Awesome Gifts for Guys (and Almost Guys)

Hallie over at Moxie Wife is having a linkup today for some good gift ideas for the men in our lives, and since I have a LOT of men in my life (my boys are technically premature men, right?) I thought I'd give it a whirl and let you know what floats their boats as far as gifting is concerned.

My main man:

Phil is a theologian at heart and enjoys any books by Peter Kreeft, but especially one of these.  He also is a big fan of football and I can pretty much scoop up anything Redskins related and he's a happy camper. In fact, on his last birthday I bought  Redskins shirt for me and one for the baby, and he loved that too!

 Two of his favorite shows is The Office and Parks and Recreation, so when seasons of these become available on DVD, they make nice gifts.  The best birthday gift I ever got him was a Keurig because the man needs his coffee in the morning.  A mug in which to drink that coffee is a nice touch too (or one for the road). 

If your man is a handy one, this magnetic wristband is a great idea to keep nails and screws right where he needs them while he's working, and he should definitely be drinking his coffee from this mug!  Someone who loves to fish would appreciate this watch.  I think all men would find a utili-key or Swiss army knife useful (I know my Dad needs one on him at all times).  

A bottle of his favorite liqueur or bottles of beer would make my man happy.  This next one is a little personal, but Phil loves wearing these boxers (especially during long workouts) and they last a lot longer than anything cotton he has ever owned.  And in the spirit of making him blush some more, his favorite gift costs nothing to give but you may have to name it 9 months later ;)

And now for the boys....

9-11 year old boy:

John-Paul loved loved loved (I can't emphasize enough) the Snap Circuits present we got him for his last birthday.  He also enjoys a good board game, like Qwirkle, Battleship or this one he'll be getting that Sarah from Clover Lane recommended.  He has read through The Chronicles of Narnia, and just finished The Hobbit, and next up on his radar is the Percy Jackson books.  Also we try to give as many outdoor/athletic presents as we can to our boys, like the Pogo Stick he'll be getting for Christmas (shhhhh, don't tell).  Any kind of book about how to create inventions or run lab experiments is always a hit.  I like this book and this kit. 

7-9 year old boy:

Even though they may seem too old for stuffed animals, Pillow Pets are (still) very popular from little kids up through this age range.  We like to bring them on long car trips to help the kids sleep in the car and have an extra pillow at our destination point.  For creative kids, this kit looks pretty cool - what boy wouldn't want to create fun things to eat? A twist on the ever-popular Lego's is the Ninjago sets that apparently are "super cool" as Andrew says.  In keeping with the building theme, Lego's Brickmaster sets are great for the mess-hating OCD mom in me.  A nice neat package of fun!  And because he dreams of being a professional football player one day, you can't go wrong with a Nerf Football. 

4-6 year old boy:

Eamon is in love with any sort of Nerf shooting toy.  My boys are big into making messes and learning about science around here, and this looks like a winner if you've got similar boys in your house.  Walkie talkies are a fun gift for this age too as playing spy/hide and seek is still a source of entertainment.  If you have a game system like Wii or Leapster, then a new game is a nice gift to ask for, especially from a relative looking for an idea.  This age group is also usually thrilled with a great movie to watch on repeat until all of the funny parts are committed to memorization (that's a guy of any age thing, right?)  Markers and comic books make great stocking stuffers too.  All our boys got a scooter around age 6, and they still play with them all the time.  And one of Eamon's favorite gifts ever was a watch - bonus - now he can tell time!  

Toddler Boys:

With toddlers, you can't really go wrong with anything superhero related.  And boys are especially fond of ball toys and trucks from my experience.  We just got this to give to Alexander for Christmas because he loves balls and music above all else.  Honestly with this age group, they are very easy and fun to buy for...we gave our one year old a balloon from the dollar store for his birthday and he was ecstatic about it.  Crayons and coloring books win big with this crowd too.  I think a good creative gift (that I learned from my SiL) is to make a photo book with faces of his favorite people to help them learn names of the friends and relatives that live far away.

Stocking stuffers for boys: electric toothbrush, gloves, chapstick, Pokemon cards, sugary cereal mini-boxes you wouldn't normally buy, fun erasers, bouncy balls, and of course candy.

And that rounds up the men and boys in my house.  Now I'm off to read the other Awesome Gifts for Guys ideas over at Moxie Wife!