Audrey's Christmas Gift Guide!
[ 30 November 2007 ]
And lo, the time of year has come again where all the female friends of mine come and pick my brain about what to buy their other halves for Christmas. And while I in no way advocate the notion of changing someone, I still understand when they say they’d like to give their boys a little nudge in the right direction as far as grooming and sophistication goes.
So here you have my top tips on what to splurge your money on for maximum points for both you and him.
My top tip is a magazine subscription. Especially for Men’s Style Australia or GQ — in my opinion, essential reading for every guy, and a good way to get his brain moving on the important topics of grooming and taking care of himself. I mean, you could leave dog-eared copies of Vogue Homme around the apartment and hope he’ll morph into some catwalk model, but that’s not very realistic now, is it? At least with these, he still gets to look at boobies and cars and the latest gadgets, but I think these two publications have a perfect balance of that stuff and really good, high-brow (yet still accessible and realistic) fashion and style tips. And besides, no matter how manly your man might be — I guarantee EVERYONE loves the excitement of getting mail every month!
Another great idea is to take him beer tasting. Not all presents have to be wrapped (but write “beer tasting” on a card or something if he needs that ‘something under the tree’ thing). Keep in mind, if you want to ease your boy into some culture and different things, you have to bridge some gaps too — and this is such an easy, obvious way to do it. It won’t be hard to Google a few good places that offer it in your area (aim for a sophisticated, cool bar instead of a pub. Trust me), and it sounds like an awesome idea to even get the most blokey of blokes into a collared shirt, a nice bar, and a bit of culture. There are so many different kinds of beer from all over the world, and you’ll be surprised how many places near you actually carry some exclusive, exotic tastes.
Get him a book. Sounds lame but actually isn’t. Obviously don’t get the latest Tom Clancy thriller if he’s not the kind of guy who’s going to actually READ it, but there are lots of cool ‘coffee table’ books that could be great if you take notice of his interests and use a bit of thinking. Lots of guys like things like war or sports, so why not a cool photo book on planes or a biography of his favourite sportsman? A travel book if he’s fascinated by a particular city or you know he’s flirting with the idea of planning some travel. If he’s all about having drinks with his friends the second the work day’s over, why not get him an excellent cocktail recipe book so he can impress them with his knowledge over summer and STILL manage to get munted — just in a more sophisticated way. Try though to find an independently owned bookstores near you, instead of one of those mass-market chain stores. In Melbourne, I recommend Polyester on Brunswick St for something fun, or head down to the NGV Giftshop for some excellent art and travel books.
Buy him clothes. Typical boys are simple and easy to work out. They just have an attitude against shopping, and that’s why they’ll wear the same stretched out tee shirt or underwear with the hole in the waistband because something in their brain just doesn’t seem to click and say “Oh no, this just won’t do. Off we go to the store!”. For centuries, Christmas has been the ace up every woman’s sleeve to get her other half into some more respectable duds. But tread careful. Splurging on things he just won’t wear is going to be costly, and instantly get his back up. Just because you think he’ll look darling in a salmon coloured, french cuff shirt and some better fitting jeans, if you blindside him and just get them and demand he wear them to your family’s roast turkey feast, they’ll be relegated to the back of the closet (or worse yet, you’ll be fighting the hoards of post-Christmas Sale shoppers trying to return them for store credit). Maybe just buy him a couple of new tee shirts, or some new board shorts for the beach.
Girls like nights in with bottles of wine and candles and blankets and a big comfy couch. The big secret is — guys kind of do as well. Maybe not the candles, but there’s something awesome about just kicking back at home and not having to worry about going out, lining up to get in somewhere, lining up for drinks, lining up to pee, lining up for a cab and heading home. The problem is, most of the time it’s assumed a girl’s going to pick out Pride and Prejudice from the local video store and guaranteed he’ll end up snoring by the second scene. The solution? Get him a box set of his favourite TV show on DVD. Scrubs. Lost. Heroes. Futurama. DVD sales are sky-rocketing these days (that’s actually what the Writers Guild strikes in America are loosely based on) and with good reason — watching and re-watching your favourite shows is awesome fun!
