Who said holiday gifting for men was difficult? It doesn’t need to be if you know the men in your life.
“The most important thing to keep in mind when shopping for men is to treat them as individuals with personal interests,” says Joseph Green, Executive Editor of AskMen.com, “because no two men are the same. The common mistake that a lot of shoppers make is to think of men as simple creatures with simple needs.”
When shopping for men, first consider their general hobbies, lifestyle and personality. Start out with ideas of what men do for fun and recreation.
“Once you narrow down your options by highlighting what makes them tick, you have three key choices: Replace, upgrade, or find something new,” suggests Green.
Replacing a favorite item is the safest bet, he says, because you know it’s something they love. But it’s also the least imaginative option. Upgrading his gear is definitely more exciting, but is likely to cost a lot. The final choice is the wildcard, with the biggest potential reward and disappointment.
“If you’re going to invest in a product that is completely new to the recipient, you should always research carefully before making a decision.”
The Best Gifts for Men This Holiday Season
If you still need some inspiration, the gifts below are versatile enough to please, but should still fit your recipient’s passions and interests nicely. Shopping for the women or teens in your life? Check out our top gift picks for women and our top gift picks for teens.
Best for the Creative Cook: Ninja DZ201 Air Fryer
What You Get: This Air Fryer has two baskets that utilize DualZone technology. This allows you to cook different items on different settings and temperatures simultaneously. Or, if you prefer, you can set both baskets to “match cook” and they will cook at the same setting/temperature. The total capacity is 8 quarts (two individual 4-quart baskets), and the machine allows for six cooking functions: Air Fry, Air Broil, Roast, Bake, Reheat and Dehydrate. Two nonstick crisper plates are included as well (and they are very easy to clean).
Why the Man in Your Life Will Love It: It’s delightfully easy to use and will make him a pretty popular cook in your house. The Ninja turns out some awesome snack food favorites like crispy chicken wings and takes frozen snacks like crunchy tater tots and chicken nuggets to the next level (which is also a huge bonus if the cook is also a Dad).
Price: $180 on Amazon.com.
Best for the Entertainer: Riedel Extreme Martini Glass, Set of 2
What You Get: These martini glasses are from the Austrian Riedel brand and are designed with lead-free crystal glass. The “Extreme” collection was released in 2018. The name evokes the extreme contours, which spread out wide but taper at the top. The glasses are dishwasher safe, although use of a stemware rack is recommended.
Why the Man in Your Life Will Love It: If he enjoys a good martini, it’s a nice idea to class up the experience. Martini glasses make a great gift as they are something that will be enjoyed but not necessarily something he might go out and buy for himself. Riedel is a well established brand that has been producing high end glassware for over 300 years.
Price: $42.41 on sale from $49 at Amazon.com.
Best for the Photographer: Billingham Hadley Camera Bag
What You Get: This British brand makes durable high quality bags. The Billingham Hadley bag is designed to hold and protect your camera (a typical DSLR camera), 13-inch laptop and accessories. The padded inserts are removable for cleaning, and to allow for customization of the bag. The overall bag weighs 3.31 pounds and is 14.57 x 8.66 x 10.43 inches. Available in multiple solid colorways, the bag is constructed with three-layer waterproof fabric (canvas or FibreNyte) and detailed with solid brass hardware and top-grain leather.
Why the Man in Your Life Will Love It: A well-made, classic bag can last a lifetime. While this bag certainly isn’t “cheap,” it’s a perfect gift for a man who loves to take his camera out. Think of this as an investment piece that will be used for years and not fall out of fashion.
Price: $410 at Amazon.com.
Best for the Fit Techie: Fitbit Charge 5 Fitness Tracker
What You Get: The Charge 5 is swim proof up to 50 meters, and has built-in GPS. Track your workouts and your all-day activities along with your body’s vitals. Track sleep cycles, set alarms and get health and wellness reminders to keep you on track as well. This tracker uses a lithium-polymer battery that takes two hours to charge, and that charge can last up to seven days. Currently, Fitbit offers a six month free Premium membership for advanced insights and health tools with purchase of the Charge 5.
Why the Man in Your Life Will Love It: Fitness trackers offer a fun way to get in shape, allowing him to track and challenge his mind and body with data. This latest model from the fitness tracking powerhouse brand Fitbit is sure to impress. The tracker monitors heart health, skin temperature and pulse as well as offers stress management tools.
Price: $149.95 at Amazon.com.
Best for the Man Cave: Govee Glide Wall Light
What You Get: Each Govee wall light comes with seven seamless modular pieces that fit together easily. These smart lights are controlled wirelessly with WiFi through the Govee App or with a home assistant (Alexa or Google Home). The lights are customizable and offer RGBIC rainbow colors, allowing for up to 57 colors at a time. Six Music Modes allow the lights to dance along with the beat in music.
Why the Man in Your Life Will Love It: He’s going to love adding these smart lights to his man cave. The modular lights work really well around computers, televisions and gaming areas and are extremely easy to install and control.
Price: $74.99 on sale from $99.99 at Govee.com.
