Hither & Thither Gift Guide: For Him

This week will bring gift ideas for her, for the kiddo, and for everyone else. Today, gifts for him…

  1. A beautiful design book that will also stoke his wanderlust. Consider Surf Shack,  Van Life,  Sea Ranch,  or Cabin Porn
  2. To make him laugh: a “Hello, My Name is Inigo Montoya…” patch
  3.  The perfect wide-brim hat for weekends in the woods.
  4. A handsome apron, because everyone knows he’s the best in the kitchen.
  5. An underwater headphones, for listening to music or podcasts during laps.
  6.  It may not be a new idea, but it’s always a winning one. A toy helicopter for the young at heart.
  7. To warm things up, a tobacco + vanilla candle 
  8. A Ninja TShirt. His kids’ eyes will light up!
  9. The best-looking activity tracking watch for the chronograph fan. Bluetooth with step-count and percent-to-goal sub-displays, and suitable for swimming and snorkeling.
  10. Classic dad gift: The Ken Burns America Collection
  11.  Enamelware will never break, and looks as good at home as it does camping.
  12. For a whole new take on Zelda. Handheld and home gaming system in one, the Nintendo Switch.
  13.  An attractive yet practical (ultra-strong, extra-long, weighted, lightning to USB) charging cable for taking on the go.
  14. Someone who lampoons American politics and culture even better than him. A compendium of Barry Blitt’s illustrations.
  15. A make-your-own reel viewer: like the one he had when he was a kid—only with his pictures this time. Think childhood highlight reel, his own or his kids’.
  16. A garment case meets duffle bag. So genius. (Update: Similar)
  17. A DIY Everything Bagels and Cream Cheese Making kit. Because Essa Bagel is 2,800 miles away.
  18.  A hoop hearth, for neatly stacked wood. Pair it with some leather work gloves.
  19. Sonos makes the best smart speakers.
  20. The Holy Grail of waffle henley shirts. 100% unshrinkable, six colors, and comes in both regular and tall sizes.
  21. A new novel to engage his imagination. Sing, Unburied, Sing, for which Jesmyn Ward has won one of the highest awards in American literature for the second time, the National Book Award’s top prize for fiction. Anovel about race, poverty, loss and family in America’s south, the New York Times describes it “a road novel, a slender epic of three generations and the ghosts that haunt them, and a portrait of what ordinary folk in dire circumstances cleave to as well as what they — and perhaps we all — are trying to outrun.” Other NYT-approved suggestions: the WWII-set A Boy in Winter—”Headlines may dissemble, facts may take centuries to untangle, but with A Boy in Winter, Seiffert has unleashed literature’s unique power to analyze history’s scroll, to let fiction judge.” Or History of Wolves, “a novel of ideas that reads like smart pulp, a page-turner of craft and calibration.”

If none of these ideas is just right for him, look to experiences—perhaps a spa day together—or a gift card to one of his favorite stores. A gift card to Warby Parker with the suggestion to check out their try-on set is a nice surprise, or one to Nordstrom to use at their January men’s half-yearly sale.

More inspiration… 

I’ve been putting together gift guides for many years and I often find myself going back to past guides for gift-giving inspiration even now. Just in case you’d like to do the same, I’ve checked these previous Gift Guides for Him to make sure that the links are working and up to date.

Previously: Gifts for her. Coming up next: A gift guide for the kiddos

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