Honourable mentions: iPod or mp3 player, get your house hooked up with cable TV for the summer, tickets to a band or sports event he really wants to see.
Audrey xoxo
Tags: consumption,
inspiration,
monsieur Share this! + Email This + Del.icio.us
+ Facebook
+ Stumbleupon
+ Technorati
Comment
Read more tagged consumption...
Gala's Christmas Gift Guide! Daily Outfit -- 28th November 2007 Daily Outfit -- 26th November 2007 Preparatory Style Rachel Zoe Versus Victoria Beckham False Eyelashes Daily Outfit -- 9th November 2007 American Apparel Discount Code
Read more tagged inspiration...
Gala's Christmas Gift Guide! Romancing Yourself Life After School Beloved Aesthetics Summer Style For Men Preparatory Style Gossip Girl Style Things I Love Thursday
Read more tagged monsieur...
Gala's Christmas Gift Guide! Romancing Yourself Being Okay With Who You Are Summer Style For Men Preparatory Style Gossip Girl Style Sexual Abuse The Power Of Eyebrows
Oh thank goodness! I starve for male perspective sometimes…
I bought my boy Sketcher’s Urban Cleats early for Christmas (I had to get my boots – he had to come with because we share transportation – I gave in!).
I like the idea of a Men’s Magazine subscription… But for a beer-loving, fantasy hockey/football playing, same shirt three days a week wearing boy… I get nervous he’ll think I’m trying to mold him, you know?
I figured it was good to stick with what I know – shoes!
xoxo.
Thank you so much!
I’ve been stressing about this for the past few days!
Oh Audrey I love to see your posts every so often!
xoxo! taylor =)
Art is good! X
Right on the nose there with the sports/favorite band tickets. I’ve read TONS of gift giving guides for guys and none of them ever say anything about tickets. And I mean, why not? It’s such a ‘duh’ answer but no one ever says anything about it! I’m so glad you did though!
Sports/Concert tickets are a great idea. I even know a few girls who jump for joy if they got tickets to see their favorite basketball team for Christmas.
I know I would!
What is Audrey’s website? He’s fascinating and has a wonderful perspective.
Mandy — He doesn’t have one. Which is why he writes here ;>
Mandy – I got hijacked for iCiNG before I could start my own. hehe.
I usally get everyone in my family chocolate or wine + cheese.I brought my brother Rage Against the Machine tickets, he is going to be so hysterical…I can’t wait to give them to him.
Why is Gala’s signature at the bottom of this post?
alex — Because I forgot to change it! Oops ;>
I’m doing Baked Goods this year
chcolate cake satisfies all genders =D
and for my very special friends im making mixed CDs about our journeys as friends(corny but i know it will totally make them cry lol), for my sisters im getting them lingerie, and my parents im getting a new frying pan lol
fabulous articles both of you
I’ll be sure to keep it in mind for birthdays and such =D
Love and Lipstick,
Bexxx
Oh Audrey,
You’re adorable.
Gala, as usual, you done good.
yay Audrey! :)
Thanks for the ideas!
P.S I love you Gala Darling.
The two first tips would never work for my boy. He doesn’t really care for “boobies and cars and the latest gadgets” (ok, he cares for boobies) or even sports… and he doesn’t like beer. But if it was a wine tasting he would love! But I don’t have the money for that :(
He’s like the nerd kind. His major in college is chemistry and he spends 70% of his time studying and researching.
I have already given him coffeetable books… one was called Eureka! it was about the proccess of inventions… the other was the Guinness Book… he enjoys these records thing.
I don’t like to give him clothes… it’s like giving a pair of socks to a child. He simply doesn’t like.
