Gift Guide: For the Guys
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2017 Update: We still think these are some great gift ideas for guys, but you may also want to check out our latest gift ideas for professionals.
Whether it's your boyfriend, husband, father, brother, or friend, guys always seem impossible to buy for. These are some of my favorite gifts (and gift categories) for guys — which are yours? Don't forget to check out our full list of suggestions for guy gifts at our Pinterest board (which we will continue to add stuff too).
Looking for a gift for your mom, MIL, or mom-like mentor? Check out yesterday's list and our board of mom gift ideas.
(See the full details after the jump…)
- Flannel sheets aren't the sexiest of gifts, but sometimes your SO/father/brother wants comfort — and the heavier the flannel, the more luxurious it is. I got a set of these 5.4 oz flannel sheets for my son when we moved to a big boy bed, and they're gorgeous and super soft. (The gray pair is also lovely.) Eddie Bauer extended its Green Monday sale — through today you can get 40% off sitewide, plus free shipping and free returns.
- Liquor gifts are always an easy category for the guy (if you're really looking for something unique, check Etsy — these whiskey lights are kind of awesome). I like the wide selection of beer-related gifts over at Uncommon Goods, including this West Coast style IPA Beer Brewing Kit.
- Colorful socks are in — and kind of a status symbol. I love this Paul Smith pair from East Dane (of course I do), but Happy Socks is also great, and Nordstrom and Barneys all have a ton of fun ones as well.
- If your guy is into TV shows, there are always fun options — this cribbage set is great for the Walking Dead fan; I've also gotten a variety of sci-fi themed things for my husband in the past from ThinkGeek (25% off sitewide, ends today!) or BustedTees. (He likes this shirt so much I bought it for him twice.) (How perfect is this mini fridge for a man cave?) (Update: as noted by a reader, Amazon has the cribbage set cheaper.)
- These boxers are supposed to be amazing — particularly for the guy who hates to pack luggage because you can wash them in the sink. Get him a pair (or, you know, two or three). (They're having a buy-2-get-25% off on the Ex Officio site, where you can also check out this cool winter jacket that converts to a neck pillow.)
- Valet trays are for men what bowls are for women (or, hey, the woman who doesn't like bowls): a dedicated space to empty your pockets when you come home from work. I like this fun yellow one from East Dane.
TJ-I am going to start work in a few weeks in an office with all concrete floors. My heels sounded deafening when I toured the building.
What are some alternatives are options so I don’t become the annoying clacker? Am I doomed to rubber Crocs?
Are your heel tips worn out (so that the metal is exposed)? If so, definitely get those fixed. Maybe you could replace them with a rubber tip? I’d think a cobbler might have ideas.
Nope, brand new heels-it’s just heels smacking on cement :(
Have your cobbler put little rubber tips on heels and under front of shoe.
Capping your heels with rubber and putting rubber pads on the front?
Ask a shoe repair place to replace the regular tips with rubber. (They can do thicker than most brands.) My friend is a sales rep who often visits medical and nursing home settings–so sometimes needs to be really quiet–and she swears by it. You may also want to pad the inside of a lot of your shoes. Cement is murder on your feet all day.
Can you not wash all boxers in the sink? Or am I missing something?
Appears that this pair is made of fabric that dries quickly – you can always wash clothing in the sink, but it may take more than an overnight to dry.
DH has these and loves them for travel. They do dry very quickly whenever we have to do sink laundry on a long trip.
Zombie Cribbage looks great! Just got it for my Marine (PSA: Amazon has it cheaper and with Prime shipping). Thanks, Kat!
I just started dating someone new about 2 months ago. We talk all the time and see each other fairly regularly (as schedule permits) but are still in the undefined stage. As such, I’m giving him homemade cookies in a festive holiday tin.
That sounds great, but per the discussion below, maybe you should go ahead and give him socks and underwear. Y’know, try to push things along a bit. ;)
I will be giving my brother a sock subscription from sockpanda dot com.
Seriously, it went over that well with my dad that my brother is getting one too. I really cannot say enough about how cool their socks are–and they have options for more creative and more subdued.
I’m probably giving my dad a tie, because his current collection needs a shot of pizzazz.
My husband and I aren’t big gift givers. We are giving ourselves a new mattress this year.
For the engineer…nanoblocks as a stocking stuffer. Like Legos for adults. I’m getting my husband an LLBean toiletry case (he travels a good amount and his gross luggage bag is not doing it anymore), a sweater, and…I don’t know what else yet. Getting my dad fancy kebab skewers for grilling. Including my brother and brother in law in “couple gifts” for them and their wives (gourmet foodstuff, fancy monogram blankets, etc…).
