Gift Suggest

Buying gifts for men isn’t easy whether it’s your father, your brother, your husband or your boyfriend, when it’s time to buy a gift for them good ideas and inspiration fly out the window. There’s all the more pressure to buy a good gift because as women, we insist on being given sentimental gifts that relate to us so when it’s time to give back we have a lot of stuff to live up to. If you think about it, there aren’t many options available for gifts for men as there are for women. With women you have failsafe things like flowers, chocolate and jewelry but there are no such options for guys.

The common suggestions for gifts for men are sports stuff but while that may work on birthdays it doesn’t work on holidays like Fathers day when you’re trying to show some appreciation for your dad or your husband. Golf balls and T-shirts aren’t a gift that fit the occasion and there’s also the fact that you can’t give the same kind of gift all year long (something that’s common with both men and women).

There is however a little secret that you need to know that‘ll simplify a lot of your gift giving problems. Even though men don’t admit it, they like chocolate just as much as you do and while women focus more on quality and the esthetics of a gift, men tend to focus more on value and usefulness (which is why they think blenders are a good gift for the wife).

With that in mind, you can start accepting some of the gift suggestions that seem bizarre to you, like gifting tools. You may not want another cookie cutter but men rarely say no to hammers and wrenches. While this may sound ridiculous, it is a somewhat reasonable gift. What it lacks is the appreciative factor which brings me back to the fact that men like chocolate and that kind of stuff, just as much as women do.

Here's another idea. Consider giving him fathers day gift baskets with a food theme like fathers day fruit baskets. Avoid the ones with alcohol and champagne or your mom might blow her top. Men are used to being given beer and other alcoholic drinks as gifts so try something unique and more on the solid food side of food themed gifts like fathers day fruit bouquets.

There’s the whole world of sports paraphernalia out there but it’s likely to cost you a lot since guys place value above all things anything that you pick out will be subject to heavy scrutiny. It’s a good idea only if you can stand a lot of criticism from your dad about a gift that you spent hours (or days) on buying.

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Following are the best gifts I have found this year (2009)

1 - Motorola T505 Bluetooth In-Car Speakerphone – I had to start with a gadget since they are so popular, but don’t be alarmed by the confusing name if you are not a tech geek! Basically, this little gadget “streams phone calls and all the music on your cell phone to the audio system in your car or truck, using Bluetooth technology and an FM transmitter”. I got it for my husband, he is in sales and travels in his car a lot. Now he has no excuse not to call me because of any hands free cell phone laws!

2 - A donation in someone’s name to a charity fund – For the person who already has everything!

3- Fruit fruit fruit! – Not your usual idea of a fruit basket. The way it is presented is awesome; they cut the fruit to look like flowers, and can dip the fruit in chocolate! I discovered Edible Arrangement about a year ago when I saw a delivery van in my town. Did some research and found them online (http://www.ediblearrangements.com/). I know there are other places that make them as well but I have the best luck with their customer service and will stick with them. It is my standby for gifts because it seems to work for everyone, from my 17 year old nephew to my 82 year old grandmother!

4- Webkinz – Great for kids….my 6 year old is obsessed! They are the cutest stuffed animals that come with a secret code which lets you into “Webkinz World online”, where you can create a virtual pet of your own.

5- International Star Registry – Another great gift for the person who has it all! Register a star under their name; they get a cool certificate with the coordinates of their star.

6- Apple 16 GB iPod touch – ‘nuff said.

7- Nintento Wii – ditto. I’m old and yet I know how cool these are.

8- Anything from Snapfish – upload photos of the kids and make ties, calendars, coffee mugs and t-shirt for the grandparents. Very different and reasonably priced.

9- Guitar Hero World Tour – 2 Guitar Kit – If you can get your hands on one…My sisters and I chipped in together to get this for my nephews ( a bit out of my price range, $129.99, and I found free shipping). Not only do they play it, but said they have caught their mom and dad using it too!!! Too funny…

10- An Amazon.com gift card – Then they can buy whatever they want!!

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My toughest test came this year, I have two nephews and they turned 17 and 15. It seems like all they wanted were electrical gadgets (iphones, mp3 players, etc) that I couldn’t afford. So I searched high and low to find:

1- A Snowboard bag – I bought this for the 17 year old last Christmas. He loved it! He can keep his snowboard, boots, gloves, goggles and helmet all in one bag for when he hits the slopes. Lots of cool colors and styles to choose from, and I got one for about $30! (They can get pricier if you pick out a fancy one with wheels). I had the best luck searching for them at ebags.com (but ladies, don’t get distracted by all the pretty handbags!)

2- I-tunes gift card – I couldn’t afford the MP3 player, but I could help supply the music!

3- Gift certificates for the movies – Sound lame, but my sister makes them pay for a lot of their own entertainment now that they are getting older, so they really appreciated it!

4- A gas card – Again, I know it is just a gift card, but the 17 year old just bought a car and loved the idea. Most major gas stations have them: Citgo, Mobil, etc.

5- A gift bag full of cool, random stuff – There is a great website called uncommongoods.com and you can search for gifts by teens. For the 15 year old, I put together a bag of funny t-shirts, a wallet made of duct tape, and a really funky CD holder. (they also have neat stuff for teenage girls; neat journals, jewelry boxes, etc).

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I love to work out; running, biking, etc, and have a lot of friends that are uber healthy as well. So I like to buy them gifts that are appropriate for their active lifestyles. That brings us to:

1- Gym memberships - In this economy, money is tight for everyone. My best friend in the world goes to the gym religiously, and was so upset when her membership was about to run out because money was tight. So I extended her membership for her for 3 months! Every gym is different, I spent about $60. But most gyms offer gift certificates now as well.

2- Chocolate dipped fruit – Because even the healthiest people are still suckers for chocolate! I sent an Edible fruit bouquet to my friend at her workplace. She was so excited! I picked out a cool fruit arrangement called the Berry Chocolate Bouquet. It was still healthy, had tons of fruit (strawberries, pineapple, cantaloupe and grapes), but some of the strawberries were dipped in chocolate for a bit of decadence (and it was big enough for her to share with her co-workers, thank goodness!).

3- Jewelry – Sounds funny, but there is a great site, terrybicycles.com, and they have jewelry that I love! My sister just competed in her first triathlon, and I got her the neatest “run-bike-swim” ring. They also have necklaces and bracelets made from bike parts – so cute, but a bit on the pricey side.

4- Gift pack (Sport appropriate) – Last year my friend started training for a marathon, so I put together a gift bag with a heart monitor, runners journal, water bottles and energy bars. I’ve also done them for my friends that bike (spare tubes, camelbacks, etc). Get creative! And if you’re not familiar with their favorite sport, just do some research online. There are tons of great sites that can help.

5- Gift certificates – Again, these are usually my last choice because they don’t seem creative, but lots of people are hard up for cash these days and some sports can get pretty pricey. Ski lift passes, indoor rock climbing passes, and sporting goods stores are all good ideas.

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