Top Gifts for Men

We know what guys want, and surprise—they all need electricity

The country may be in the midst of an economic slowdown, but the men of the house may not realize it. According to a new survey from Break.com, men between the ages of 18-34 are planning to spend aggressively this holiday season on gifts for their spouses, parents and themselves.

The survey indicates that nearly 70% of the men interviewed don’t have a set budget for holiday shopping. Almost 40% plan to spend $250 or more, with half of those men planning to spend $500 or more. Additionally, over 60% of men surveyed would be willing to pay full price for holiday gifts, rather than waiting for sales or bargains. Finally, nearly 40% of men surveyed said they intend to buy themselves a gift this holiday season. If those guys are anything like me, that gift could wind up being the one thing that doesn’t end up getting returned.

So what do men want to receive (or buy for themselves) this holiday season? Let’s take a look:

Video games
According to the Pew Internet & American Life Project, more than one-half of U.S. adults play video games, and about one in five play every day or almost every day. So it’s no surprise that guys are looking forward to finding some gaming goodness under the tree this holiday season.

MP3 players
At the holidays, every young (and old) man’s thoughts turn to… the iPod. Or if not the iPod, than any one of the many other popular mp3 players on the market. As such, portable music and video players are on many guys’ wish lists this year.

Flat-screen TVs
Once upon a time, the only valuable things you’d hang on the wall were paintings. In 2008, the artwork needs to make room for HDTVs of all shapes and sizes. Whether they’re sports fans or sci-fi nuts, most guys would rather stare at their new TV than the Mona Lisa, any day of the week.

Laptop computers
Remember the days when computers took up an entire room? Yeah, I don’t either. But now that they practically fit in your back pocket, laptop computers are on the brain of most guys all year round, and especially at the holidays.

GPS Devices
While guys may insist they never get lost, a GPS system is perfect for those rare moments when they’ll admit they have absolutely no idea where they are.

Oh, and in case you’re wondering what the worst gift for men would be, the answer is: the necktie. According to a recent Opinion Research Corporation gift-giving survey of 3,307 adults, 24% of respondents said that neckties are the most dreaded holiday gift. Working at an Internet company, I didn’t even realize men were still wearing those awful things!

— Noah Belson, Content Quality Analyst