Dads,  Husbands

You better get me something good.

Why do women have such a hard time with presents for their significant other.   Kate has been nagging me for weeks about not ever being able to buy gifts for me, she says its too hard to pick out “boy things”.   Except for clothes.   She will buy me clothes all day long, which I don’t mind, but not during a time of giving!   So, for my triumphant return to blogging I give you the 2009 Man Cave Wish List.   This one is for the ladies, but more in the hope for all of those men out their to get something better than a pair of boxers.

For the driving man.

I drive a lot.   I mean A LOT.     I’m in the car for 2-3 hours everyday (well… on days without traffic).   Most days its NPR in the morning and iPod on the way home.   To me the worst thing about the iPod in the car is how you hook it up.   Most of the options out there won’t let you have a clean, clear, and crisp sound.   Those radio station hookups are horrible unless you live in the boonies, and the tape deck ones are the next best thing…   but neither is acceptable for me.   So this year I got something new: FM MODULATOR It’s $30 from Amazon.com.   And if your driving man is even just a little handy, he should be able to handle it.   This takes the ipod and connects it directly to your car stereo!   Its perfect.

For the Music Man

For the music man in your life I suggest this book that has changed my little ears forever.   Thats right FOR-E-VER.   1000 recordings to hear before you die ($7.98 on Amazon).   This book will begin a lifelong journey.   Its a book by Tom Moon, a music commentator and writer.   He lists his top 1,000 recordings to hear before you die – and its AWESOME.   I like it because I flip to a random page and find a piece of music that I may have heard a hundred times before, but Tom Moon tells you the backstory on each piece and gives you a totally different view on the music.   For someone who is really into music of all kinds – like me – its a great gift.

For the man of the house

I found this company a while back called Simple Shoes.   And since I’m a simple guy, I took a look around their website.   All of their shoes are made from tires.   Which means your dogs can’t destroy them.   Proof is that we have found Big Molly chewing on these numerous times and they are still good as new.   Last year Kate’s grandmother bought me a pair of the slippers.   I wear them every day.   They have rubber soles so I can wear them out to the Man Cave, but they’re really warm around the house, too.   They are a little pricey at $60.00 a pair, but you’ll never have to buy another pair again so they’re totally worth it.

For the working man

I’ll admit that buying tools for men is very tricky.   Every guy has his preference.   But there are a few things that you can’t go wrong with when buying tools.   In general, a good brand of tool like DeWalt, Craftsman, or Milwaukee are going to be a little pricier but they are going to last a lot longer.   If you wanted to go a little cheaper, I’d go with Ryobi or Rigid.   In my experience – and I have a lot of experience with tools – your Black and Decker brand tools aren’t going to last very long if you’re using them often.   I’d spend the extra money and get a better quality that you know you’ll only have to buy once.

The type of tool will depend on what your guy is into or working on at the time.   But I think any guy would appreciate one of the basic power tools like a cordless drill.   If I could have any drill without price being an option, I’d choose the Milwaukee 18 volt cordless drill ($199.00 on Amazon).   The one that I have had for years is the Ryobi 18 volt cordless drill.   This one on Amazon is the new version of my drill and its pretty nice – especially for the price of $40.00.

For the gaming man

The best game out right now is Modern Warfare Call of Duty 2 ($59.99 on Amazon).   Any adult male gamer will love this game.   If your guy prefers sports, my favorites are FIFA Soccer 2010 ($49.99 on Amazon) or NHL 2010 ($56.99 on Amazon).   If you want to save money on sports games, go for the 2009 version of the game.   It just came out this year and is usually no different than the 2010 and you can find these for at least half the price. Another great gift idea for a gaming guy if he plays games A LOT is a GameFly subscription.   It works like Netflicks, but its with video games.   I think you can start out with plans around $8.00 a month.

For the unique man

Sometimes its fun to get tickets to events for Christmas.   Think about any bands coming to your area that your husband likes (the Pixies are on tour right now…hint, hint, Katie…) and see if tickets are affordable.   Or maybe there’s a sports team he follows that you could find tickets to.   If the pro leagues are too expensive, lots of towns have minor league sporting teams with cheap tickets and those games are actually a lot of fun.

For the Man Cave Man

For the Man Cave dweller in your life, he needs a ping pong table for Christmas (I’m looking at you, Kate…).

Well, that’s about all the ideas I have, ladies.   If you have questions about a specific gift, I’m happy to help or make specific suggestions.   Just leave a comment for me and I’ll respond with a guy’s opinion.   Also, if you have ideas that I haven’t listed, be sure to leave them in the comment section so others can get even more ideas.   Or, you can always email me at chris.marriageconfessions@gmail.com if you don’t want to leave a comment.

Happy shopping!   Its good to be back in my Man Cave…

_______________________________

UPDATE! – I have been thinking about this gift since last night and i can’t figure out why I didn’t include it in this post.

For the Technology Man

There is a huge movement right now in the home media player.  I’m an apple guy so naturally I bought the Apple TV when it first came out.   If you don’t know, the Apple TV hooks to your TV and can store and stream movies, music, pictures, etc. from your computer.  It is an awesome little box.  At our house we have all of our DVD’s and TVshows on there so at any time we can sit on the couch and scroll through our entire movie collection, pick a movie, and it plays.  The only thing you have to get up for is popcorn.  The Apple TV is a little pricey at $229.  But there are other media players out there for cheaper.  This one from Western Digital looks fantastic at $99.  Or the Roku HD Player will stream from Netflicks and Amazon OnDemand, for $99  its a sweet deal.

