Holiday Gift Guide: For Him

I’m glad so many of you enjoyed my gift guide for The Total Bookworm. For the second instalment of this years gift guides I’ve decided to try something new and do a guide for all of the men in our lives. I’m terrible at buying gifts for guys, but through the practice of putting together mens gift guides for the blog I’m actually getting better! So, below I hope you’ll find some slick and stylish gifts for the guys you need to shop for. Stay tuned for my guides for The Londoner and the Total Foodie (my favourite!)

It’s Written In The Stars Set of 3 Handkerchiefs: £24 / $40 | Hotel Chocolat Sloe Gin Truffles: £3.75 |  J.Crew Navy & Root Red Mens Pyjama Set: £95 / $95 | Don’t Drink & Ride Hip Flask: £16 / $24 | Ralph Lauren Classic Lux Merino Wool Gloves: £75 / $55 | Gentlemans Hardware Shoe Shine Kit: £15 | Mulberry Leather Washbag: £295 

When he was alive, I always gave my grandfather a nice set of handkerchiefs at least once a year for either Christmas, his birthday or Fathers Day. He was always after plain ones (though Wallace & Gromit was also always welcomed), so I never really got the chance to look at a few more elegant prints. I love these stargazing themed blue and white numbers in a handy gift box, which would be perfect for anyone who likes to keep it traditional with real cotton. 

Speaking of keeping things traditional, I know a guy who is big on his shoes. They all come from shops around Old Bond Street and Jermyn Street in St. James’, and he keeps them in neat lines on shelves in his West London flat. His shoes are always perfectly shiny, and he takes great care in polishing them with the right polishes and brushes. If you know someone like that, regardless of where their shoes are from I’m sure they’d love this handy traveling shoe shine kit from Gentlemans Hardware. While girls like to change their washbags, all the guys I know have always kept the same one, so it is an investment piece. They’d probably also love a good, brown leather, classic Mulberry Washbag, too. 

Heading outside, and probably a good gift for your guy if he cycles to work and/ or lives in Shoreditch, is this really fun ‘Don’t Drink And Ride’ hip flask. This is basically the ultimate cyclist/ hipster gift. Another outdoorsy gift that I’m sure any guy would love is gloves; no one likes cold hands, and there are so many wonderful styles out there from leather to shearling to thick and stylish knitted numbers. This year my absolute favourite are these wool gloves from Ralph Lauren that come in so many different, wonderful classic colours.

Finally, chocolate. You probably all know by now that I’m a big, long term fan of Hotel Chocolat, and for little stocking stuffers you can’t go wrong with their Sloe Gin Truffles. However, this year gift wise there are so many other gifts that are so much more than just boxes of chocolates on their site that have caught my attention. First, there is the Hotel Chocolat Chocolate Tasting Club. As a family we’ve been members pretty much since the beginning; their sleek long tasting boxes that can come through your door every month (or every few months, however you choose) full of guest chocolate flavours you won’t find anywhere else, or flavours they are testing (I remember some current favourites from early tasting boxes). Being a member of the Tasting Club is what introduced me to good chocolate (and gave me such bloody expensive tastes!), and the good news is they now offer gift subscriptions, so you can buy someone chocolate through the post. Who would not want that? You can buy 3 months for £50, 6 months for £100 or 12 months for £195. They are free to choose with their subscription if they get a mixed box, all dark, all milk, no alcohol (but why, though?) or rare cocoa selections.

If your recipient is based in London, in Hotel Chocolat’s Covent Garden Roast & Conch store downstairs where they make chocolate bars (I’ve been down there with them, it is awesome) they do a ‘Bean To Bar’ experience for £65 per person where they can quite literally make their own chocolate from raw beans to bar. You could also take him for a meal at Hotel Chocolat’s Rabot 1745 in Borough Market, which last December was one of the best meals I’ve ever had in London. Branching out a little, for £50 per person they also do ‘Chocolate Tasting Adventure’ experiences where in two hours you essentially learn how to taste fine chocolate in the same way you would fine wine. They offer this in Aberdeen, Leeds, London, Edinburgh, Manchester, Nottingham, York and Copenhagean. 

Stay tuned for my next two gift guides, and I hope this one is helpful. How are you all doing with your Christmas shopping. I’ll still pick up a few smaller stocking filler gifts, but (please don’t hate me for this!) I have actually finished all the main Christmas shopping I have to do for this year. I’ve shocked myself at how organised I am right now..! 

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