So Kristen, I guess was posting some Christmas gift ideas
for girls and wanted to throw in some ideas for guys too. Her constant questions became bothersome so I
foolishly offered to write up a few things if it meant we could stop talking
and I could go back to whatever it was I was doing that was way more important
[football, likely]. Not that I’m
complaining b/c I think this will actually be fun. I have most of these things so it’s not
really my wish list, its more a chance to share some stuff I’ve purchased that
I’ve come to appreciate. I guess I
should write this from the girls perspective, because I wouldn’t be friends
with any dudes that follow my wife’s blog.
So here we go…
Wurkin Stiff Magnetic Collar Stays ($40) - I can’t imagine
living without them. Nobody likes the
guy wearing the straight collar shirt with his collar either sticking out up
like he’s about to take flight, or laying down completely flat, like, well, a loser. The collar is the most important part of a
shirt – it frames the face. You don’t
wear straight collar shirts without a tie – unless you have these stays. Pop these little guys in his shirt and he’s
good to go. I had a lot of nice straight
collar shirts just collecting dust from back when I used to wear ties more
often. When I came across these at
Nordstrom it instantly added about 12 shirts into my “biz casual” rotation. James Bond wears these. That guy in your compliance department with
the coke bottle glasses and comb over hair – does not.
Garden and Gun Magazine ($20) – This is a great magazine
that has something for everyone. Food,
Music, Home and Garden, Sporting, Travel – just really great articles covering
all the best parts of the South.
Gap V neck Sweater ($30) - I picked one of these up randomly
in Charleston last time we were down there because it was on sale and why not. Have bought 2 more since then in different
colors. Inexpensive, can be dressed up
over a collared shirt and slacks or dressed down with jeans and a tee shirt. Very versatile and I like that the v-neck
opening is on the smaller side. If your
guy is cool enough and doesn’t have a permanent sweater on his chest (I am 0
for 2 here) you can even wear it with nothing under it, because as I mentioned,
the v doesn’t cut down too far.
CFF Olympic Rings ($80) – I don’t have these, but a buddy of
mine does and they are awesome. Definitely
on my list. These things are for guys
who want to get stronger and have an awesome workout but don’t care so much
about how big their stupid muscles are. (People who know me are laughing right
now) No seriously, exercising with rings
provides benefits beyond what you can get with dumbbells and pulley
machines. They setup and take down easy,
require very little space and the inherent instability of rings makes for
seriously intense training. Makes
workouts more efficient as well, since it only requires a few movements to
equal the impact of dozens of regular exercises you would do in the gym. Muscleheads throw iron around in the
gym. Navy SEALs and Army Rangers work
out with these.
Mini Cree LED Torch Flashlight ($4) – Guys like flashlights,
and these little guys are awesome. I
have them stashed all over my house, in cars, on boats, everywhere. Powerful light in a tiny package and they
cost nothing. Great stocking stuffer.
Merkur 34C Safety Razor ($40) – This is a bit of a fad, with
The Art of Shaving and all the other websites and stores that have popped up
over the past 5 years dedicated to men’s grooming. I’m a convert however. I used the old gillete mach 3 or 5 or 7 or
whatever we are up to now for my whole life prior to switching to a singe blade
safety razor. I love it. Makes shaving enjoyable, rather than a
chore. The blades cost next to nothing
and last a long time (Admittedly, I first looked into this because I was tired
of spending a million dollars a year for the stupid cartridges). Even if you don’t think the razor is gonna be
his thing, in my opinion it’s the products that go with it that make all the
difference. I haven’t had razor burn or
an ingrown hair in years. I think using
a good shave cream with a nice badger or boar brush would make your guy and his
razor want to spend more time together.
Taylor of Old Bond Street (TOBS) makes great creams that smell awesome,
and a good brush can be had for 20-40 bucks (Don’t go much cheaper on the brush
or the thing will shed hairs like crazy.
These products make shaving a hobby, it’s good stuff. Advice – forget The Art of Shaving, their
stuff is junk and overpriced.
RoyalShave.com is a good place to find most anything you need here. My picks:
(alternatively, Proraso Menthol
Eucalyptus is a good everyday cream you can find in stores)
Leatherman Multi-tool ($40- $80) –Every man’s man need a
good multi-tool. Leatherman is the
standard, but I saw some cheaper options from Gerber and Kobalt at Lowes the
other day. A good leatherman will run $40-$60
bucks, others can be had closer to $20.
If he sticks it in his pocket when he’s knocking out your honey-do list
on Saturday, I guarantee it will get pulled out a hundred times. Or just keep it in the car. Kristen will tell you I have some mild
“prepper” tendencies. She calls it
weird, I call it being responsible. You
should see the stacks of water in my basement.