Best For the Movie Fan: Yogibo Max 6-Foot Beanbag Chair
What You Get: You get a 6 x 2 x 2 feet bean bag that weighs 19 pounds. The fill is made from micro-beads, which conform to the body allowing for zero pressure points. The chair is offered in a variety of colors and the outer cover is a cotton/spandex blend that can be machine washed.
Why the Man in Your Life Will Love It: This isn’t your kids’ bean bag. This modern-looking large bean bag is big enough to act as a chair, couch or bed. (As a taller person, I can confirm the bed option would only work for kids or petite folks.) It’s light so you can pick it up and move it around with no issues. The material fully conforms to the body making this relaxing and soothing for sore back muscles.
Price: $299.99 at Amazon.com.
Best for the Health Conscious: Stanley 40 oz. Adventure Quencher Tumbler
What You Get: Take it from us and grab this cup if you can find it in stock. The Adventure Quencher uses vacuum insulation to keep your drink cold for up to 11 hours, iced up to two days and hot up to seven hours. Holding an impressive 40 ounces of liquid, this cup makes it easy to stay hydrated with less refills. Also, the cup fits into most car cup holders making this really convenient to take on the go with you.
Why the Man in Your Life Will Love It: Gifting the Stanley Adventure Quencher shows you are thinking about keeping him healthy. Staying hydrated is incredibly important for your overall well being and this temperature controlled cup makes it easy. The Adventure Quencher has been wildly popular and sought after because it is so well designed and practical. The fact that you managed to score one of these coveted cups for him should make a good impression as well.
Price: $40 at Stanley1913.com
Best for Stylish Winter Warmth: Cable Knit Cashmere Throw
What You Get: You get a 50-by-60 inch 100% Grade-A Mongolian cashmere blanket with cable knit design. The One Quince cashmere throw is both lightweight and luxuriously soft. One Quince, a brand that values bringing affordable quality products to their customers, compares the quality of this blanket to a similar product offered by Ralph Lauren home for $595.00.
Why the Man in Your Life Will Love It: This incredibly soft throw blanket is perfect for cozying up on the couch but attractive enough to display folded over the side of his favorite chair. Made of fine Mongolian cashmere the throw is luxurious, lightweight and a great gift because it’s probably not an indulgence he would buy for himself.
Price: $139.90 at OneQuince.com
Best for the Effortlessly Stylish Man: Mongolian Cashmere Full-Zip Hoodie
What You Get: You get a 100% Grade-A Mongolian fully zippered cashmere hoodie. The One Quince cashmere hoodie is warm and luxuriously soft. One Quince compares the quality of this sweater to a similar product offered by Ralph Lauren for $288.00.
Why the Man in Your Life Will Love It: This supremely soft hoodie is perfect for an upgraded classic casual look which won’t go out of style any time soon. Made of fine Mongolian cashmere, the hoodie is everyday luxury and a great gift because it’s incredibly cozy and soft.
Price: $109.90 at OneQuince.com
Best for the PC Gamer: Corsair K100 RGB Keyboard
What You Get: The Corsair K100 RGB Keyboard is sure to grab attention with its design and color, as well as its functionality. You get an advanced gaming keyboard featuring keypress inputs up to 8x faster with 8,000Hz hyper-polling and 4,000Hz key scanning, which means very sensitive keys that respond fast in game play. The keyboard is big on visual drama as well with 20 layer lighting effects.
Why the Man in Your Life Will Love It: If the gamer in your life is ready to upgrade to a high-end very capable gaming keyboard, he’ll be really pleased with this gift. In fact it received 4 out of 5 stars from PCMag.
Price: $194.99 at Amazon.com.
Best for the Online Gamer: Backbone One For iPhone
What Your Get: The Backbone One for iPhone features a collapsible and compact design and in its full expanded size is only 3.70 x 10.14 x 1.28 inches. It weighs 4.87 ounces, and the Backbone One uses no battery. Instead it borrows minimal power from your phone. There is a 3.5mm headset jack for headsets and you’ll be able to press and record gameplay, capturing game clips and screenshots. Able to work with any game that supports controllers, this versatile adapter makes game play on the go fast and easy.
Why the Man in Your Life Will Love It: If he loves gaming, he’ll love being able to transform his phone into a premium gaming console. He just snaps this onto his phone, syncs with his favorite console or platform (Xbox, PlayStation or PC), and voila – he can access his entire game library. Backbone can also sync with Xbox Game Pass Ultimate for more gaming options.
Price: $99.99 at PlayBackbone.com.
Best for the Tech Guy: Dell 27 Curved Gaming Monitor
What You Get: You get a 27” Curved LED monitor with 16:9 aspect ratio. The monitor supports 16.7 million colors, offers an adjustable height stand with a 1ms (MPRT) 2ms (gray to gray) response time. Connectors offered include 2x HDMI, 1x DP and 1x Headphone-out jack. Power cable, HDMI 2.0, and DisplayPort cables are included.
Why the Man in Your Life Will Love It: This is a great upgrade or addition to your tech guy’s computer setup. While designed with gamers in mind, this would make for a great upgrade PC/Laptop monitor, or second monitor for his lair. If he’s never tried a curved monitor he’s in for a treat as it’s a great way to reduce glare and visual distortion.
