Christmas gift guide for him: Don't know what to get your father, brother, or friend? Here are some ideas for different types of guys
Do you want to show your mate how much you care about him? Here are some of the hottest products your friend would love to have
Guys can be tricky to shop for. Perhaps they are less vocal about what they want, or maybe they don’t even know what they want. Either way, if you’ve started your Christmas shopping and are stuck on what to get your mate, start by considering what their interests or hobbies are, and go from there. If you’re still not sure what to buy, here is a simple guide to the hottest products that we recommend for all the boys in your friend group.
For gamers
If your best bud is a big gamer, the first thing you should do is suss out what they already have. Gamers are all about keeping up with the latest, and you wouldn’t want to get them something they already have. If you’re not a gamer yourself and have no idea which games are hot, check out Pokemon: Let’s Go Pikachu/Eevee, Fifa 19, Super Mario Party, or NBA 2K19 (HK$200-HK$500), all of which were released within the past three months.
Alternatively, if you feel flush with cash or are buying a joint gift, you could upgrade their gaming console. The latest, most-desired console is the PlayStation 4 Pro (HK$3,180). It’s lighter and slimmer than the PS4 system, and has a 1TB hard drive to store games, movies, music, and more. It’s not a cheap gift, we know, but if you think about it, you’ll benefit, too … assuming your friend invites you over to play.
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For bookworms
Similarly, for a friend who loves to read, you need to find out what they already have so they don’t end up with two copies of the same book. To be safe, you could get them a Kindle Paperwhite 4, which costs HK$1,020 – just around HK$80 more than the previous model. This is the latest Kindle model that was released earlier this month.
It is sleek, waterproof, has more storage, and comes with six months of Kindle Unlimited e-book subscription (which usually costs around HK$79 per month). This way, your friend can choose exactly what they’d like to read. If your friend is the type who prefers paper books, we think a cool gift would be Artori Design superhero bookends (HK$205), which make it look like little superheroes are keeping your books standing tall.
For health nuts
This section’s for your friend who drinks protein shakes, loves to work out at the gym, and says no to lunch at McDonald’s. A great gift would be a fitness tracker that can help them keep tabs on all the good they’ve been doing. There are so many out there you can choose from, but one of our favourites is the Mi Band 3 (HK$220). Xiaomi’s latest fitness tracker is waterproof, and can track your steps, sleep, and will even track your heart rate continuously. Plus we love how cool, sleek and modern it looks with its all-new OLED touch screen.
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For outdoorsmen
If your mate is the type who spends their weekend hanging out at the beach, or hiking up a mountain, we can think of a few things you could get them to make their time in the great outdoors even greater.
Something that will always come in handy is a good water bottle. We love the ones from S’well. Their insulated reusable bottles (HK$350) reduce plastic waste, keep your drink cool, and come in a wide range of colours, so you can pick the perfect one to suit your friend’s personality. They’ve even introduced a new sports bottle collection designed specifically for an active lifestyle, with two new bottle lids: one that you can simply click to open and one with a handle.
If you’d like to spoil your friend or buy a group gift, you could get them a GoPro Hero 7 (HK$3,300) so they can document all their amazing adventures. It’s waterproof, has an inbuilt stabiliser, voice-control, and a live-streaming feature – perfect for the wilderness explorer in your life.
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For artsy types
Whether your artsy friend is into music or painting, we’re certain they would appreciate a pair of Jaybird wireless earphones (HK$799-HK$1,149 from Broadway). They can listen to their favourite tracks as they work on their latest art project without having to worry about wires getting in their way.
If your friend is more into film and photography, how about a Domke camera strap (HK$110-HK$320)? These particular straps have long been used by photojournalists, as they are well-built but inexpensive.