As promised, the second part to 25 Christmas Gifts for the Men in Your Life is here! The top 10 gifts are listed below. For the first 15, check out part 1.
10. Cologne
Aaron wears specific Calvin Klein cologne. I love that he has one certain scent that is his and his alone (well, probably not, but in my world it is). When I catch a whiff of Calvin Klein Eternity for Men I turn my head for my sexy husband.
9. Romantic Homemade Dinner
This may not sound like a gift to you, but over the last year in our house I have gone through phases of cooking dinner. Due to finishing my undergraduate degree, working part time, starting a full time job before graduation, and then leaving my dream job when we moved my schedule has been constantly changing all year. This time last year a homemade dinner made by me would have been a rare occasion, hence it's placement on this list. This year it wouldn't be a big change for Aaron as I've been doing more regular cooking of dinner.
No matter how often you cook there are always ways to "kick it up a notch" and make something above and beyond your usual. I find that a good place to start is with a phone call to my mother-in-law and flipping through my husband's family cook book. I make a lot of my mother-in-law's recipes for Aaron throughout the year, but its always nice to check in and see if she has any insights to some of Aaron's favorite childhood dishes. Another good option is to take on a more elegant meal than you would normally cook. A good way to stretch this gift further is to give him "Meal Tickets" where he can request a specific meal (with some advance notice). The number of meal tickets you give him is up to you, how he spends them is up to him.
8. YETI Cooler and/or Mug
This summer we encountered a YETI in our real lives for the first time. No, not a snow-loving monster, but an amazingly effective cooler! Our friends had one and brought it over for a 4th of July BBQ. YETIs are truly the best coolers I've ever seen. This cooler was filled with ice and beverages at around 5 pm. We sat outside in the Texas heat (90-100 degrees) until midnight and the ice inside had not melted at all and still looked like they had just poured it in. I now realize why these coolers are so pricey! Later this summer we were floating the river with some friends and we saw a woman with a travel YETI mug. We got to chatting with the woman and asked her about it. She said it was amazing (just as we expected) and truly lived up to the YETI hype. Her ice was still in-tact after a long day of floating down the river.
7. Fishing Gear
There is something about men that must be programmed into them at birth that makes them just love to fish! My sweet husband can't sit still to work on his tan, but he could be a statue all day long if it led to the possibility of catching a fish. He loves to sit outside fishing, and I love to tan. It makes for a good outing for the two of us, especially when he doesn't wake up super early to go to the lake. Growing up my dad and brother liked to fish and after watching them and Aaron, I am convinced that the trick to being a good fisherman is having good quality gear, and a lot of it. Or at least thats the way I understand it. Now I couldn't tell you the first thing about what good quality fishing gear is. But here's the great thing about men all being programmed to like fishing: 1 phone call to your dad, brother, friend, boyfriend will get you all the information you need to buy the perfect fishing gift for the man in your life. Just be sure you don't call the man you're giving the gift too ;)
6. SCUBA Gear
This gift is specific to my husband. He recently had an opportunity to become scuba diving certified before we moved out of Texas. Learning to scuba had been something on his bucket list so we just couldn't pass up this opportunity. After his first class, he was hooked! If scuba is something that the man in your life is curious about, Aaron highly encourages it. It has become a new favorite hobby for him. Aaron's timing was perfect because he got his certification about a month before we took a vacation to Riviera Maya and Aaron was able to dive on the 2nd biggest reef in the world! Now, most everywhere you would have the possibility of diving, you can rent equipment, which is a great thing. Scuba equipment can add up quickly. We learned to buy quality items that will last you forever and pay the premium to do it. I would rather pay for 1 dive mask and get a good quality one and never have to worry about it again. Another tip is to start with the personal equipment first: fins, booties, mask, snorkel, wetsuit. Even fins, booties, and wetsuits can be rented or purchased later. This will be a good gift idea for Aaron for the next several years as he starts to accumulate his own collection of equipment.
5. Beard Wax
Beard wax is a gift that I will not be purchasing for my husband this Christmas, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't! Aaron is an officer in the United States Army, so by regulation he must be clean shaven, which works well for me! :) But, he longs for the day when he retires for one reason (ok many reasons but one specific one): growing an awesome mountain man beard. Aaron actually suggested I add this idea to the list since beards seem to be in style these days. He also secretly wishes the Army would follow trends so he could have one too.
This one is from my hometown!
4. Boys Trip
Aaron's college experiences were a little different than most colleges. He attended Virginia Military Institute where he was a cadet for 4 years. VMI's student body doesn't live a normal college life, but they build friendships to last a lifetime. This is one gift that will be on Aaron's list every single year. He has 4 college roommates who are now, due to the military aspect of VMI, scattered across the country serving our nation. One is in California, three are spread throughout Virginia, and we are in Georgia. It has been two and a half years since all 5 of them were in the same place. The wives (and one girlfriend...come on Josh, get with the program) and I would love to be able to get them all together for a vacation. It may not probably won't happen this year, but its our goal that we are working towards.
More than likely, the man in your life and his best friends have a much easier schedule to find a weekend they can take off and bro out. I encourage you to do the legwork to make this happen. Guys need their "man time" where they can burp, fart, laugh, reconnect, and be guys. Preserving friendships is important.
All the roommates, plus a couple other classmates from VMI at a wedding - April 2013
3. College or Team Specific Cornhole Boards
If you're not familiar with cornhole, you're missing out! Its a lawn game typically played in the south at tailgates and BBQ's. Cornhole is basically a bean bag toss where you get points for landing your bean bags on the board or in the hole. We had a generic cornhole set that we picked up at Target a couple years ago, but it unfortunately did not survive one particular BBQ this summer. We have decided the next set we get will be custom painted for VMI. You can order cornhole sets for pretty much any team or theme you would like, or you can make them yourself.
2. DVD Sets
If there is one thing I can count on Aaron to enjoy it is a good movie. He loves seeing movies in the theaters and owning the DVDs. He is all about the movie experience, no matter the venue. If we are watching at home, the shades must be pulled, the lights off, the popcorn popped, and heaven forbid I have my phone out. This Christmas he has requested the Lord of the Rings Trilogy on DVD, but he would like the extended versions of the movies. If the man in your life is a movie buff like mine, consider making a DVD basket with all the movies he's been wanting plus some typical movie snacks.
1. New Watch
This gift is one that can work for just about any age man. Aaron is 27 and due to his job he typically wears a digital watch that fits the military regulation and that he doesn't have to worry about it getting scuffed at work. Today, young people (woah...feeling old here) don't really wear watches. After all, just about everyone has a cell phone within an arms reach at all times. However, I think a watch is the perfect gift because it signifies being an adult, with adult responsibilities. Its mature, handsome, and just plain pretty.
Well, that wraps up the 25 Christmas Gifts for the Men in Your Life. I hope these helped you with your holiday shopping. The men in your life are pretty special! Tomorrow I'll be finishing up the gift list for women. Until then...
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