Unraveling One of Life’s Greatest Mysteries: What to Gift a Guy
Living is an amazing experience full of infinite curiosities. Many of these curiosities befuddle even the greatest of thinkers. From Chiek Anta Diop to Lao Tzu, great minds have all offered their wisdoms about our confusing existence and fragmented pasts. However, some mysteries prove too great for even the most sophisticated of thinkers. Some questions we have yet to answer are: “What is the meaning of Life?”, “Is reality relative?”, “What brought about consciousness?” and “What on earth do you gift a guy?”
For those of you well into a relationship with your significant other, you might find the question benign. You know his niche interests and likes and so the idea of what to buy him falls neatly into place. You struggle more with deciding which gift to buy him rather than what to buy him. When it comes to the men that are more like acquaintances, the innocent question of “what do I get him?”, creates a more menacing and anxiety inducing response from us. To save you the time and a trip through an existential crisis, I’ve compiled a few safe bets below that will appeal to the man in your life.
Go Niche
Each of us has an interest that commands more of our attention than others. If his interests fall in gaming, sneakers, Anime, art, music, or putting toy cars together, you can bet that there’s a gift he’ll appreciate out there.
When someone has a niche interest it is so much easier to buy them something that they will not only like, but appreciate. We’ve all received generic gifts, but few things are more awesome than someone buying us a gift that pertains to our interests. It makes us feel like they care or that they were listening to us. The same will apply to your man.
Go Nietzsche (for the intellectual in your life)
As women, it is so easy to make us cheese by buying us flowers or any kind of dress. Generic gifts actually appeal to us. For guys that either don’t have niche interests or have intangible niche interest, gift buying takes on an extra layer of difficulty. If he’s more of a simple man himself who isn’t into much listed in the above paragraph, but is maybe book-ish he will more than likely appreciate you gifting him with an experience more than an item.
You might think more books are a great gift but you can hand that to him after exploring the mountains on horse back and taking a rooftop grilling class. Take him to a spot he’s never been. Especially if it offers activities. Airbnb has fun activities that you can sign up for.
Go Practical
If he’s not niche or Nietzsche then he's probably a man whose more simple in a practical sense. Buying him something he can actually use one day is your best bet. Even better if he can use it daily. Getting him a better version of what he has is likely to be well received and is easier than trying to find a handy tool off the top of your head. Some good practical gifts are fancy box openers or gift cards to the stores he frequents. A new and comfortable chair is a cool pick too, and nothing beats new shoes.
Life is full of enigmas but hopefully after reading this article, you feel a little less confused as to what you should get the guy in your life. Most men have a little bit of each category in themselves and so switching up what you surprise them with is a better bet than sticking to one category. If you got him something niche last time then go for an experience another time and then something practical. It keeps things fresh and interesting.
Lilith is a blogger with an emphasis in writing and reflecting upon social agendas that effect black women. When not at her computer writing she is more than likely still at her computer, programming. On the rare occasion that Lilith isn't at her laptop you can attempt to find her exploring the Chicago food scene or attending workshops in creative writing.