I don’t know what convention was held in early 2014-ish, but apparently every retailer was invited and the entire thing was about how to market to people who buy gifts for men at the holidays. It was held in one of those bars where you throw axes and no vegetables were served for three days. This was the list they came up with.
Whiskey-infused leather wallets that you can put on the grill
Does your man like whiskey? Of course he does, he’s an American male! Does he also like leather accessories and grilling? Of course he does, id.! Does he frequently express a wish for an item that could combine all three of these things? No, of course not, he’s a man and they do not express emotions. But because you know your man so well, get him this wallet! It holds all the money he’s earning, and when it inevitably falls out of his pocket onto the grill (guys are so clumsy and silly like that, right?) it will smell like an encroaching forest fire because that is a thing that he inexplicably likes.
But wait, how can he get his wallet back and in his pocket? We’re glad you asked, because you can get him a
Set of grilling tools, yes, seriously, another one
Since Real Men have a different grill for every year of their life, you should get him another set of grilling tools. We don’t care if he says he has a dozen; he needs more. He’s not done until he looks like the goddamn Edward Scissorhands of grilling tools. Charcoal grill? Needs new grilling tools. Gas grill? Needs new grilling tools. Just a fire in a trash can? Sharpen up some sticks and rusty metal because even a literal garbage fire deserves its own set of grilling tools. And if he got a smoker? Ohhhh, you need like at least FIFTY new tools for all that meat he’ll be smoking. If he’s got a full rack of ribs on that smoker, you’d best believe he’ll need a set of tools for each individual rib. Keep going until you need to get a storage unit for the tongs alone. Each set comes with an apron that says “Ladies Love My Meat” so that you can kill yourself while he opens his gifts!
Speaking of heat, why don’t you try getting him some
Hot-sauce infused beer caps/sculpture
Does the man in your life ever sip on an IPA and remark “if only this could be more unpleasant to drink”? Does he frequently order his food as spicy as possible despite being very white? Then he needs this six-pack of Literally All You Can Taste Is Hops and Pain, a beer with hot sauce infused into the metal cap. Just have your guy turn the bottle upside down right before he’s ready to drink, and ka-POW, he’s got a nice, refreshing sip of capsaicin and regret. You know that all men think “if this isn’t extremely unpleasant, why bother drinking it?” and you’ve finally got the gift to match.
And if someone else already got him this gift, just ask yourself: does he like to collect garbage? And if so, you can get him this: a wall-hanging shaped like a monster truck because fuck aesthetics with a little space for each beer cap! He doesn’t have to limit himself to just spicy beer caps; regardless of the logo on his beer garbage, he can now store it in your home, displayed for guests, forever. He can reminisce about those beers while he stares at his wall sculpture and ignores your wedding photos right next to it. He’s basically like Ernest Hemingway except he can’t even write a greeting card.
Speaking of doing your best to ignore your family, if your man is just 100% checked out, get him
A tool that lets him watch The Game while at your daughter’s college graduation
Does your manflesh love to watch himself a great sports game, but the kids keep accomplishing things? Does he ever comment “if only there were a way for me to be less involved as a parent”? Are you one of his children and it has somehow become your job to manage a grown man’s feelings? We’ve got just the thing: we replace his cornea with a projector screen and put a satellite dish in his skull so he can watch any game at any time instead of paying attention to his kids.
Sure, he might have his first grader playing soccer literally four feet away from him, but he’s already had an interaction with this child this week; he’s tired. He can just switch on the dish, sit back, and stare blankly ahead until his kid cries. Give him the gift that combines his favorite things: sports, and avoiding responsibility.
Whiskey stones
This is a thing every man needs now no we won’t explain why just buy the alcohol rocks because fuck you
ALSO
A necktie with the night sky as it looked on the day of the Immaculate Reception
Help your man slide even deeper into the loss of his identity and allow him to abandon all other nuance and personality traits in pursuit of a soul that is indistinguishable from that of the sports team(s) he worships
This tie can be monogrammed!
Cufflinks with the date of your anniversary so he’ll never forget again!
During the month of December, practice your smile in the mirror, so that when he opens it and you explain what it is, the whitehot hatred of his cutesy attempts to placate you after he’s forgotten what a fucking calendar is for the 12th consecutive year despite managing to draft no fewer than 5 fantasy football teams and memorize all of the lines to The Hangover Part III will be hidden behind your pleasant twinkling grin and bright recitation of “next year, even if you don’t remember, you can always look at the cufflinks!”
He will not remember. He will not look at the cufflinks.
They come in two sizes, and the larger size can include your children’s birthdays and it ships with a complimentary thick pillow to scream into and definitely not smother him to death nope
Soap shaped like a grenade or a football or a stock exchange
No, we don’t know why basic hygiene is apparently a feminine thing, but we support you in your efforts to keep him clean!
And that’s not all! We’ve got everything and anything you could possibly want for that special boymanmaleguy who deserves the best
A DIY home beer brewing kit that talks to your wife for you
Some shell casings in an old bourbon barrel
A watch made out of bacon
Beard oil that smells like Yankee Stadium
A whole bison carcass and a Bowie knife
A minimalist wallet that is so minimalist it is just a square of microfiber with no pockets
Therapy
Just enough confidence to try stand-up comedy once
The options are nearly endless. Be the best at gift-giving this year, and not just winning by default because at least one adult male has forgotten to purchase a single present. Happy shopping!
2 Comments
I’ll take the bison carcass. My plan is to leave it outside in a cage or something so critters don’t get to it while I cut it up and salt cure the meat in my storage unit, then sell it for $$$ cos it’s “artisanal” an’ shit.
And yes I’ll take a selfie with the carcass and the bowie knife for the ‘gram.
the “artisanal” thing tho, you’re absolutely right you could make so many dollars