Folks in West Virginia aren’t laughing at me right now…
Sorel Snow/Rain Boots ($120) - Every guy needs a good pair
of rubber boots. I like these, but there
are some good offerings from Cabellas and of course, LL Bean as well. The pull-ons are so much better than dealing
with laces.
BMW M Driving School (several thousand) – Spartansburg,
South Carolina – So they are going to let you come to SC, rag the hell out of
some M3 and M5s, teach you how to downshift, take corners and drift like a pro,
maybe put you up for a round of golf and a couple nice dinners with
professional drivers to teach you how to drive it like you stole it?? This is a gift straight out of the Neiman
Marcus catalogue, only it isn’t.
Stihl BR 500 Backpack Blower ($450) - My yard has trees, and
those trees have leaves. Sound like the
trees in your yard? If so, he needs a
blower. To say that my yard has trees is
a horrible understatement. It has tons of
trees, with tons of leaves.… x 1,000.
The Lunsford estate is under constant attack in the fall and even year
round thanks to the beautiful but horrible birches I have hanging over the
driveway. Taking my handheld out there
to battle the elements is like taking a knife to a gunfight. This idea probably applies to no one, because
it’s expensive and you have to really need it, but yard tools are great gifts
and the reviews say that wearing this is akin to wearing a jetpack, and
jetpacks are awesome. Good rule of thumb
– if your guy has any yard tool that is either electric or battery powered –
then he should be ridiculed until it’s replaced with the version that actually
has a motor.
Haviannas Flops ($25) - I know it’s wintertime, but throw
his rainbows or reefs or whatever he may have in the closet right now in the trash
and snag a pair of these. It’s like
walking on marshmallows, and oh, you can get them wet without turning them into
puddles of goo that paint the bottom of your feet brown for the next 2 weeks.
New Balance kicks ($50-$75) - as far as I am concerned these
are the only tennis shoes (“sneakers”
for you weirdoes) that exist. Gray is
classic and goes with everything, but there are some color combos out there now
that are pretty darn cool, if less versatile.
They cost nothing…
Red Jacket vintage hoodie ($90) - One of the items that
bring me joy in this cold world is my Cardinals hoodie from this site. I’ve also picked off a few of their vintage
t-shirts that are softer than that that shirt made of kittens in the Michael
Jordan commercial. Seriously,
kittens. Never mind, just trust me and
take a peek at the website.
**Note: looks like they don’t rock the MLB hoodie
anymore. Sucks b/c that was their best
offer. The tee shirts are still
awesome. If you are set on a hoodie,
check fanzone.com, they have a lot.
Eddie Bauer (generally) – not going to go into detail here
but the Eddie Bauer catalog is loaded with stuff I’d like to add to the
wardrobe right now. Some nice outerwear,
as well as handsome sweaters and some thermals that look pretty darn cozy. And please god someone get me a pair of those
flannel-lined khakis.
The Balvenie Single Malt Scotch ($60ish) - A nice bottle is
the classic holiday gift for the man who enjoys his spirits. A few guys will have their go-to, like a Dewar’s,
or Chivas or John Walker, so this being a gift, try to get off the beaten
path. This is a bottle I really enjoy
that is not too pricey and your guy may not have had the chance to try it – The
Balvenie Double Wood 12 year – single malt that gains its distinctive character
from being aged in two wood types, a traditional oak whisky cask, and then a
European oak sherry cask. Nom Nom Nom…
Drink Rocks ($10) - To go along with the above, this is a
great stocking stuffer. You like your
drink neat? You also like it cool? These wishes are mutually exclusive no longer
– forget the ice cubes and toss a couple of these in your glass.
Pick your Streaming Stick ($30-$100) - I don’t have this yet
but I plan on picking up one or even 2 for the TVs in my house that aren’t
smart, i.e., connected to the interwebs.
Especially with kids, we often do the Netflix thing, the YouTube thing,
the Disney thing, the Pandora thing, yada, yada. These little gems are $30 to $100 bucks and
allow you to access a myriad of content from any tube within range of your wifi
router. Daddy is happy when Daniel Tiger
can be seen from the playroom and football does not have to be
interrupted. Google chrome is the
cheapest and probably most well known, but there is also the Amazon Fire stick
(utilize your Prime membership), and Roku has a couple options. Here is a link to help you pick which is best
for you:
Mont Bell Down Vest ($135) - a staple in any guy’s winter
wardrobe should be a navy or black down vest.
I have this one and love it, but plenty of others to choose from. Most important quality is the fill (go for
something 800-fill)
(good luck finding navy, btw…try pantagonia…crap chinese
stuff but lets be real, it all is.)
