Okay, so I wrote this whole post on how Christmas isn’t about gifts and the importance of simplifying and all that. And here I am writing a blog with gift ideas. I’m not anti-presents. Presents are nice. Gifts are good. I like presents! And we’ve all got people in our lives that we want to celebrate by giving gifts.

And if you’re anything like me, you struggle to find the perfect gift for the men in your life. (This is one of the reasons I’m thankful the Cowboy and I don’t exchange presents on Christmas!)

But I still have brothers-in-law. I still have nephews. I still have a step-dad (Hi, Paul!).

Anyway. I struggle. Every year. To buy the men in my life something unique or interesting or cool. Because I want to buy local. I want to buy American made. I want to find something a little out of the ordinary (without going to “Sharper Image,” you know?) that they might like as much as I do. And that requires “shopping” (or at least browsing), and with two little-ones … well … browsing in stores can be … um … challenging.

So a lot of my exploration happens online. Looking for fun ideas. Hoping that if I find something neat … something personal … something that’s not a tie … that lets my loved-one know that this gift is “just for him.” In my late night online wanderings I’ve discovered a few interesting things. Like these:

FOR THE SAKE OF FAMILY … we have a family tradition of getting new PJs on Christmas Eve, reading “Twas The Night Before Christmas” and playing board games. And I don’t know about you, but I’m always so envious of those cutie footie jammies that the littles get to wear, except I don’t like having my feet covered. These union suits are from LL Bean. And they might be the perfect adult alternative (and it comes in men’s and women’s and kids’ sizes!)

FOR THE TRAVELER (this water bottle is amazingly durable, collapsible, BPA-free, eco-friendly and kind-of-high-tech-looking and my sister-in-law, who travels more than anyone I know, will NOT leave her house without it) …

… for the hubby’s college roommate who fancies himself a CHEF, but is still using that teflon set he had in college … (one day, we’ll write a post on why cooking in stainless steel or cast iron should be your method-of-choice … because no one wants teflon or aluminum or copper or lead or cadmium floating around in your bloodstream poisoning your organs … but that’s for another day 🙂

for the COOL (and very manly) TECH-HEAD in your life … I love this Swiss Army-like-“knife.” (And by “knife,” I mean flash-drive.) I just think it’s super-neat.