I like to make as many gifts as possible and Christmas is not far away. Does anyone have any ideas for gifts (not necessarily handmade) for males from teenager boys right through to elderly men?
This is always a problem for me.
Thanks,
Christine from Melbourne, Australia
Add your voice! Click below to answer. ThriftyFun is powered by your wisdom!
Christine
We men like gadgets and puzzles. There are many gadget sites on the internet and its well worth a look. Pocket Message Recorders, Scan Radio's, Mini LED Torches and Key Rings are some items that come to mind.
I don't give too many gifts to men anymore but like for any male school staff or male bus drivers I give food items....nuts, candy, snacks and such. That seems to go over well. Most men like nuts, especially cashews it seems.
Snacks has also worked for me.
We had naughty santa last year. The BIG box of Grippo potatoe chips went over very well.
Microwave buttered (of course its a gift lol) popcorn
can be bought at Walmart at a good price.
edie
movie bucket for all ages,buy 2 or3 dvds,bag each of popcorn,pretzels,peanuts,wrapped candies,add 3 or4 cans of drink place all in a bucket or tub.wrap celaphone on top,wella one gift to suit any age. take 2 paper plates,on one plate put wrapped candies,a couple of scratchies or coins place other plate on top staple all way round wrap in cellaphone twist each end like a wrapped lolly.hope these help you out.
Food and tools...I got my DH hot sauce and gourmet stuffed olives in his stocking one year, and he loved them (his co-workers didn't......) If you know they have a computer and like to download music/games/etc you can get them cd or dvd recorder discs, as part of the gadgets list. Even "toys." My DH and friends have more fun with the little remote control cars and die casts than my 5 year old.....Kellogs cereal has some great offers for RC mini and die cast collectables, if you or someone you know likes them.
Pocket knives are quite often a good gift or any kind of tools. I agree with the food gifts, gadgets and puzzles. Gift certificates to the movies, for CDs or DVDs.
As for making gifts, I've made tool rolls out of canvas and little leather pouches which usually go over well. They can be used for coins or little keepsakes.
Susan for ThriftyFun
Most men love food gifts. Homemade cookies, fudge, etc. I like to make up baskets with a couple dozen mini muffins. Include coffee singles or hot cocoa pouches. Teachers always tell me it was their favorite gift.
If your man or son is a tv nut or a couch sports fan there is always the idea of the pocket that goes over the arm chair to hold the remote control. You can also put the cable book and any extra batteries for that emergency moment that the remote (horror of horrors) suddenly quits working!
Also for young men with their first own truck or car there could be the thing my son loved so much once, a set of fuzzy camoflage dice for the rear view mirror. hahahahah My son likes anything camoflage these days.
Or if you do plastic canvas and he has a favorite team you could make the small square boxes on strings with the letters of the team on there in the proper colors.(They are made very similar to fuzzy dice. )
My son hung a pair of those in his room since he was 12. And it was a big hit. Even some of his friends wanted a pair to.
Hi Christine,
I'm also in Australia and appreciate that it's summer here at Christmas-time.
Like you, I have trouble coming up with ideas for male presents. What's good about this time of year is that it's very close to Father's day and an excellent time to do some 'male' xmas shopping when specials and markdowns come around!
Last year I got great travel sets at K-mart for around $13.99 containing shaving gel, after-shave and a great razor with extra blades (I think they were Gilette). I got one each for my son and husband (and stashed them for xmas)...you'd often pay that amount for the travel bag alone! You can also find satin boxers at great bargain prices around Father's day also.
My son (a teenager) always appreciates a new wallet...since money burns a hole in his pocket, his wear out quite quickly. Sunglasses also go down well with teenagers (I've seen some great bargains on ebay). Swimming shorts also come in useful at Christmas-time in Aus....and let's not forget stubby holders!!!...Make sure you check out all the markdowns in the run-up to Father's day and afterwards.
For older men, food always goes down a treat!
I'm not much for buying novelty gifts, I'd rather give something that I know will be used....i.e. food, clothing, toiletries etc....
If in doubt, vouchers are an easy option but I hope I've given a few ideas : )
One year for my parents' gift, I made a gift basket of different food items we have in our area, that they don't have where they live. Both Mom & Dad talked about how they might have never discovered such items, otherwise. Both seemed thoroughly thrilled with the gift basket. Upon one trip back to visit them, not one item I'd put in my 'homemade' gift basket, did I find, in a cupboard, in the fridge. But I did find some items that I'd previously ordered from an online company to ship to my parents for an anniversary or some other event, that Mom and Dad never opened or used. So my decision was to either send gift cards for going out to eat, 'homemade gift baskets' (not the ones I order for them & they put up and display). In my gift basket, I included jars of fancy mustards (one was a champagne flavor, one was a cranberry flavor), a brand of barbecue sauce I like (Mom & Dad are kinda brand loyal & don't 'branch out'), fancy crackers, fancy pasta, flavored syrup, etc. (I think Dad preferred it over my Mom).