Kershaw Folding Knife ($20-$30) - This is that little
afterthought gift that will end up being his favorite thing. Guys like sharp knives, and whether we need
to quickly show that cardboard how to fit in the recycling bin, or protect you
from the hobo trying to snatch your purse, a pocket folding knife will come in
handy. You can spend as little as 20
bucks or 100+. For practical purposes,
look for something with a 3-4 inch blade, partially serrated, made by Kershaw,
Cold Steel, or even Gerber.
Cookbooks (varies) - More appropriate if your guy likes to
cook, as I do, but even if he doesn’t cook, he at least grills, right? (I mean, right?) If he doesn’t at least man the grill you need
to reconsider the nature of your relationship.
Every recipe in the world is now at your fingertips on the internet, but
there is something fun, old-school, even romantic about pulling out a cookbook
and tossing your smartphone. I’m not
going to suggest one in particular because it really depends on what your guy
likes to do. I’m on a vegetable kick
lately and have acquired a couple cookbooks dedicated to this alone. If your guy is purely a grill guy, well there
you go. Cookbooks these days aren’t just
pages and pages of recipes; they are full of interesting information, useful
techniques and even great backstories.
They can and should be read cover to cover like any other book. Maybe next Friday doesn’t have to be
“Spaghetti Night” for the 13th week in a row. Pop these names into Amazon, it will get you
on the right track:
Wusthof Chef’s Knife ($100+) - Staying with the cooking
theme, even if your guy isn’t a cook he likes sharp knives, trust me, it’s a
guy thing. At worst you can put him to
work doing the prep, chopping carrots or peppers or whatever else. A good quality chef’s knife is incredibly
versatile and should be considered an investment, as it will last forever if
properly cared for. Doesn’t have to be a
$300 Shun, something from Wustoff or Global in the $75-$125 range is great gift
that both of you will appreciate. One
grade down is Henkel, which I think is the brand Macy’s carries. The link below is for an 8 inch, which is
totally adequate compared to the more expensive 10 inch model. I keep telling Kristen that she’ll never miss
those extra 2 inches…
Golf Balls/Golf Glove ($15-20) - If your guy plays golf then
he loves golf stuff and golf involves a lot of stuff, some of it being very
expensive. Bigger items like clubs and
bags and whatever are very much about personal preference, so lets keep it
small – balls and gloves. Two things
I’ve learned – expensive balls are not worth the money, but a good glove
is. Break it gently to your guy, but
he’s not good enough to benefit from a premium ball. Neither am I.
That Titleist Pro V1 is likely to spin more off of his driver (bad) than
it is off of his wedges (good). A very
solid 3 piece ball that I hit a lot now is the Top Flight Gamer. Good quality (Top Flight is owned by
Callaway, if you didn’t know that), and they go on sale all the time at Dicks
or Golf Galaxy. If your guy isn’t throwing
as much money away on golf balls, then theoretically he has more to spend on
you. This is theoretical, of
course. I don’t know of any research
done to prove this and there are fundamental flaws in the logic. I digress…
On the glove side, I’ve found that a glove that costs $20
instead of $10 will last 3 or 4 times longer and will feel like you’re putting
your hand in tub of soft butter from the first wear to the last. The slightly cheaper glove will have holes
and will feel like you’re putting your hand in bag full of scissors after about
4 wears. This is a nice offering from
Titleist:
Didn’t really end on a high note there, but that’s it. Of
course there are a million other gifts out there and any one might be better
than the crap I mentioned here, but that’s the thing, the only real way to end
up with a non-generic gift is to lean on what you really know about your guy. Kristen knows I’d be happy as a clam if someone
gave me a big bag of beef jerky. My
buddy (lets call him John), on the other hand, isn’t going to be happy unless
he gets some sterling silver cufflinks or the new Taylor Swift album. To each his own I say, but the ideas I left
you above should get you started.
Oh, @thefuturehunterofinstagram you sure know how to make us all laugh!!! I hope Santa brings you the Olympic rings bc in 69 days your unsweatery chest will be seeing some maj sun and sand!!! Do you like knives?! John actually said he liked all of this stuff... I will be getting Johnny boy a few of Hunter's suggestions! Omg I love yalls crazy buns! Ps.... Johnny boy is totes getting the Tswift CD (to go in his DISK VISOR in his car).... Xoxoxoxo
ReplyDeleteLove this post! Bookmarking it for next year! Great ideas, Hunter!
ReplyDeletehaha this is hilarious. Seriously though, some great suggestions! Thanks Hunter. Love the sense of humor also. Although I'm a little nervous for those Olympic rings in your house.
ReplyDelete