*It’s the mooooost wonderful tiiiime of the year! Today’s gift guide is for the men in your life. But it’s not from me – it’s from my man! Knowing what to get a man for Christmas can feel a lot harder than shopping for women (I think), so I wanted to get straight to the source. J’s picks are all here, and then own lil’ roundup of picks from Santa’s Shop is below. Happy shopping… 🙂
It’s that’s time of the year again where you scratch your head and wonder what to get your significant other. In this case, it’s your man. Men… eh. Yes, we’re finnicky, but the secret is we don’t want you to show us up on gift giving. It ends up being awkward and hurts our manly pride, or whatever. But this is the year you surprise your guy with a gift so thoughtful (and within reason) that he will have no choice but to either self reflect or commit to back massages for the next year. Your choice courtesy of this year’s gift guide for your super manly man.
This is the third year I’m guest posting a guide, so if you don’t find something here I’m sure the 2016 and 2015 posts will have something to fill your need. But first, a refresher on the guide:
- The list must go from ten down to one to build the hype.
- There’s a rating system: practicality, affordability, and awesomeness are the categories and each can get anywhere between one to five stars. Practical means can you use it daily and would it be a more efficient substitution for a current product. Affordable means under $50. Awesomeness is my interpretation. And ties are broken arbitrarily.
- The list must sidestep when convenient to add humor a.k.a. the non-practical, non-affordable and super awesome gifts.
Price: $30
Summary: I may be in a small camp with this gift, but this secondary gift for your man is pretty damn neat. It’s recycled and made in Amurica.
Practicality: **Affordability:*Awesomeness: *
OVERALL SCORE: 4/15
Price: $24.99
Summary: This is a surprise #9 on my annual list, but goes perfectly with your spouse who doesn’t live with you yet. It’s another gift your man may think about before using, but I guarantee after two beers this becomes a solid gift. It’s pricey though, but it has practicality for those winter months when you really want to grill some cheese. (Side note: we call it a grilled cheese, but can I get a show of hands for anyone who has actually attempted to put the sandwich on a grill?)
Practicality: **Affordability:*Awesomeness: ***
OVERALL SCORE: 6/15
Price: $40
Summary: This is the gift he won’t tell you he loves, but you’ll see him jamming out when you’re not looking. Seriously. It provides a built-in headphone through input to connect headphones, which we know he (and you) will be mimicking Freddy Mercury or Adele for years to come. (Erica… hint, hint.)
Practicality: *Affordability:**Awesomeness: ***
OVERALL SCORE: 6/15
Price: $129 and up (but Walmart’s knock off is $35.99)
Summary: I know what you’re thinking: how is this a gift for my man? It’s not. It’s really the Indian Giving Gift of the Year a.k.a he will give it back to you, and you know you want this gift. If you don’t have a small dog or cat, you will need one of those too… no description needed, look at the photos. Send a comment when you buy one!
Practicality: *Affordability:**Awesomeness: *****
OVERALL SCORE: 8/15
Price: Under $70
Summary: Cold brew coffee is in this year and for good reason: it’s awesome. KitchenAid is notorious for selling overpriced equipment, but this may be worth the price point since it makes up to 14 servings each batch and can easily fit in a refrigerator. This will be in our house at some time in the near future… or like tomorrow.
Practicality: *****Affordability:*Awesomeness: ***
OVERALL SCORE: 9/15
5. YETI Rambler 30 oz Stainless Steel Vacuum Insulated Tumbler with Lid
Price: $29.99
Summary: The reviews are almost 5 stars out of more than 1,000 comments. That’s the good news. The bad news: not a whole lot except for the up front investment. There are similar quality versions at your local Target for almost half the price, but this brand is good: it comes in different colors and doesn’t sweat. It’s a great tandem gift with the cold-brew coffee maker.
Practicality: *****Affordability:**Awesomeness: ***
OVERALL SCORE: 10/15
Price: $16.96
Summary: This one will take some getting used to, but this is a great gift for him (or her) as they sip their beer throughout the game or function.
Practicality: ***Affordability:****Awesomeness: ***
OVERALL SCORE: 10/15
Price: Less than $25
Summary: Does your man like movies? Do you like movies? How about up to 350k of them? This is a cheap alternative to Chromecast and converts your TV into a smart one.
Practicality: *****Affordability:***Awesomeness: ***
OVERALL SCORE: 11/15
Price: Around $15+
Summary: You know what men really enjoy? Comfortable clothes. But we can’t wear them during work… or can we? Check out Savane. I grabbed a pair from Burlington and now have four different pairs. The linked pair in grey is my favorite and I swear it feels like your wearing sweat pants to work while looking sharp. For the price point, don’t second guess it.
Practicality: *****Affordability:***Awesomeness: *****
OVERALL SCORE: 13/15
- Religious Retreats (Google Your Flavor)
Price: Varies
Summary: Whether it’s together or just for him, why not share an opportunity to allow your guy to self reflect on life? Yeah, I know, sometimes this is a hard sell, but this may be a time to get closer on a deeper level. I mean, after three years of gift guides, why not take the next step?
Practicality: *****Affordability:****Awesomeness: *****
OVERALL SCORE: 14/15
Check out these bonus non-practical (all the time), non-affordable (for the usage rate), but super awesome gift ideas.
BONUS 1: Star Wars Stormtrooper Toaster
Price: Under $50
Summary: It’s Disney’s world and we’re just living in it, so why not embrace the Star Wars phenomenon? This is super dorky but awesome.
BONUS 2: Polycade
Price: $2,800 +
Summary: I will convince Erica at some point that this is a need and not a want. Seriously. Who doesn’t want their own arcade system that’s sleek and is a party machine? There are three versions: nerd, super nerd, and maybe you shouldn’t be dating him nerd. And they’re all CERTIFIED AWESOME.
From Santa’s Shop:
SO.
Do ya feel better with ideas for what to get a man for Christmas this year?
I like that these are an eclectic + diverse enough bunch o’ things to work for YOUR man (husband, partner, fiance, boyfriend, etc), or for any man in your life, really. A brother, a dad, a grandpa even…it fits the bill.
Shoutout to J for being a rockstar hubs that takes the time to do this (for me + for y’all). Thanks, J. 🙂
What are y’all thinking of getting your men this year????
P.S. Make sure to check out this Amazon gift guide for Her + the whooooole big whoppin’ Santa’s Shop tab up above. ‘Tis the season… 😉