I noticed that most people sayng that guys like food gifts ... are women. Guys are usually polite, so they *act* like they like food gifts. The other dude had it spot on ... gadgets are a sure thing. I got a wind-up spaz robot - totally useless, but it still cracks me up a year after I got it. Check out Brookstone.
i live in the country so do most of the men i buy for. from the age they are allowed to carry a knife to the age they aren't allowed to carry a knife they all seem to love them. the less country gents like the smaller ones to use on their nails or to pry stuff and open things with ( i have one of those myself!) the ones that hunt or fish like the larger ones. you can get them with tools attached or just one simple blade. buy good quality and they'll be thrilled.
i've also found that the boys like slingshots (again we're country kids here. not so many windows) camping kits. flashlights and spotlights. good luck.
Thanks Jojo for your suggestions. It is nice to hear some feedback from Australia. The father's day shopping time is a good idea. I thought vouchers for a surf shop for the teenagers maybe. Thanks again.
I agree with the poster about the microwave popcorn and who doesn't love popcorn. I've seldom ever met anyone who didn't! Wal-Mart has good prices on it. I especially like the box of mini bags because it makes the right amount. I make those for my kids and then it's all eaten, I don't have to pack any leftovers up and none to be wasted....note that popcorn ever is wasted in this house!
Masculine scented shower gel, cans of nuts, handkerchiefs, socks, tins of shortbread or butter cookies, certain hard candies. All are good choices to put a smile on my hubby's face.
After spending a good amount of money on a certain cologne, I just knew my nephew would like & he didn't---it taught me to leave the cologne purchases up to the individual that'll be wearing it (however my niece and I have about the same taste in ladies cologne). Just because it smells great to me, won't mean they'll like it.
My Dad is pretty easy to buy for. I buy him things to do with fishing or gift cards to book stores (I did this recently for his birthday). This way the gift cards are cheaper to mail than a big package & it benefits him as he gets to pick out something he likes. He loves to read. So it worked out well, for us both.
My brother, my nephew, my brother in law are all into fishing & deer/turkey hunting. So anything related to that (ex.: hunters orange wearing caps & vests, hunting magazines) anything for hunting or fishing works fine.
One strange thing that I have noticed is that men LOVE label makers! The guys I know who have gotten one as a gift have taken them everywhere. They love to label the electrical box thingy, light switches, Homemade Cd's/DVDs, binders and notebooks, wires and cords on computers and stereos, etc. etc. They are really great for labeling the plug-ins to gadgets where you have several things plugged into the same outlet ... helps you know which plug to pull when you want to disconnect something. It's great for guys who have a lot of gadgets at home or at work as well as ones who just like to be organized. Its usually one of those gifts that gets used again and again as the possibilities are endless. And other family members will probably find themselves borrowing it often as well. You can find some nice ones for $30 or less.
My dad likes to take bubble baths, I would like some ideas on a basket for him
Hi guys,
There's been some great ideas but for Christmas my family is doing a secret Santa and I have my brother who is 21 and he likes dragons and normal things guys like. But I don't have a clue what to get him and I was wondering if anyone has any ideas?
Be muchly appreciated! :)
I've found that older teenage/college guys love nerf guns. I recently did a gift swap with some of my guy friends at college, and I picked up a few nerf-type guns for less than $5 apiece and we had a blast! I don't know if it's a throwback to their younger days or what, but it really was a hit!
You might think of crossword puzzle books or Sudoku puzzles. Logic puzzles.... Some guys really like that kind of puzzle, and some can't stand them...LOL
You might think of a pair of binoculars or a small, good telescope too. Those are pretty cool gifts. Music CDs or gift certificates would probably go over well, too.
I gave my grown son a remote controlled helicopter for Christmas one year. He loved playing with it! Listening to his 2 year old daughter giggle every time it went flying up in the air was worth it!
For Christmas this year I got my boyfriend (22) a home brewing kit. its cool because hes a really hands on kind-of guy so he can make his own beer, and you can get recipe kits for whatever hes into drinking, even root beer! Mr.Beer has some nice kits, that's what I went with.
Add your voice! Click below to answer. ThriftyFun is powered by your wisdom!
My dad's 39th birthday is in early April (I like to plan ahead). I usually get him simple things, last year I got him a Coca Cola piggy bank and he never used it. The year before that, I got him a toy of his childhood favorite cartoon series. This year I want to get him something special that he will use. I am 13 yrs old and I have around 400-600 RMB to use.
By Hiba A.
We don't know how much that is sweetie, but I find humorous things get used more. I suggest a tee shirt for each of them. On his, say "I am not 39, I am 19 with 20 years experience". You could say the same on hers but make it "15 with 17 years experience". It's a play on numbers and people usually love them here in the states. Good Luck!
You have lots of time to plan this. Why don't you give yourself some time to pay attention to your dad and see what it is he likes. For example, if he always just rips open his mail and makes a big mess of it, you might get him a letter opener so that he can do a neat job.
Perhaps he would appreciate a new flashlight; I always find that I never have a good flashlight when I need one. If you dad drinks coffee or tea, you might choose a nice mug with something interesting written on it, or a joke, or a picture you think he would like. If you dad has a hobby, you might find something that he would like that goes with the hobby.
Think about it carefully, and observe what he looks at in the stores or remarks he makes around the house. (If he always complains he can't find the toothpicks, then a container to keep toothpicks in that he can keep handy would be good, for example.)