The last tip is kinda my favorite… but he will have no time for that until the end of december, because of his research.
And I wouldn’t know what dvd box I could give him… he already has the Simpsons which is his favorte… he’s not much on tv series, he prefers to watch Animal Planet, Discovery or NatGeo.
And I already gave him DVDs of our favorite bands and singers like Pink Floyd, The Beatles, Paul McCartney, Led Zeppelin….
Help me Audrey!
Giselle –
Wow, you’ve thrown me a real curveball there, haven’t you?
I’m not sure how cliche-nerd your boy might be, so won’t jump to conclusion about buying him equipment or gadgets to help him with his work. Maybe something like that springs to mind though?
But when it’s THIS hard to think of a present for someone, I think the best thing is to skip the tangible stuff and take him for an experience. Sort of what my last tip was touching on.
Is there a restaurant nearby that you KNOW he’s wanting to go? Or some sort of gallery or something he might be into? Ask his friends, or his colleagues. I’m sure if he’s got his head buried in books there’s been at least ONCE he’s said to someone “oh, I wish I was _______ instead of here!”. Find out where it is, and take him there to do it!
If he’s so stressed out until the end of December with research, maybe you can call a ceasefire on all things academic and make sure you do something that’ll switch his brain off and he’ll enjoy and make THAT his present. Even if it’s something simple like just going to a movie, or to a nice park. Make sure you let him know that you’re supportive of his work, but still worried about his wellbeing. Especially this time of year. I think it’s something about air r the cosmos or something, but EVERYONE goes a little bit psycho.
Hope this helps. If not, let me know and I’ll come up with more suggestions!
Good luck
- A.x
Fantastic list, Audrey!
Last Christmas, my beau and I were a wee skint and we wanted our limited budget to go a long way. So, we decided to buy goats for families in Myanmar through World Vision, for each other and our respective families. Even though we only received a Christmas tree ornament (a piece of paper with a picture of goats hung by some glittery string) as receipt of our purchase, it felt good to know that our empty stockings was for someone’s benefit. This year, we are intending to spend our money the same way – we might bring send some candy hampers to the troops in Iraq (even though we do not support the war) or shelter for homeless Bangladeshi women or sponsor a few Ethiopian children. We have not decided what to invest in yet but I thought I would throw an idea into the mix for those of you who might want to do something different this year!
:)
Icon – that’s perfect, I love it!
Thank you so much Audrey, you are a real sweetie!
I think I have an ideia now… I was thinking about buying one of those fondue sets for him and prepare a nice meal with meat, cheese and chocolate fondues accompanied by his favorite wine. I think he’s gonna love it, the moment and the fondue set itself. He loooves fondue and he’s always complaining about how expensive it is to have fondue on a restaurant. Sounds good?
Thank you again!
Giselle – perrrrrfect!
great list!
I love it when there’s a good book I can give my guy! There’s something about a guy that reads… especially if we both read the book and then we can TALK about it. mmmm intellectual discussion is very attractive. =) I HIGHLY recommend Cormac MacCarthy’s border trilogy, btw. It’s definitely dark. But really, really moving.
I will actually be buying the guy clothing. He hates to clothes-shop, so I buy everything for him. I worry that it’s redundant, especially as his wardrobe is getting so big after so many years with me, but he keeps telling me he wants more clothes now! (ha! he’s hooked!)
But he also keeps suggesting I give HIM the quilt I’m making for my brother. Guys like to snuggle, too! And apparently the handmade gift CAN appeal to guys, even in this technological age!
Another fallback for me (last one, I swear!), especially when it comes to my father is to order him specialty meats and fish: crab-cake-stuffed lobster tails, top grade fillet mignon, etc. There are tons of sites online where you can order something tasty to be sent right to his meat-loving den. I personally like iQVC and Salumi (artisanal salamis from Seattle).
sorry this got so long! Oh, the holidays are so much fun!