homemade gift ideas for men

[muse]

got my MIL covered for xmas with a nice felted bag, now on to FIL..eek..
he wouldn't wear a hat or scarf that i knitted, isn't really into ornament type things, and i'm kind of stumped. my own dad is getting a felted bowl, but he wouldn't be into that either. he's a very practical guy, into birdwatching, sailing, reading and eating. hmm.

[cristeen]

Gloves? Mittens? If he's into birdwatching then he's probably out in the early morning, some mittens that convert to fingerless gloves might be nice.

[frogguruami]

I made my father a chess set. DH's step father is getting a cookbook from Haiti and I am making a few of the recipes from it to make a gift basket. DH's father will most likely get a gift basket of low carb goodies!

[Curious]

Awhile back Dh asked me to pack lunches for him to brighten his work days with our healthy food.

For his birthday yesterday, we presented him with a set of placemat/napking which I sewed with some 'help' from Dd. I used quarters for quilting, turned over the edges. They are a bit irregular, very homemade looking.

Dd claimed to love them and says they will be the talk of the lunchroom. He already gets teased about the lunches from home. Now he'll really get it.

[doubledutch]

food: i like to make my "mama mix" for christmas, and everyone raves about it. it's really simple. equal parts dark chocolate chips, cashews, dried sour cherries and tamari-roasted pumpkin seeds. it's a bit expensive, but worth it for a special treat! it's salty, sweet, sour & spicy. i get about a cup of each ingredient from the bulk bins, and that makes a lot.

reading: you could make personalized "ex libris" labels for him to paste into his books. you could include not only his name but also a "crest" incorporating birding and/or sailing.

you could also bind a little journal for him to make notes about the books he's reading; keep track of his birding; or whatever he wants to write about, i guess.

men are much harder to craft for. good luck!

marisa
klaus 9-8-05
sonnen 3-25-07

[kittycat9]

What about making him a nice pouch/saddle bag for his bird watching things? Room for his binoculars, a journal, pen holder - maybe a camera if he carries a small one?

Last year for Father's day, I made DH a workshop apron, out of some heavy duty fabric. It has the usual pockets, and covers his chest. He's tall so it's hard for him to find things like that to fit.