Seven frugal ideas for gifts for the men in your life
by Pat Veretto
I can walk into any store in town and find an appropriate gift for my twenty something daughter, for my thirty something daughter or for my grandkids. I can find a gift for my mother or for my elderly (female) neighbor under ten dollars. I can even find a gift for them under five dollars... but ask me to find a gift for a man and I'm lost. Men impossible to buy for!
At least that's what I've been thinking most of my life, but finally, after all this time, I decided to really concentrate and come up with a list of things to pull from when one of those occasions come up. It really wasn't so hard, once I got in the swing of it. (Having a few male friends help out didn't hurt, either.)
Anyway, here it is:
It's no secret that men generally have a practical mindset. They're not much into flowers, candy and scents... oh, yeah? Then why do men use scented aftershave when witch hazel will do just as well? And why do they always think of giving women perfume? Enter the ever popular basket gift: Fill it with samples of aftershave and colognes. (Good for a husband or significant other as men find this rather personal.)
Shirts, socks, underwear... to women those are so boring, and there's always the good chance that a gift of clothing will be the wrong style or color or size. That doesn't seem to enter a man's head, does it? Go ahead, give him that neat shirt you found at a super sale, BUT... make sure it's a style that you've seen him wear before. Men DO have definite clothing preferences. (Don't tell him it was on sale, though.)
Food! The way to a man's heart is through his stomach, and that's the truth. Good food, whether you cook it or not, makes a perfect gift for a man. A ticket for a home cooked meal, a gift certificate to a good restaurant (think Ebay), or a basket of home made bread and special jelly will do the trick. Single men, especially, whether it's your son, your widowed father or a man you want to make your own, will appreciate a gift of food.
Run of the mill gift certificates don't seem very personal, so make them that way. Create your own and make them for things like shoveling snow (for one time or for a season). Give him a certificate to take the car for oil changes for a year, or to mow the lawn. Anything a man now pays someone else to do, that you can do as well, will be appreciated.
And men aren't sentimental, are they? Another myth down. Guys tell me they'd appreciate a gift of a picture album with special pictures already in them. This one might take some work to find enough pictures of the right kind, but it's inexpensive and worth the effort.
On the same note as the "Shirt, socks and underwear" above, if you knit or crochet, you can make house slippers, warm scarves, driving gloves or socks. Elderly men might appreciate a laprobe or afghan in their favorite colors.
If a man is into sports, that opens up a lot of possibilities. Favorite team colors, worked into a vest or sweater is a sure hit.
Think about the man you're getting a gift for. Hobbies and interests provide a clue to what they enjoy and men enjoy a wide range of things, from cooking to football and everything in between. Small but important things tend to be overlooked. Subscriptions to specialty magazines, or a book on the subject that you know he really wants, are good ideas.
When we were young, we had to carry water from a well that had a hand pump on it. Every morning, we'd take a tin cup of water out to prime the well, to get the water flowing when we pumped it. This list is our tin cup of priming water. Coming up with a gift for a man may not be so impossible, after all!