Wait…Legos aren’t for adults? Does that mean I have to give back the castle (LoTR) Legos I got for Christmas 2 years ago?
They are definitely for adults. My husband’s list consists of very expensive whisky and lego architect models.
ha, I’m glad this isn’t just my husband. Same exact list.
Be still, my heart! I loved Eddie Bauer sheets and towels in the early 2000s and then they discontinued sheets, towels etc. I didn’t know that they had started carrying them again. I’ll buy them through your link, Kat, so you can get some credit. I hope the quality is as it was previously. Thanks!
I found the Best Gift Ever for my SO. He is a huge fan of Certain University sports, and I happen to work for CU…and on their “surplus” page, low and behold they were selling an authentic CU athletic locker. Seven feet tall, complete with stickers/logos, hooks/mirrors…just like you see in those post-game interviews. I can’t WAIT to give it to him, even though it’s going to stay in our basement. He has boots/uni-suits/heavy outerwear for his job, so it’s gonna be perfect. I love the holidays!
I pitched it with the rest of my family to get my dad an !Phone 6 for Christmas, but I’m also giving him a Zippo handwarmer (and the requisite lighter fluid) because he already got the iPhone and wanted to open an actual present on Christmas! He spends a lot of his retirement outdoors at the cabin so I think it will come in handy. And I bought one for myself for the winter commute because it looked so awesome.
That is truly awesome!!
Socks and underwear! Yeesh. How about an experience gift – tickets to a concert or show; movie theater or restaurant gift cards; set up a summer fun trip (even a day trip) – camping, whitewater rafting; fishing; cool glassware (since everyone else is giving him booze); gift certificate to a local recreation center or sports club; goodies like cookies or candy he would not make/buy himself. Socks and underwear…I would be truly bummed out if that’s what I got for christmas, even if they were the world’s greatest underwear. Love the zombie cribbage game though.
I feel like you must be a young fun single person. Socks & underwear at the holidays is totally a symptom of marriage.
I’m married, and a notoriously bad gift giver, and even I wouldn’t give my spouse socks or undies as a Xmas gift. Different strokes, I guess!
No, married for 9 years! Admittedly, our thing has historically been experience gifts or just one gift, mostly out of pure laziness. Didn’t have much scratch in the beginning so instead of gifts we would go to a decadent lunch at a super fancy restaurant. Once the restaurant closed we switched to one “big” gift – like an expensive tool or a bag, not a lot of small underwear/sock type gifts. Gift buying is a pain in the tuchus.
LOL at young fun and single. Old, boring, and married here.
I would say you might have a point about basic black/white socks. However, most of my guy co-workers are currently OBSESSED with having cool socks. Colorful, fun socks are a huge trend right now, even for the C-suite guys. I think that giving awesome, trendy socks (like those shown above) would be a great gift.
Young, fun, single person here who 100% asked for socks for Christmas and will be thrilled to get them. (Ski socks, hiking socks, running socks.)
Hah. Now starting year 30 of marriage.
We have a tradition of doing “stockings” instead of gifts…money limit set.
Requirements:
toothpaste, deodorant, shampoo, body wash, floss
antacids, vitamins, aspirins (etc.)
a toy/game
candy
music cd
movie dvd
While we literally stock up on consumables that we would buy anyway, the money limit always leaves more room for small gifts. One year I got him sandals from Payless … for running around outside. The most mystery item to date. I was just lucky that the chosen shopping center had such a store!
After that, it’s anything we find … we have a random number list of area shopping centers, strip malls, etc. so each year it’s different, but we both go to the same place.
The goal is to get the requirements AND mostly, to be creative, at the same place(s).
The other goal is to do a Linus Pauling trick and try to discern the contents of each wrapped item. (Or be the one who so cleverly selects and wraps that the item cannot be discerned.)
So far, no undies but socks for sleeping warmth have been bought at a pharmacy in the past :)
Suggestions for good men’s belt brands? Looking to spend $100-$150. Thanks!
I had great luck at the Saks mens store a couple years back, in that price range. I think the cool, scored black leather belt I got was Prada.
Allen Edmonds, and their shoes are gorgeous too.
With the exception of the boxers, I feel like I always like the men’s gifts more (for myself).
Slightly more fun that sheets and boxers: really nice pajamas and/or fun pajama pants. Brooks Brothers has great PJs, often on sale, and today everything is 20% off. This is one of those things I feel like most guys don’t buy themselves and it’s nice to wake up in the morning feeling like Rex Harrison.
