So what DO I get for a guy? on Home Services

Jan

So what DO I get for a guy?

posted by admin in Home Depot

Let’s not assign blame. Let’s forget that dads, and guys in general, are apt to say things like, “I don’t need a present. I have everything I need” or “I just want everyone to be happy” or, worse, “I don’t know.”

But all of us Dad, Mom, significant other, child, co-worker need to recognize that this is where those answers lead: to places like the men’s clothing section at Macy’s in Perimeter Mall, where on Tuesday, Fannie Rock of Alpharetta browsed the socks display for her son Henry, soon to return home from New York.

Brant Sanderlin/StaffSocks, underwear and ties are considered by some men to be unappealing gifts, but they remain a hot-selling item at Christmas time. Here, Gail Crecelius looks over the selection of socks at Macy’s at Perimeter Mall.

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She already clutched a pack of underwear.

“‘Hey, what do you want?’”she said, echoing recent conversations with her son. “‘I’ll get back to you,’ he says. That’s what he says all the time. He’ll be here tomorrow, and I still haven’t gotten his list. What are you gonna do?”

In malls across the United States, shoppers are asking the same question about the gift idea-challenged men in their lives. Ties rank as the most popular gift given to men, according to Marshal Cohen, chief industry analyst for market research firm NPD. Ties are followed by sweaters, then dress shirts, socks and bathrobes.

Bloomingdale’s spokeswoman Mara Maddox said that in metro Atlanta this year, ties, socks, pajamas, robes and boxers are among the most popular men’s gifts, along with cashmere sweaters.

Sound familiar?

Not that all men find this to be a problem.

Chick Waddell, also of Alpharetta, said that he “absolutely” appreciates socks from his family.

Asked Waddell, “Would Christmas be Christmas if Dad didn’t get socks?”

Still, if socks, ties and bathrobes won’t cut it for you, what are you gonna do?

Books, CDs, DVDs and video games are a good place to start. In a survey conducted by market research firm BIGresearch, those are the gifts most requested by 52 percent of men. That was followed by clothing or clothing accessories, gift cards and consumer electronics, all around 45 percent.

“The thing I always ask for that I don’t get is gift cards,” said Doug Grace of Lawrenceville, as he ate lunch at Discover Mills mall in Lawrenceville. “Best Buy, Home Depot.”

“I like clothes, gym shoes,” said Don Brown, also of Lawrenceville, walking his toddler son Aaron around Discover Mills. “I can buy my own socks and my own neckties.”

Some other possibilities in the necktie/socks price range: Amazon.com lists the Jason Bourne Collection (the action trilogy starring Matt Damon) among its “most wished for” items, as well as a Denali cordless screwdriver kit, a Stanley tripod LED flashlight and “Our Dumb World: The Onion’s Atlas of the Planet Earth,” from the writers of the popular humor Web site.

Lowe’s, Home Depot and Amazon, among many more sites, have links with more ideas.

If you stick with the staples, Maddox of Bloomingdale’s suggested its house line of Metropolitan View cashmere blend socks or a gift set of Polo boxer shorts.

“These are more of a treat for Dad,” Maddox said. “He’s thinking more function, but we want him to feel good.”

If it must be a tie, listen to an expert Gerald Andersen, the president of the Men’s Dress Furnishings Association.

“What I always tell people is to not buy the tie that you like,” he said. Instead, choose a tie that you know matches your gift recipient’s tastes.

But a gift card would work well, too.

Tags: games, Home Depot, photos, spokeswoman