4 Gift Ideas for Your Man That Tap Into His Hobbies

It’s no secret that men are the hardest people to shop for when the holidays roll around. Sure, you may have been married to him for 20+ years and you think you know him inside and out, but when you start making that shopping list you inevitably draw a blank.

Don’t worry; it happens to everyone.

The traditional gifts of ties and cologne just don’t cut it anymore and, let’s face it, he probably has more ties that he’ll ever wear. So what’s the alternative? What do you get for the man who seemingly has it all?

Let’s look at this from a different perspective. What does your man like to do? If he had a weekend to himself what activities would he get up to? What does he do when he want to relax and unwind? It’s likely that the answers to those questions have to do with his hobbies.

So, this holiday season give your man a gift that will either enhance his current hobby or encourage him to take up a new one.

1. Art

Perhaps your man likes to watch television shows about historic works of art. Perhaps he has coffee table books full of prints by the masters. Perhaps he’s already got a studio and a stretched canvas waiting to be started. If any of these statements are true then you should head over to the art supply store and start shopping.

One of the best things about art is that many people don’t realize they’ll enjoy it until they try it. So pick up an easel, some canvases in various sizes, and various mediums like oil paints, watercolors, or acrylic paint along with brushes, drop cloths, and the other trappings of a true artist, and you just might find that he is.

2. Coin Collection

Coin collection might seem like an antiquated hobby but it’s also the perfect one for a man who loves research, history, and tracking down rare items, just like a real life Indiana Jones. Coin collecting is serious business and collectors from around the world form a unique kind of club that might be the perfect fit for your guy.

It’s easy to buy coin collection starter kits that contain some coins, books about coins and their rarity, and information about how to properly store and care for your collection. So if you don’t mind seeing your man with a magnifying glass plastered to his face all the time or scouring the web at all hours for that one coin, this will be the perfect gift.

3. Star Gazing

With the advent of so much more sophisticated equipment related to astronomy it’s now so much easier and less expensive for the average person to have the technology to scan the heavens and get stellar results. Telescopes now are of better quality than they’ve ever been before and with a little bit of knowledge about space and the things that live there your guy can become a great amateur astronomer in no time, and you won’t have to shell out big bucks for the equipment.

Of course, this type of gift could lead to unexpected camping trips where there’s less ambient light and middle of the night alarms to catch a meteor shower. Hopefully you don’t mind.

4. Shutterbugs

Just like telescopes, camera equipment has become better and less expensive over recent years and you can get a good quality DSLR camera and a variety of lenses for not much money. If your man has always been the type to have his phone camera out at every opportunity do him a favor and buy him the equipment he needs to take better quality photos on a camera with adjustable settings.

It might also be a good idea to buy a book on how to use said camera. Even though the new models are quite simple learning about the settings will help him take much better photos. Just don’t be surprised if he asks you to model.

Gift giving can always be a stressful time, especially when you have no idea what to buy for someone who doesn’t seem to want or need for anything. However, every man has a soft spot for grown up toys and gadgets so take some tips from this list and get him the gift he didn’t even know he wanted.