OK, friends Christmas will be here soon and you have two choices: follow this easy advice, or wish you had. There is no excuse for buying one of those "executive gift" tool kits or some tie with a christmas carol chip in it when you have plenty of time and just the right advice.  So, from one of the original hard-to-buy-for guys, here are ten gifts you may not have anticipated:

1) a Subscription. You don't need a big box to wrap it and you can wait until the last minute (BUT DON'T) and it will last all year.  You may subscribe to the local paper, to cable TV, to a magazine, to a season's tickets to the opera, you name it.

2) Stationery. Get some with his name on it. If he is unlikely to move, get his address, too.  Maybe you could throw in a fountain pen or some stamps. Everybody needs a card that they can send an occasional note on. If it  has enough already on it that a line or two can look good, it's perfect for a lot of guys.

3) a Good flashlight, part I. This could be one of those large aluminum ones like the cops carry, or one of the new L.E.D. ones that are everywhere.

4) a Good flashlight, part II. This is the sealed beam kind with a million or so candlepower. It's too big for some jobs, which is why it gets its own category, but it is probably rechargeable and may have a plug for the car, etc. Some even have their own cigarette lighter-style outlet so that you can plug a cell phone into them.

5) a Rope Hammock. What, he doesn't like to relax?  Consider where he would put it and maybe buy a stand to go with it.

6) Jumper cables. They tend to need replacing every so often, even if you don't ever use them. Go ahead and get a good set.

7) One of those silver monogrammed belt buckles like your ancestors had.

8) a Year of Movies, from Netflix, or your neghborhood video store

9) a Domain name. This is really very cheap and the know-how needed to take advantage of it is less and less obscure

10) a Gift Certificate for a Professional Massage.

11) This is because the flashlight thing may have seemed like I was trying to short you.  A scrapbook or album, you pick the subject, but already filled and ready to look at.  Try not to invest your whole being into this, in case it doesn't thrill him as much as it does you. Also, allow some time for it to sink in.

And here are a few more things to make that will  always work if you  present them right:

1) cookies, brownies, fudge, caramels

2) a mix tape

3) cocktail mix, trail mix, whatever you call it

4) cheese straws or cheese biscuits, preferably with hot sauce in the recipe

5) spiced, candied, glazed, etc. nuts

So there you have it, a handy starting place, with no ties or after shave and no confusing electronic specifications.  Happy shopping.

If you have found this guide helpful, you may wish to give it a helpfulness vote below or you may wish to see my other guides, from the frivolous to the deadly serious. YOU get to pick which is which...

Thanks and Good Luck

WT