Wednesday 21 November 2012

Christmas shopping: gifts for guys

It's a well-known fact that boyfriends are pretty hard to buy for at Christmas. I always dismiss things as being "too gadgety" when shopping, then regret it when I see Craig's eyes light up over plastic. So to help us all, I have roped my lovely boyfriend into putting together a gift guide of Christmas inspiration.

Like my version from last week, it's full of ideas from £10 - £££s, so there's something for every budget. Hope it helps! Over to Craig...
Hiya! Juliet asked me to pick out some gifts that I thought fellow men might enjoy as a Christmas gift. I got my thinking cap on and this is what I came up with – hopefully some of these might provide a little inspiration for those hard-to-buy-for guys in your life!

IF YOU HAVE...

£10 to spend

1. These ‘cool’ steel ice cubes (see what I did there?) are re-usable and safe, ideal for cooling down your whisky (or other beverage, I suppose) without watering it down. £13

2. USB mixtape. Take it back in time and make a mixtape complete with liner notes for that special person in your life, without having to worry if they actually have a way to play a real C90! £15

3. With Quentin Tarantino’s Django Unchained due for release in January, the Christmas holidays could be the ideal time to get reacquainted with the director’s trademark stylised violence and sharp dialogue. This collection has all his movies up to Kill Bill, for less than the price of a cinema ticket and some popcorn. £12

4. These clever little chaps attach to any shoes to help you get a bit more grip when things get icy this winter. Ideal for staying upright on the walk to work! £9


£25 to spend

1.  Personalised Christmas Sack! These come in 4 styles for the full-size ones and 2 styles for mini-sacks, giving you a very nice way to present all your gifts that you can re-use every year. £20

2.  I think this is such a good idea! This tail-light for a bike does all of the things a normal rear light for a bike does (i.e. flashes, lights up), but also uses nifty laser technology to project 2 lines on either side of you, effectively creating your own bike lane and handily giving other road-users a guide to a safe distance. Plus it looks pretty space-age! It's $20 plus postage.

3. This Tetris light is pretty amazing. A set of all 7 tetrominoes which can be arranged in any pattern you like and light up when they touch one another. Thankfully they don't disappear when you get a line of them together though, as replacing them could get pricey! £30

4.  Drum machine t-shirt. This t-shirt has working drum pads that let you create rhythms and loops anywhere at any time. It's washable, and fully functional, and is sure to provide hours of entertainment, especially for the other passengers on your bus ride. £30

£50 to spend

1. This elegant glass teapot lets you brew all your favourite loose-leaf and bagged teas and see when the colour is just right. Plus it looks stylish too! It's just over £38.

2. Pretend to be Rick Deckard, unwinding from a hard day’s work ‘retiring’ replicants, with this Blade Runner whisky glass, hand-blown by Italian glassmakers Arnolfo di Cambio (Cibi, ‘double old fashion glass’), the folks who made the glass in the movie. It's £55.

3.  This is a very stylish hip-flask for the more discerning gentleman, and comes with a very nice chocolate-coloured wax canvas cover. $50 plus shipping.

4. A gift guide for guys wouldn’t be complete without a video game or two, and Christmas is like summer blockbuster season for this industry. Some of the most-anticipated titles this year include -  Far Cry 3 (£30 - £48), Assassin's Creed 3 (£38) , and Halo 4 (£35).


£100+ to spend

1. 
On November 30 Nintendo launch their brand new console the Wii U. This has a tablet-like gamepad which lets you play on both screens simultaneously, or even with the main TV off or on a different channel. It’s potentially a weird concept, but if anyone in video games can pull off a weird concept, it’s Nintendo! This also promises to be able to link up to all your Netflix, Lovefilm, iPlayer and other internet TV stuff, so should be a useful living room addition. £200 - £400

2. These Edifier Spinnaker Bluetooth Speakers have received amazing reviews based on their sound quality and design. For wireless sound in your home you’d be hard-pushed to find a better quality set of speakers. They're £329.

3. This is a weird one! The Remee Lucid Dreaming mask is an eyemask for sleeping in that is designed to increase REM sleep and promote lucid dreaming – the kind of dreaming where you’re aware that you’re dreaming and can control what happens. I don’t personally know if these work as they’re still at pre-order (due to be available by Christmas though!), but the concept is pretty amazing. $95 plus shipping.

4.  Some of the best gifts aren’t things, they’re experiences. These always make good gifts as it’s something people don’t normally buy for themselves, but would be delighted to receive. There are lots of different activities to choose from – this is one I think would be pretty excellent fun (not recommended for people scared of heights!) – an extended microlight flight, with the chance to take the controls. Flying! In the sky! Like a bird! It's £149.

7 comments :

  1. Thanks Craig - this has really helped! I find my boyfriend [and all the other men I know] so hard to buy for. I love the ice cubes, might have to get some for the bf! x

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  2. Love this gift guide! The tetris light is perfect.
    stephanie

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  3. Great idea! I always struggle when it comes to my boyfriend, he always just buys stuff he likes himself! Some really good picks here :)

    On a girlier note I'm having a MAC Giveaway if you fancy taking a look xx

    http://beautyandablogger.blogspot.co.uk/

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  4. I had some problem with what should buy for Christmas and now I think it solved.

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  5. Great little list. I always get my boyfriend a Christmas sack, although they usually have rudolf on, maybe it's time to get a bit more grown up :) The REM masks sound amazing, i wonder if they work? He already screams and shouts at zombies in his dreams, he'd probably overload with one of these. xx Lizz

    www.look-to-find.blogspot.co.uk

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  6. I am really impressed with USB mixtape. It looks so creative and the price is also reasonable. I can’t wait to give this as a present for my boyfriend.

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  7. This is a great article. Shopping for guys can be tough because they are so picky. I have to say I am hard to shop for and my wife always has to return the gifts she got me for Christmas. However, this past year she has been doing a lot of shopping online. I liked a lot of things she found and they were cheap. There are a lot of great sites out there and you can start by looking at Deal Dash Reviews.

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Thank you so much for commenting, it is lovely and really makes my day!

If you have any questions I will do my best to answer them quickly, or you can also tweet me @eversojuliet

Ta!