Be Better Guys

The High West Double Rye, for about $40

Alright, this is for all the ladies out there. Valentine’s Day is essentially here and you don’t have anything for your man and you’ve got a day to get something – you need good and you need good fast. Remember this–guys like things they can use, so cutesy things like an engraved envelope opener are useless.  An engraved cigar cutter?  Yes!

Also, know your guy, obviously. Don’t get him a terrycloth robe if he’s not that guy. It’ll get no wear, and you’ll feel bad for having wasted the money, and will have missed the mark. Get a guy something he might not get himself, or something he would get himself but hasn’t gotten in a while. Here are a few ideas:

• Most guys love wine and booze and  none would turn down a fine bottle of single-malt Scotch (about $50, and I personally am partial to Laphroaig, Oban and any of the products from Macallan and Balvenie), or consider something any whiskey sipper’s gonna like:  the new breed of top-quality ryes.  I like Ri (about $45) and High West Double Rye from Utah (about $40).  Another idea is go into your good, local wine shop and buy 3 solid bottles of red for about $30 apiece that a guy can lay down in a cellar.  If he’s not storing and maturing wines, this is a nice way to get him started for about $100.  And if he already has a cellar, this will add to it, which we always love.  The wine shop will help you select the right stuff.
• Tickets to a sporting event.  I know when my wife buys me good seats for just the two of us to go watch a hockey game, we make a whole date out of the evening.  It’s full-tilt NBA and NHL season right now; hop on Stubhub and pick a night you want to take him out and buy the best seats you can afford.  Concert tickets are also great.
• A three-pack of massages. Men need a stress-relieving massage and almost never buy them for ourselves. So buy us one, and then another, and then another.
• While we’re on the topic of three-packs (or more if you can afford it), men always want to get better at whatever their sport of choice is.  How about a three-pack of golf lessons?  Or tennis?  Or skiing? Or with a personal trainer?  Not saying he’s chubby or anything….
• How about replacing that old bag he’s carrying his laptop or iPad around in?  A new attache makes a great gift, so check out the Coach store in your town (come one, we all have one these days!) or any of the department stores’ leather goods.  There are some pretty hip messenger bag styles in leather that he’ll have for the next decade…and he’ll think of you when he digs into that bag.
• Cotton pajama bottoms.  Tell you the truth, most nights when my dog walking duties are finished and I won’t be going out of the house for the rest of the evening, I lose the jeans and get into a pair of cotton pajama bottoms.  Sounds funny, but I love them and if you buy a set, maybe you wear the top.
• Music lessons. Have you ever gone to a concert and heard your guy say something like, “Man, I wish I could play bass.  That would be cool.”  So get him some lessons, see if it takes.  I’m a guitar player and have been studying drums for two years and it’s reinvigorated my love of music – consider it.

David Boris is co-creator of Be Better Guys.