Tuesday, November 23, 2010

10 Sweet gifts for the dudes in your life

Its that time of year...holiday shopping season. Did you just sigh as loudly as I did?

To make matters worse, I have three brothers. My husband has two brothers. And, oh my God that's right I now have a brother-in-law as well.

That's SEVEN mens to buy gifts for, people.

Seven dudes between the ages of 20 and 30-something -- and you can't just give 'em a gift card every year. (Well, I mean, you CAN, but what fun is THAT?)

Over the years, I have become the self-proclaimed expert in finding gifts that guys really like, and will actually use. And while I'm not against finding a sweet t-shirt and pairing it with a pair of Bucks tickets, here are a few ideas in the $50 and under category for those of you who need a creative boost.

Happy shopping.

I ♥ my music. And I ♥ my Skullcandy headphones. I like that they cover my entire ear - it helps reduce outside noise (as in that person in the next cubicle talking really loudly on the phone) and those little earbuds tend to hurt my ears after a few hours. These babies are "designed for active people", meaning they're super durable. I can attest to the fact that mine have survived tug-of-war matches between two small boys.

These actually come in many different colors. The headphone jack is universal and will work with most PCs, MP3 players and portable DVD players.




Price: $12

Don't let these babies fool ya - while a pair of binoculars would make a pretty nifty gift, this is actually two secret flasks that can be filled and them - ahem - snuck into sporting events, concerts, what-have-you. The Hubster even bought a few of these for Boss's Day a few weeks back.







Coleman Oversized Quad Chair
Price: $32

Its one thing to have a chair ready for any backyard gathering and another to have one that's actually man-sized. This one supports up to 325 lbs and comes with a soft-sided cooler that holds 2-4 cans and an ice pack.






BleacherBack Stadium Seat
Price: $20

As long as we're talkin' chairs, every sports fan needs a seat like this. Lambeau Field may be the Holy Frozen Tundra, but its still a pain in the arse (literally) if you have to sit through an entire game on a freezing cold bleacher seat without a back. This one folds up and has a shoulder strap for easy carrying and weighs about three pounds. It also comes with a buckle to attach it to the bleacher seat and a storage pocket.




Gerber Needle-nosed Multi-tool
Price: $50

These things are like Swiss Army knives for grown-ups. This one comes with a needle nose pliers, wire cutter, wire crimper, serrated knife, RemGrit saw with universal saw coupler, Fiskars scissors, cross point screwdriver, small and medium flat blade screwdrivers, can opener, bottle opener, file and ruler. It all folds up into the handle so you can store it in your pocket or your tackle box.





Gear Shift / Steering Wheel Cufflinks
Price: $29 ea.


By the time a guy is 20-something, he'll have had more than one cousin or buddy get hitched and have reason to own a (somewhat) nice suit. There's no reason to not stay true to his personality, and you might as well buy him something that's cool but that he might not otherwise buy for himself. Both pairs of these cufflinks are set in rhodium with a silver mount.




RCA Ri503 Sound System with Universal Dock for iPod
Price: $60

So I went a little high on this one, price-wise. I'd rather go a bit above my self-assigned price range than recommend a crappy product. This full-sized stereo system features full-range stereo speakers and a powerful built-in subwoofer. The universal dock plays and charges your iPod as it’s docked. Use the audio line-in to connect other external audio sources. The Ri503 operates on AC power or six C batteries.


Oxo 7-piece Steel Barware Set
Price: $40

How is this dude going to ever impress a girl if all he ever offers her to drink is a beer in a can? This set comes with a cocktail strainer, cocktail mixing spoon, jigger, cutting board, citrus knife and bottle opener. Even if its not often used it'll make him look (kinda) like James Bond. Ish. (You might also want to pair this with a cocktail shaker and The Ultimate Bar Book.)





Cuisinart 14-Piece Deluxe Grill Set
Price: $40

There's nothing more awesomer than a man who cooks, even if its 365 days a year on the grill. (What? If its cooking and I don't have to do it - SCORE.) This cool-looking set includes a spatula, tongs, silicone basting brush, cleaning brush, extra cleaning brush head and 4 pairs of corn holders. While I personally feel that including corn holders is a rip off, this set also comes with a bonus $20 Omaha Steaks Gift Reward Card and is elligible for free shipping through Amazon. Not too shabby.



Tavo touch-screen friendly gloves
Price: $29

The special pads on the thumb and pointer finger allow you to use your touch-screen devices without taking your gloves off. Cool.








Bonus gift idea
Have a favorite t-shirt you no longer wear? Have it made into a laptop sleeve! The people at Hello Rewind do just that. Extra awesome? Many of the laptop sleeves are made by sex-trafficking survivors, so the money you spend on this gift provides survivors with financial opportunity.


Many of the links above are associate links, meaning I'll get a teensie bit of money in exchange for any item you might buy when linking from my blog.

4 comments:

Melissa/Green Girl said...

Oooh, those are some great ideas for manly gifts.

Marni said...

I can think of a few great dudes who would like the flask binoculars!

melisalw said...

Those cufflinks ROCK. Love them!

Anonymous said...

Couldnt agree more with that, very attractive article