Other ideas:
– Nice whiskey if you know what they like, with all attendant accessories (these “ice wedge” glasses are a nice alternative to the ubiquitous whiskey stones – http://tinyurl.com/omsqlnm)
– Fun cookie jar filled with treats
– Those really warm slipper moccasins for anyone who has to go out with the dog early in the morning
– Fancy headphones
– Fun cufflinks & French cuff shirt if needed (I know a lot of guys who like the buffalo nickel ones)
– Monogrammed branding iron for your steak grilling enthusiast (check Williams Sonoma and Hammacher)
– A nice hat (we got my SO’s dad a fedora one year and he loved it)
– Whatever he’s into salt and pepper (I like robot ones, I once got an ex bf gummy bear ones really randomly and he (inexplicably?) LOVED them)
– a spiffy umbrella (this is one that works for all genders I think because most people will not spend a lot on an umbrella for themselves but it’s so nice to have a good one)
– An audible dot com subscription for those who have to do a lot of long driving (you could actually do a trial of a 3 month membership for $.99 on gilt today)
Oh, and while I agree that the thinkgeek gift guide is awesome, my favorite all time guide is Hammacher – some practical, some ridiculous, always enlightening: http://www.hammacher.com/Category/Gift-Guide?promo=Gift-Guide-TopNav
I can personally vouch for the leather/nickel money clip. Big hit, that one.
Oh my goodness – I am dying over that list, AIMS!
I’m getting my husband a membership at the climbing gym near his work (what he wanted). I think my dad is getting the thermapen mentioned here a week or two ago and an awesome handmade knife made from a railroad spike. I’m pretty sure my brother in law is getting the zombie cribbage set above, now that I’ve seen it.
My brother is the problem. I remember in past years people raved about a particular shaving set for guys. Does anyone remember what it was?
My husband liked the Art of Shaving process, but it was expensive. He also liked his Harry’s razor from Birchbox and the Billy Jealousy shaving stuff.
My husband looooves the Jack Black shaving stuff. Its expensive but makes his skin feel much softer, especially in winter.
+1 for Jack Black products. My H, bro, and bro in law all swear by it and have very different facial hair situations. I also love their SPF moisturizer (which I discovered by using my husband’s on vacation when I forgot my moisturizer).
Office Gifting TJ: I have four direct reports who are all at a senior manager/director level. Our office does not do any sort of end of year/holiday bonus, so I traditionally personally purchase a generous gift card to give to each as a Christmas/end of year/Holiday gift. One of my direct reports resigned right before Thanksgiving, with her last day this Friday. Her replacement is starting the same day. Though she is new to our office/company, I have known the replacement for several years, and feel very fortunate that I was able to recruit her to join my team. So….who gets what? Traditionally, I give out these end of year gifts on the Friday before Christmas. Resigning direct report isn’t leaving on bad terms, but it wasn’t a good fit either. Do both leaving direct report and new direct report get a gift? Neither? Just new? Split the gift card and give half to each?
What about a nice “farewell” gift to the departing person and a “welcome” gift to the new person (just so they don’t fee left out). You could split what you would spend on the gift card between the two. If the old person feels like you’ve cheaped out, oh well. The new person won’t expect anything particular since she is new. If a farewell gift is not appropriate, then just don’t give them anything. If I resigned just before the holidays I would not expect a gift.
Mark and Graham also has free shipping and 30% off all gifts “for him” today with the code FORHIM. They have a lot of great leather goods. I remember someone needed ideas for nice men’s accessories for a little brother, and in that vein, they have leather iPhone cases, wallets, catchalls, etc. You can get free shipping on every order by shopping through http://www.markandgraham.com/trunkshowshopping with Host ID 220102391937 and password WS9641419. You can also use the code when shopping through the link.
We have really gotten into giving experiences instead of things, as our house is full of things. This can be a bit more pricey than boxers, socks or even the shaving kits, but I like to find things that we can both enjoy, like something that he can do that involves going somewhere. My husband has always wanted to race cars, so I found Skip Barber Racing School and last year he got 3 day racing school in Florida and this year he is getting 2-day advanced racing school at Laguna Seca in Monterey, CA… he gets to drive race cars and I get to go explore a new place I’ve never been to before! In addition to racing school, Skip Barber also has high performance driving school where you get to drive high end cars full out on a race track… also there are more localized racing/driving experiences at a lot of the road tracks around the nation.