This would be a fantastic gift!  And remember this is really a gift for BOTH of you because you will both be enjoying it.  Good Luck!! and Happy Shopping!

29 Comments

  • lana

    Hi Chris!

    My gamer guy works at gamestop. So there is no finding a game that he doesn’t have. He’s also a big reader. And loves obscure japanese bands that no one has ever heard of. He’s also 20, and facing down a life of monogamy.

    Any gift reccomndations from me to him?

    Glad to see you posting!

  • Camille

    This would have been really useful if my dadgum husband wasn’t so INSTANT GRATIFICATION-y. He already has that stupid game and his ideal set of drills and a good ipod hookup. My only hope is that, since three of your ideas matched my husband’s preferences perfectly, he might actually be really pleased with the music book and some simple shoes. Thanks!

    p.s. My favourite line: “And since I’m a simple guy, I took a look around…”

    • deepa

      amen camille! my husband just picks up what he wants on the way home from work! i don’t even know that he wants them! call of duty 2 is now the main attraction in our house…. crazy russians.

    • Katie

      Yeah, I should tell you right now that out of the entire list, only one of the items was actually given to Chris. He bought everything else for himself. Boys suck.

  • Laura

    thanks so much, Chris! my guy is impossible to shop for. i’ll get him clothes he never wears, movies he never watches more than once… i did get him a couple of pet rats for his birthday, but i don’t think i can do anything like THAT again. i think the music book will be perfect! great picks.

  • Allison

    Here is why women have trouble shopping for their men. Usually men are SO specific that
    a) you need to find the EXACT one, but
    b) it’s out of stock or
    c) you have to drive to 5 different malls crossing state borders in search of “the gift”!!
    Then, you get home, breathe a sigh of relief, wrap it all pretty…only to find out you got the wrong game or that your boyfriend developed a sudden phobia to fleece and EVERYTHING you bought gets returned.

  • Jessica W

    Thank you for some great ideas! I’m going to have to look into that music book for several men I know.

    Another recommendation: A website that is great for guys is thinkgeek.com. I can always find something here for my computer tech husband but they have things for geeks of all types.

  • dave

    I can’t believe women cannot think of a gift for men.
    Come on! there are thousands of gifts out there just waiting for the right man.

    Here is my love list:
    => Portable USB powered harddisk – they even have 1TB!!! storage at the size of the palm.

    => Wireless music player – the one you can play music from your computer wirelessly
    http://www.bose.com/controller?url=/shop_online/digital_music_systems/wireless_systems/wms_soundlink/index.jsp

    => Digital SLR camera

    => Satellite radio (might suit chris, as he travels long distances in car)

    => Car seat back massager – the one you wrap around the car seat (again take a note long distance travellers)

    And all those USB powered gadgets that are under $20 (check Microcenter). They even have USB powered cup warmer.

  • Maureen

    I have a similar problem to some of the ladies above. I know what he wants but he goes off and gets it before I have a chance to give it to him. But these are some good suggestions! Thanks!

  • Lori @ Wife. Mom. Artist. Geek,

    I never have a problem getting gifts for my husband. This is because he provides me with a very detailed, well-researched list that he begins compiling in, I don’t know, September or some such.

    I, on the other hand, never know what I want for Christmas so when Aaron asks, I just shrug and say, “Eh, a gift card to Target or Old Navy would be good, I guess.” BUT because of your list I now want that music book AND Pixies tickets.

  • Jenn

    I am totally getting the music book for my husband. He’s a classical musician, and big time music guy, so he’ll love it! Thanks for the suggestions!

  • Emily C

    Those are really some great ideas but my husband is more the outdoorsy type. He has all the tools he could possibly need or want so I was thinking hunting equipment since he seems to live and breathe hunting this time of year. I am at a total loss. The things I know he would like, such as a new gun are totally out of my price range…any suggestions?

    • Chris

      Hmmm…. What about a nice pocket knife. Those can be $25-$100. I have carried one for years, it could be a nice gift. Buck Knifes are the best. Or what about something like a Tent for camping? Or if he likes hiking, something like a backpack. Does any of that help? 🙂

      • Emily C

        Thanks for the great ideas! I think I’m going to check out the knives for sure. I hope you get something nice from Santa since you’ve been everyone else’s helper this year! 🙂

  • Hilary

    Thank you so much for this list! My husband never tells me what he wants for Christmas and any time he mentions something he’s interested in, I’ll ask if it’s a good Christmas gift, to which he always replies, “Nah, I’ll just pick it up myself sometime this week.” ARG!! I am going to show him your list with the stipulation that if he wants any of the items you mentioned, it must qualify as a Christmas gift! I hope this works . . .

  • Sonya

    Hey Chris – I am looking for a ping pong table cover for my honey’s pool table. We don’t have a lot of storage space so it would probably spend a lot of time actually on the pool table. Any suggestions?

    Thanks!

    • Chris

      THATS WHAT I WANT FOR CHRISTMAS!! I’m not sure if you have a Dick’s Sporting Goods store out there, but they have a nice one for $129 that would be perfect, the one online says $324 but the store had the same thing for the cheaper price. If you don’t have that, any sporting goods store should have what you need. I’m jealous. 🙂

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