I’m not sure the last time someone told me that their husband/significant other/boyfriend/father/brother was easy to shop for. I’m sure there are Those Men out there. I just can’t think of one off the top of my mind. What I can conjure up is 45 years of having an amazingly fun father, two crazy, wonderful brothers, a sizable collection of the best guy friends a girl could ask for, and…let me phrase this carefully…having known many men.
While they all have their unique idiosyncrasies, and are all different, there are a few man rules most of them seem to adhere to in my observation, so let’s just stick to those rules while shopping for all the guys? Five of those rules are below where I’ve rounded up the just-right gifts.
Best Men’s Gifts For Guys Who Love To Play
We have more gift ideas for your 2022 holiday celebrations, and we’ll be rolling out more unique gift guides as the season continues, so keep an eye out! Actually…maybe just bookmark our Gift Ideas hub, and come back often.
1. Big Game On!
1 Foos Ball // 2 Pool // 3 Ping Pong // 4 The Big Guns
Men seem to gather around games. Whether it’s watching a game, shooting hoops, playing a round of golf, or enjoying games at home, guys all seem to bond best and smile biggest while they are playing something. Sure it’s fun to go out, but if you have the space and can swing it, some of these larger home games are fun for the whole family and over-the-top amazing gifts for the guys. And the Big Gun…well that’s for helping to repair the muscle damage they do when they forget they aren’t 20 years old anymore and play all the big outdoors games with their whole hearts and inevitably, get hurt.
2. Necessary Cases: Upgraded
5 Laptop Backpack+ // 6 TB Briefcase/Sold Out // 7 Canvas+Leather Briefcase // 8 Dopp Kit
Most men…are practical. Many of them keep things forever. I don’t know many men who switch out their bags, seasonally the way that some of us do. They get a good one, and use it until they kill it. Does your guy need a refresh on his work bag and dopp kit? These are a great place to start. And while the TB Brief above is sold out, (sorry, that was a tease,) there are PLENTY of other great TB cases, below. Oh, and fun facts: why do we call it a dopp kit? Charles Doppelt, he was that guy.
3. Have You Yeti(ed)?
9 Yeti Hopper M30 // 10 Yeti Rambler // 11 Yeti Hopper // 12 Yeti Hopper BackFlip
YETI just makes better coolers and cups, with a certain cool factor. Get it? Giggle. True story: well-constructed, well-insulated, and great colorways. They aren’t inexpensive, they are an investment, but I’ve found over the years, that’s for a reason: they are built to last. The large cooler (M30) is great if there are enough adult hands to carry it, the Hopper works well as a crossbody bag and packs plenty, the BackFlip gives us free hands, and all the Ramblers and Tumblers in all sizes we can’t get enough of. This is that slightly self-serving gift where it’s great for the guys, but really works for the whole family.
4. All The Apple(s) Of Your Eyes
13 iPhone 11 // 14 iPad Pro // 15 AirPods Pro // 16 AppleWatch
Apple. You either can’t live without them, or just won’t go there. Dad, now I’m all eyes on you…come to Apple, please???…then I can iMessage you from my laptop, and the kids can FaceTime you. Assuming you’d like to hear from us more often? Clean, sleek, functional tech fun. Guys love good-looking tech that improves their performance. See, they are just like us after all…
5. Set Him On Fire!
17 Fire Pit // 18 Hybrid Grill Smoker // 19 Pizza Oven // 20 Portable Grill
Just like gathering around a game seems to be a guy thing…so is gathering around a fire. It’s something to do while hanging out, whether it’s building and setting the fire in the pit, manning the grill, or making pizzas in an outdoor oven, a warmth and some outdoor fun does us all some good, always!
Hope my mansplaining of a different sort was a bit helpful and resonates, and that some of these ideas inspire the perfect gifts for all your guys!
xoxo,
A
PS: Follow along with me on Pinterest for more Home Inspiration and other random fun!
Great list! I’d add SoloStove to your fire/grill section. I got one for my husband for his birthday and he’s slightly obsessed with it.
Jill: I love the SoloStove! I’m also slightly obsessed with it! I’ve posted it before but not in a while, so I’ll take your “hot tip” and add it to my WFF this week! Thank you for the reminder! xo A
We have the Ooni and it does take awhile to get used to it… my husband keeps trying but he’s a perfectionist and there is a long learning curve… but it is really fun.
Kari: Ours is in “storage” awaiting the “completion” of our house reno…once I pull it back out, if I figure anything genius out about perfection…I’ll share tips back to your hubs, but if he figures out magic recipes in the mean time, let us know! As a side note, we took a trip with girlfriends and their kids last summer and stayed in beautiful home with a giant pizza oven. The 8 kids were in charge of dough making and pizza prep, and after the first 8 or so trials, my 7 year old commented, “Those guys at Vetri Pizza don’t get paid enough. I’m going to ask them how they do this and make perfect pizzas. This is HARD.” #pizzaperfectiontruth