easier for beginers.
The brush also has an effect on how well you whip up the cream.

Well good luck and let us know how you did.