Price: $259.99 at Dell.com.
Best for the Fitness Guy: TKO 15lb Kettlebell
What You Get: This TKO kettlebell is constructed with a neoprene exterior and plastic shell, in order to prevent floor scratching. The bottom of the kettlebell is flat, which makes storage easy. A wide grip handle allows for use with one or two hands, depending on the needs of your workout.
Why the Man in Your Life Will Love It: For any guy into fitness it’s always nice to have a few pieces of equipment for at-home workouts. Since the pandemic, working out at home has become increasingly popular and it’s not going away anytime soon. A kettlebell is a great gift because it’s versatile and won’t take up much space in his home.
Price: $39.98 at Amazon.com.
Best for the Stylish Guy: Ray-Ban 63mm Aviator Sunglasses
What You Get: These Ray-Ban shades have a classic black metal frame with a smoke-colored plastic lens. They provide 100% UV protection.
Why the Man in Your Life Will Love It: These are a classic, stylish pair of sunglasses that may come in and out of fashion, but never go out of style. Any guy who appreciates looking good will enjoy wearing these for many years to come.
Price: $79.97 on sale from $151 at NordstromRack.com
Best for the Organized Man: Custom Docking Station
What You Get: A handmade, customized MDF wood docking station, with cutouts and slots for all your basics like smartphone, pens, watch, cards, keys, glasses and wallet. You get to choose the wood color, font/design and customize with their name or logo. The item is made in Turkey and cannot be returned.
Why the Man in Your Life Will Love It: It’s a thoughtful gift that is personalized just for them with their name, which in itself shows some planning was made on their behalf. Beyond that it’s a practical item to help keep their most important everyday items organized.
Price: $42 at Etsy.com
Best for the Well-Kept Man: Groom On-The-Go Men’s Grooming Set
What You Get: This pre-packaged gift set includes three products: 250ml Facial Fuel Energizing Face Wash, 75ml Facial Fuel Daily Energizing Moisture Treatment and 200G Ultimate Man Body Scrub Soap. These products use natural ingredients like pure vitamin C, caffeine and menthol to boost radiance.
Why the Man in Your Life Will Love It: Listen, men want to put their best face forward just like women. So, while grooming and spa care products are often associated with gifting for women, these will be a hit for the men in your life. These are items they will use on a daily basis, just upgraded and with a pleasant scent.
Price: $40 at Kiehls.com.
Best for the Comic Book Fan: “Marvel by Design” by Liz Stinson
What you Get: You get a hardcover 320-paged book filled with images and stories that tell Marvel’s story in visual language. This book explores the Marvel design process including their logos, lettering, layout as well as their overall creative process.
Why the Man in Your Life Will Love It: If he’s a Marvel comic book fan, then he’ll appreciate this fascinating visual dictionary to add to his coffee table. “Marvel by Design” helps highlight a different side of the 80-plus year history of this creative and wildly successful brand, with an emphasis on how innovative and influential the comic book titan has been from a purely aesthetic perspective.
Price: $33.99 on Amazon.com.
Best for the Movie Geek: Pacific Courier T-Shirt by LastExitToNowhere
What You Get: You get a dark green T-shirt with a hand screen printed design that doesn’t look like a movie tee – and that’s the point.. What makes LastExittoNowhere’s offering unique is that they aren’t just obvious promotional tees; on this British company’s website you can find a lot of obscure references to your guy’s favorite movies.
Why the Man in Your Life Will Love It: You recognize his favorite film and took the time to find a unique gift to honor his interests. The tee we recommend here is a reference to the fictional Pacific Courier truck used by Hans Gruber and his criminal gang to sneak into Nakatomi Plaza in the 1988 cult classic film, “Die Hard.”
Price: £15 converted to U.S. Currency at checkout at LastExitToNowhere.com.
More Tips for Shopping for the Men in Your Life
If none of the gifts above is the right choice, follow Green’s advice to choose a fitting present:
- “Sports guys are obsessive, and your gift should celebrate that,” advises Green. “Do they love the gym? New exercise gear is a guaranteed winner. Do they worship a particular player or team? Find official merchandise that shows off their passion.” If he lives and breathes sport, you can keep your gift simple. “Don’t over complicate it.”
- Fitness enthusiasts might enjoy a stylish windbreaker, or some cool new fitness equipment.
- Tech guys are notoriously picky, and that means they probably already have all the best gear,” warns Green, making shopping for gadgets a challenge. “The best way to impress is with accessories. They might already own the best desktop, laptop and console, but they could probably benefit from a new headset, mouse or monitor.” Or, perhaps they’d enjoy a new smart home device.
- “Stylish guys are difficult to buy for, because style is such a personal thing,” says Green. But you can go ahead and replace or upgrade their existing gear to show that you get their look and give them something you know they’ll wear.
- Fashion forward men could upgrade with a new field jacket or cool baseball hat.
The post The 18 Best Gifts For Men This Holiday Season appeared first on The Real Deal by RetailMeNot.
