We all know it is more blessed to give than to receive. That’s all well and good. Personally, I think it’s blessed AND intelligent if the gift given happens to benefit BOTH the recipient AND the giver. You know, two birds, one stone and all that jazz? So in the spirit of giving, as well as simultaneously assisting my intelligent female comrades, I give you, my Father’s Day, birthday, Christmas day, really any old holiday gift guide for men.
*Let it be known that this post was sponsored, in part, by JORD watches, who I am now counting on to help my husband keep track of himself and make sure he is, from this point forward, always on time. It’s a tall order, but I’m hopeful. Also, this post contains affiliate links. If you’d like to read our full (and boring), legal-eeze sounding disclosure policy, by all means, have at it HERE.*
1.)Â Amazon Echo and Alexa
(AKA Dad’s new personal assistant)
I don’t remember the moment it happened. It certainly wasn’t part of our vows, but sometimes it certainly feels like “love, honor, and become your personal assistant” must have somehow crept in there without me realizing what was happening. Seems like it’s my responsibility to remind my other half about things like his Mother’s birthday, or that it’s time to get the oil changed. Well, no more. Amazon’s Echo with the Alexa voice recognition software (ala Siri) will now be my sister wife, and take full responsibility for those little tasks that I do NOT want on my own personal to do list anymore.
And the thing is, he’ll LOVE this. It’s gadgety, techy, it will stream your music, and even tell you what traffic and the weather is like before you leave the house in the morning. No more forgetting your anniversary. You can even sneak your honey-do list items onto this little beauty as reminder alarms. Make him wonder how on earth it can possibly be his turn AGAIN to walk the dog. #winning
2. Traeger Smoker
Not sure how the whole husband/father/grilling thing became such a big deal, but I, for one, am pleased as a pork loin about it. Nurture that extremely helpful and delicious hobby with a new smoker. These Traegers are legit. It’s kind of like the crock pot of smokers. You turn the temperature on to where you want it, and it does the rest, without a lot of hand holding along the way. The smell of something smoking all day outdoors? Pure bliss…especially when I’m not the one responsible for making it. Take a family meal off your hands, and give him that money-man-toy that you know both of you are craving.
3. JORD wood watch
Back to that whole personal assistant dilemma. The downside of Alexa/Echo is that he can’t take it anywhere with him. This now potentially puts you back in that administrative assistant role when you have to call him at 6:45 to ask him why he’s not there for a 6:30 soccer practice. Thanks, but no thanks. We’ll take option B. This grade A, super unique, gorgeous wood watch by JORD.
One of the problems with buying a watch as a gift is that so many of them look so similar. And my husband marches to his own beat. This watch is perfect for a guy who has his own groove.
And particularly for a DIY-loving guy who is always in the garage, working with wood, tools, you name it. It’s got personality. Personality with a purpose. One purpose being…get your tail to soccer practice on time without the friendly admin assistant courtesy call. Just look at your wrist, man. Done and done.
4. Kreg Jig
In this house, a new tool always needs to be in the gift-giving-mix. And anything by Kreg is usually a ranking request. They can be used any time you have to join two pieces of wood together, which happens a lot when you’re DIY’ing. From tables to treehouses, picture frames to framing walls, these tools can help you do it all easier. PLUS, suggesting this gives me the ever pleasing opportunity to mention that if you buy one, you’ll be able to “get jiggy with it” nah nah nah, etc. That just NEVER gets old, to be honest.
5. USB Outlet
This little outlet is pure awesome. No more searching high and low for the dang adapters. These little babies give that handy Daddy something to install, so they look like the superhero they are, AND you get a super convenient charging station, to boot. These are one of those items that once you have, you don’t know how you went without. They aren’t super pricey, either.
6. Picture Hanging Tool
Been asking for him to help you hang that ambitious gallery wall without much success? Maybe this gadget will help get him on board. It’s got a little level and marking system so locate the right place to hammer that nail. Takes a lot of the annoying guesswork out of that task, and in turn, will help cut down the number of errant holes in our walls. Score.
7. Chandelier Hanging Service
Amazon. Genius, that company. How many times have you said, wow, wish I could change that 1980’s light fixture in our dining room, but alas, we aren’t quite savvy with electrical things? Amazon to the rescue. They now offer ALL KINDS of services online, such as chandelier hanging! You hand them the chandelier, and they wire and mount it for you! And this is only one of the awesome services they offer. Lets the hubs take a break from the honey-do list, but meanwhile, you still get that glam chandy that you’ve been wanting for years! Don’t need a chandelier? Maybe you have some tile you want installed…or your front door or fence painted? Some new outlets put in (see above) or perhaps a new thermostat to mount (see below)? Amazon to the rescue. They are slowly taking over the world, and I gotta say, I’m not too upset about it.
8. The Nest Thermostat
My husband wanted a new thermostat for years, and I kept hemming and hawing. Why? Well, there’s nothing super sexy or fun about a thermostat, right? Wrong. These new smart thermostats are pretty awesome. Their timers allow you to schedule temperature changes easily at home so that you can actually save money on your monthly heating and cooling bills. And they are much more accurate/precise than the older models with that little lever where you’re not sure if you’ve set it to 70 or 74. Plus, many of these, including this Nest unit, is compatible with your new sister wife, Â Amazon Echo/Alexa, and wi-fi so that it can be set and changed via voice command and or phone app. Brilliant.
9. Waterproof Phone Case
In this day and age, our phones are like an additional limb. A limb that must be functioning, otherwise, our lives, schedules, personal responsibilities, etc go to you know where in a hand basket. Father’s Day happens each year at the beginning of pool season, or boating season, or pretty much anything having to do with water. And water + phone = bad day. That’s why I love this waterproof phone case gift idea. Not only is it sleek, and manly, it will prevent us from having to go to the phone store over our summer beach trip in order to buy a new phone to the tune of an obscene number of dollars. These cases are WATERPROOF! Pure genius. Pure necessity.
10. Dash Buttons
If your home is anything like ours, you have a grocery list posted somewhere conspicuous in the house so that all capable adults may add to said list when they notice a particular household staple is getting low. Have you also noticed that particular adults seem reticent to using this organizational technique? Instead, the preferred method of certain family members is to question the other responsible adult in the house why we are out of (you name it) item. Step 2 in this method is to proceed with a mini-pout session about the lack of requisite item rather than engaging in the organizational method du jour. Enough is enough, am I right? I’m hoping that these little gems will put an end to this particular roadblock to marital bliss.
Amazon Dash buttons. You place these little babies somewhere near where particular staple items in the household are stored (such as, by the coffee pot). Then, when the item is getting low, you simply push the button, and the item is automatically added to your Amazon shopping cart. Amazing. And they have dozens of these, for all kinds of household products, from cleaners to groceries, and more are being added all the time. I’m an optimist, and I’m thinking this little baby may be a little prayer answered. And it’s a gadget, right? What guy doesn’t appreciate some gadgetry?
Hopefully, this list has given you some ideas. I for one am REALLY looking forward to Father’s Day this year. I can taste those ribs that he’ll be cooking on that smoker now…
Kim Roy says
Great list HT! Some unique ideas I haven’t seen elsewhere.
Mary-the boondocks blog says
These are really nice gifts for Dad! I especially like how almost everything can be used by mom too!