I Asked 10 Guys What They Actually Want for the Holidays From Their S.O.

While it may have made me legit LOL at my desk in my very quiet office (oops), it also comes as no surprise that “I have no clue what to get my boyfriend,” is one of the top-ranking search queries in Google when you type in “best gifts for boyfriends,” and other related key terms. I personally think that males are much more difficult to shop for than females in general, but when you’re on the hunt to find the best gift for your boyfriend (especially if he’s a newer fling) the task of finding the right one that feels either somewhat sentimental or useful without screaming “stage five clinger” becomes even more daunting. Sure, you can opt for one of the guy-gifting gold standards like a nice watch, some fancy socks and new underwear, or the latest AirPods drop, but who’s to say that his Aunt Judy or Grandpa Joe won’t be gifting him with the same generic thing?

Frankly, even if you’ve been dating your guy (or are even married) for ages, it’s still not exactly easy to foretell what he actually wants. I mean, we all know that the ubiquitous “anything, babe” response is definitely not helpful. Rather than continuing my endless Google searching for non-basic gift ideas for male S.O.’s, I decided to just get to the bottom of it, and ask real guys (they’re mostly 20 to 30 somethings) what they’d want to receive as a gift from their girlfriend or partner. Full disclosure: my own boyfriend is even on the list, so that’s one less holiday anxiety trigger to worry about.

While I expected a slew of NSFW replies (and for the record, I wasn’t against this — I was genuinely looking for honest answers, people) to flood my inbox from the men I probed for replies, I was more or less surprised to find only one sex-related answer. Indeed, it turns out men actually do possess some capitalistic desires — and despite the clichéd “I don’t want anything,” remark — have quite a few coveted items on their holiday wish lists. So, if you need some inspiration for what to get your guy for the holidays, I’ve compiled some real-life advice from ten different men below. You’re welcome.

Our mission at STYLECASTER is to bring style to the people, and we only feature products we think you’ll love as much as we do. Lumin is a STYLECASTER sponsor, however, all products in this article were independently selected by our editors. Please note that if you purchase something by clicking on a link within this story, we may receive a small commission of the sale.

BonVivo.

Luxe Espresso Maker

“It would be nice to boil a couple of fresh cups of joe and sit with my (non-existent) lady on my front porch and sip some coffee in the morning.”

Buy: BonVivo Espresso Maker $49.99

– James Schiff, E-Commerce Editor at SPY.com

Image: Courtesy of Lumin.

Elevated Essentials

“My ideal gift, always, is a premium version of something I use every day: fancy face wash, a luxurious moisturizer or salon-quality haircare that I’d never splurge on myself but that’ll make my daily routines infinitely more enjoyable.”

Lumin Up Top Management Set $57.29

buy it

— Jesse H., Physician

Hotels.com.

Weekend Getaway

“I prefer receiving tickets to an event, a fun dinner out or a long weekend getaway over an item that’s just going to collect dust. To me, the perfect gifts are those that create lasting memories.”

Palm Springs Hotel $250

buy it

– Robby Nova, Marketing Director & Psychologist 

Amazon Basics.

Tech Accessories

“More apple headphone adapters, gift cards to Porsche Driving Experience booze and iPhone chargers.”

Buy: Headphone Audio Splitter $10.87

– Matt Ambrose, Managing Director, Red Light PR

Mr. & Mrs. Smith

A Staycation

“The last few months of the year are always the busiest time for me at work so all I want for Christmas is some R&R. I’m dropping some not-so-subtle hints for my partner to treat me to a staycation or to get me an at-home massage from a service like Soothe.”

Mr. & Mrs. Smith $200

buy it

– Tim Chan, Market & Lifestyle Editor at Rolling Stone

WatchBox.

Luxury Watch

“A watch from WatchBox, but that could be out of her price range, so maybe a really nice pair of jeans or shoes that I definitely wouldn’t buy for myself.”

Rolex Explorer Watch $6650

buy it

– Caleb Anderson, Publicist & Writer

Amazon.

Video Games

“Video games.”

Buy: NBA Video Game $35

– Josh Miramontes, Celebrity Hair Stylist

Amazon.

Bath Products

“I think my favorite girlfriend gifts are always bath or personal care products because I don’t know how to shop for that stuff myself.”

Buy: Spa Life Gift Set $25.99

– Corey Smith, Vintage Seller

Space NK.

Cologne

“Byredo perfume, Aesop soaps, Calvin Klein briefs and lots of socks.”

Byredo Bibliothèque Eau de Parfum $302

buy it

– David Donald Sutherland, Visual Artist

Ordro.

VHS Camera

“A girlfriend once got me a nice VHS camera, and it was probably the best gift I ever received. But she knew also knew that work is my life so….”

Buy: VHS Camera $259.99

– Cameron Holland, Videographer & Photographer

IntelliSkin.

Intelliskin Performance Shirt

“Ideally I’d want her to surprise me with a fun night together somewhere or a staycation. But I also really want the Intelli-Skin V-tee. It keeps my posture great and back straight during workouts, making sure back pain doesn’t get in the way of a hard session.”

– Charlie Gillig, Director of Legal Technology at NSLA

A version of this story was originally published in Nov 2019.