What Men Might Want for Gifts (Advice for WOMEN!)

Well come over here young lady and sit on Santy’s lap. What’s that you say; you want to know what men want for the Holidays? Well, well, let me think…

While we are, on many levels fairly simple as men, men tend to be a little difficult to figure out when it comes to gift giving. You see, I believe what my friend Justin says about men is pretty true: it’s not that most men just don’t like to shop, it's just that most men don’t know what they would want beyond the four or five big toys they could name. After that they pretty much don’t care. They might just as well give their money over to their wife or buy their kids something cool. So assuming you are not in the market for one of his “big five” trophies, what can you do? The following, though not specific as to the items themselves, is our advice for gift-giving. There are no guarantees that your man’s gift is listed below or that he fits any of the categories, but we think we may have covered some of the bases.

Give the gift that keeps on giving. Utility is a high value for men so a gift’s usefulness carries a high regenerative point yield. Each time he uses your gift it feels good (it scores points). He may forget where or from whom the gift came, but the happiness it generates lives on well beyond the appearance of paint stains, scratches and dings the gift might garner over time. Like a good championship sweatshirt that imbues the wearer with that same high he felt at the final buzzer, the final out, or the last whistle, a highly usable tool, ladder, shopvac or belt sander lives on and on. Try tools like the standard fare (box wrenches, new screwdrivers – both kinds) or electrical gadgets like sanders that get in the corner, or a Dremel kit, which any man would love but never buy out of need. As for the ultimate man-tool, a sawsall wins, hands down (ask around for the best brands but we like Makita)!

Let’s get the clothing thing out of the way- OK? Look, unless your guy is in one of those few remaining professions where he has to dress up (banker, lawyer, clothing salesman), clothing pretty much follows the utility rule. Socks and underwear are purchased when their predecessors wear through. But holes do not mean “worn out,” they are a sign of love! Jeans, sweats, tees and flannel shirts can be purchased, but they will often find their place in the bottom of the drawer or the back hanger in the closet until the “loved one” falls apart, and then, your man is likely to forget that the gift was waiting at the bottom, and zoom out to the nearest WalMart to get a new replacement whatever. Don’t get attached to results from clothing gifts – you’re not likely to get a “gee, honey, it’s just what I wanted!”

The thing he would never think of. Before I start, let me just say that the words male, spa and facial, have, to the best of our knowledge, never been found in the same sentence. So don’t even go there. But a survey of the men came up with a soup-to-nuts scatter gram of items that might map out some options for you. Check these out as examples of way-out gifts: A nicely hand-carved walking stick; a rare crystal, polished nautilus or fossil mounted and framed; a portable GPS; an iPhone (like who wouldn’t love one); a book of 1001 places to see before you die (many versions like geological wonders, best places, natural wonders, etc) – I recently got one of those and, with it and my Google Earth, I can Walter Mitty myself into oblivion!

Mistletoe schmistletoe. Hey, let’s face it, any occasion can be dressed up as an opportunity for romance (male translation: eroticism). It is one of the main differences between your gender and ours, you know. We are “on” at all times. The function of testosterone can result in our looking at an angel and thinking “hey, she’s pretty cute!” So aside from the Pagan tradition of hanging Mistletoe on the doorway, why not try dressing something else up – you – like really dressing up. Do you know that we love to see you dressed up too? A well-spent hundred on a low-cut evening gown, a velveteen skirt and silk blouse in holiday colors, make up and perfume IS actually a wonderful gift for us. Place a bow on your wrist and wait under the tree!

It may be rare for a man to say “do you know what I want for Christmas/Hanukah?” Most men we know, when faced with a want, are programmed to go out and get it - immediately. As a result we don’t walk around with a handy “wish list” – sorry! So we weren’t able to get much to help you. But if you want to know the truth, it is this: This is the season of intention. What matters is not what you give, it is simply that you give and particularly how you give. Heck, you could give us a rock, but if you did it with love and gratitude we would probably place it on the mantle right next to our most valued trophy and cherished treasure. What’s that thing they say? It’s the thought that counts! Happy Holidays!