If you have a partner, brother, dad, or friend with a birthday coming up this summer, you may already be thinking about gift ideas. If you want to do something really special for his birthday, it’s great that you are starting now! We know it’s pretty tough to start looking, especially finding gifts for men who have everything already!
When considering gift ideas for one of the guys in your life, the most important thing is to consider the unique things about their personality. Start there and let that be your guide!
Gifts for the Outdoorsy Handyman Type
If the guy in your life loves to be outdoors, either doing activities or just taking care of yardwork, there are lots of handy gadgets you can choose that might be useful and amusing. Ideas might include:
- Swiss Army Knife. A classic in pocket knives, the Swiss Army Knife comes in a variety of sizes and capabilities. If your guy has expressed interest in hunting or camping, or if he’s just always complaining that he can’t find this or that tool, a pocket knife could be extremely handy.
- Waterproof watch. Whether he is an avid beach-goer, kayaker, or surfer, get him a nice waterproof watch for any of his water activities or for those times when he’s outdoors during inclement weather.
- Accessories for his activity of choice. If he loves hiking or biking, have his favorite shoes resoled. Buy him gear or accessories that would be useful for him like new shorts for biking or a warm hiking jacket for the trip he’s planning in the fall. Or if you think he would be open to it, buy lessons for the two of you to try some new activity together like water skiing, rock climbing, or kayaking.
Gifts for the Center of the Party Guy
If you’re buying gifts for a guy who loves to be the center of attention, you may get a good reaction from novelty gifts. Really, anything that might get some laughs at a party will probably be a hit. Think ridiculous beer accessories or Tipsy Elves American flag pants. If it makes you laugh to imagine him wearing it, he will probably like it! Ideas might include:
- Costumes and accessories like fake mustaches and rainbow wigs, the kind of thing you can get from the costume shop at Halloween. You can also get this kind of stuff throughout the rest of the year online or at novelty shops.
- Silly games that involve group activity. Think a bunch of adults playing drunk Twister.
- A cocktail mixology kit. If he loves entertaining people, get him a book and a mixology set to give him ideas and supplies for wowing his guests at his next party.
Gifts for the Old-Fashioned, Romantic Type
If your guy has a flare for the romantic and old-fashioned, think about the kinds of old, well-made things that would mean the most to him. Ideas might be:
- Go to an antique or thrift store and search for unique items. These could be things he could actually use like old dinnerware or a gooseneck lamp or they could be odd, unusual things like old walking sticks or storage chests.
- Check out vintage book stores and buy an antique copy of his favorite book or some books you think he might enjoy, especially if they have unique, vintage covers.
- New recreations of old things like vintage shaving kits, typewriters, pen and ink sets, or cologne or bourbon in classic bottles.
Gifts for the Artistic Guy
For the artistic guy, consider whether you’d like to get him something for his main medium or if you’d like to get him something fun that will let him branch out:
- Nice brushes, canvases, paints, a new easel, a new palette, etc.
- Nice paper or a kit for making his own paper or stretching his own canvas.
- Pens, ink, or replacement cartridges for an airbrush pen.
- A new camera or artist’s software.
- Books, preferably about an artist he doesn’t yet know much about but is related to other artists you know he likes.
- Something handmade. If your guy is the artsy type, he will probably love something handmade from you, even if that’s not your normal area of expertise!
Gifts for the Music Lover
Aside from new records, mp3 players, or nice headphones, here are some unique ideas for the music lover:
- A record player if he doesn’t have one already.
- A spinning record cleaner.
- Custom fit headphones designed based on a mold of his ears.
- A guitar pick punch to make picks out of old gift cards and credit cards, etc.
- A vintage style radio. Many of these are made by audiophiles with an ear for sound quality, but they also look classic and high-quality.
Gifts for the Traveler
Whether your guy is a true world traveler or just hopes one day to be able to travel more, get him gifts to encourage his love of exploration.
- Build a scrapbook or photo album about trips the two of you have taken together. Add in a travel journal as a bonus for a future trip.
- Get him a personalized compass with a quote about traveling or with his name inscribed on it. This is unique and sentimental and can be a good way to encourage him to travel to more uncharted places.
- Make him an emergency travel pack full of all of the things he might need on the road: Ibuprofen, safety pins, a needle and thread, an emergency battery charger for his phone, non-perishable snack foods, a compact umbrella, a razor and shaving cream, and a clean pair of underwear and socks!
Giving the Best Kind of Gift
The best kind of gift is one that he will remember for a long time. Just finding some way to show him how much you care and that you care about his interests and needs will mean a lot. Thinking about things he will use every day, that will make a big difference in his life, or that will bring you together as partners, family or friends will be a certain success.