Present ideas for men BLOGHelping folks get great gift ideas for men

May I be one of the first to announce that it’s only 10 weeks till Christmas! Crazy as that may seem, Christmas is just around the corner. To avoid the rush of Christmas in the shops, why don’t you start doing some of your shopping now and putting it away for the holidays.

We’re constantly getting new shipments in of exciting new stock, and we’ll try to keep you updated here on our blog - but of course, check our mens gifts shop yourself to see what we’re stocking.

We’re excited about some of our new gizmos and gadgets. If you’re looking for something just a bit quirky for that “different” personality in your family or at work, these are the Christmas gifts to check out.

The Periodic Table t-shirt is very new in stock, and it’s already selling like hotcakes! Perfect for the geeky sort of guy in your family, or perhaps a classmate just loves scientific equations and tables and always has his head stuck in a textbook - just for the fun of it.

Along similar lines is the Caffeine Molecule T-Shirt. If he loves his coffee, he’s bound to love this t-shirt, and if he’s a bit of a geek, all the better! If you begin seeing molecular drawings on every scrap bit of paper around the house, the kitchen whiteboard, and the back of the phone bill, you’ll know that he’s fascinated and intrigued by the molecular structure of caffeine…and perhaps needs either sleep or more caffeine.

There’s been a lot of other gizmos and gadgets going up on the online shop, so you may want to check there for some great Christmas gifts! 

Most of us have very fond memories of the various childhood games we played, and some still live on, not only in our memories, but have been passed down to our children and grandchildren.

Do we ever stop to wonder, however, where these games started? Who were the masterminds behind these games? How many generations have they travelled down? Did the designer create them merely for their own children, or did they have plans of making their millions by creating a new craze?

Let’s take a look at a few of these games and puzzles, and consider the history behind them. We may be surprised at what we find.

Chess:

Chess has been around for some 1500 years. The first official world chess championship was held in 1886, but it’s beginnings had started well before this time. Its roots can be traced back to India, from where it spread to the Middle East and then to Europe. It was in Europe that it evolved into its current form.

Many of the great chess players are from the former USSR, but individuals such as Bobby Fischer, who was the first US-born citizen to win the world championship, and Capablanca, have had their names go down in history also.

Board/Table Games:

While there are many ancient board games, and it is uncertain as to which is indeed the oldest, Mancala is an old traditional game that is known the world over. With many different variations, one may be surprised to find that the skill challenge involved in the more complex versions of this game is on par with the level of chess. Whereas board games are available for Mancala, in certain places in Africa, this game is played with stones in dug out holes in the ground, making this one of the worlds popular games and puzzles. Stone tables with Mancala holes carved into it have been found from ancient times.

Number Puzzles:

Jumping forward in history, let’s take a look at the popular Sudoku puzzles and how they came into being. The history of Sudoku actually reaches further back than may be thought, knowing that the phenomenon of Sudoku puzzles became a hit in 2005. In 1892 a number puzzle, akin to the modern Sudoku, appeared in a French newspaper – its major difference was the use of double digit numbers, and it was based mainly on mathematics rather than pure logic. A modified puzzle, almost a modern Sudoku puzzle, began to be published and appeared for about a decade prior to the First World War. The first modern Sudoku puzzle was published in 1979, supposedly created by American, Howard Garns. It was later introduced in Japan in 1984 where it became known as Sudoku.

These games and puzzles have all morphed from their original beginnings into what we know today as very popular games. Now that you know some of the history of these games and puzzles, why not go and dig out some of those board games from your cupboard and experience a little more history?

As we’ve said before, at His Gifts we’re always looking for new gizmos and gadgets to make shopping for mens presents simple. Well, we’ve found some new ones, and we’re pretty excited about them.

Some of these gizmos and gadgets are useful and great for the inquisitive mind - others are just plain fun.

Into Space Invaders? You’ll love the new Space Invaders keyrings. Coming in vibrant colours, these Space Invaders keyrings are perfect for using as…well, a keyring…but don’t limit yourself to this use - consider hanging it on your school bag, backpack, or briefcase.

Ever wanted to make your own camera? The pinhole camera kit will keep you entertained for the couple of hours it will take you to assemble it, but it will produce much fun even after the assembly process is completed. This camera actually works! Taking photos using the pinhole mechanism, you’ll learn the fundamentals of light, photography, and exposure. Not everyone gets to use a camera they have made themselves! For all the other cool details about this camera you can make yourself, head on over and check out the pinhole camera kit for yourself.

Are you wanting to step back in time? With these vintage record coasters made from original record labels, you’ll have yourself amazing retro gifts to give to your friends - or use yourself! Coming in a set of four, these vintage record coasters feature hits ranging from Beethoven to David Cassidy and everything in between.

We’ll be putting up more fun gizmos and gadgets in the near future, so keep checking back here to see what’s new.

In all of my previous articles I have honed in on one important gift-giving technique: tailoring your gift to the recipient’s interests. This is an excellent means of finding an appropriate gift, as it utilizes their existing interests and hobbies and helps you choose a gift that you know they’ll love. It also lets them know that you’ve noticed what they enjoy and have bothered to buy them something meaningful to them.

While this is a helpful tip, there are certainly no rules when it comes to gift giving. Sometimes considering the individual’s interests can actually serve to put your mind in a box regarding their upcoming birthday and leave you without too many options!

For the guy who has everything and who really doesn’t seem to have many interests, what are the options? You don’t even have to know the guy particularly well for the category of gifts we’ll be discussing in this article.

Gizmos and gadgets make fantastic gifts, and there are plenty of benefits, as we’ll soon discover.

1. Gizmos and Gadgets Break the Ice

If you’re taking birthday gifts to a party, you can either choose to go the “serious gift giving route”, or you can give something light and fun. Especially if he opens it at the party, if it’s something a little wacky and out there everyone will want to try the new gadget and it will give everyone a great laugh. To give you an example of some popular gadgets on the market at the moment, some of the great party gifts are the flying monkey, the self-stirring coffee mug, and the BBQ branding iron. These will all arouse the curiosity of fellow party goers and make a great atmosphere.

2. Gizmos and Gadgets Occupy and Entertain

So you open the presents, have a birthday dinner, and blow out the candles on the cake. But after the party is over, what does one do to celebrate the rest of the day? It’s always nice to have at least one gift be something he can do, particularly in a group setting. Some of the best memories of birthdays for me are just hanging around with the family, chatting and enjoying each others’ company. This time can be enhanced if someone has given him a gadget that people can fiddle with throughout the day and play around with. Whether it’s the antics of the repeat parrot, or the pranks that the echo bot plays on an unsuspecting friend, gizmos and gadgets are a great way to stimulate conversation and laughter.

3. Gizmos and Gadgets Stimulate the Mind

Gadgets in the form of mind challenge puzzles can be very educational while still being a lot of fun! Group games, mind challenge puzzles, and logic problems (for example Sudoku and crossword puzzles) are all excellent ways to develop one’s mind and have a great time to boot!

So are you convinced yet that gizmos and gadgets can make great birthday gifts? Not only are they stacks of fun, but they enhance the fun of the entire group, providing social interaction and good laughs. And if you choose carefully, you can also provide them with a brain workout in the form of a fun puzzle!

So for your next birthday gifts, consider what place gizmos and gadgets could have in your gift giving, and have fun!