Flasks are the strangest gift idea...they look cool as a decorative item in your wine cabinet..but do you really want/need to carry alcohol around with you? Maybe you do.

Every hear Jim Gaffigan's joke about gifting flasks? "Hey. you look like a drunk on the go! Here, have a flask!"

So many of these are depressingly stereotyped as manly -- but then there's the kit for making "Gingerbread Ale" beer, surely the girliest-named beer ever. It's what Zooey Deschanel would drink.

Bee for Brian your comment is 100% what I was thinking! Thanks for saying it.

Predictable list! Sorry, but this is up there with the choices on gifts.com and every other site that has really boring ideas.

I suspect you aren't being completely serious here, but this is another one of those "parade of the stereotypes" things. Believe it or not, but men actually aren't all the same, and they're interested in a few more things than booze and grilled meat.

I can't even count the number of times I've wished for a flask. This must say something very bad about me. But, truly told, it's one of those things I've always meant to pick up and never have.

In the interest of constructive criticism, what about lists of gifts for people (of either sex) with certain interests? Like gifts for cyclists, gifts for crafters, gifts for cooks, etc., etc. Cyclists have a lot more in common with each other than men do.

BTW, mentioned this list to my boyfriend and he mentioned that he has a flask that a former girlfriend gave him. He's never used it.

I was actually thinking of buying the beer making kit for my hubs – he likes to cook and loves a good IPA, so figured those two things could blend. But his friends (aka my focus test group) shot me down and said it's a sucky gift as it's a lot of work and smelly and the end results aren't that good.

Then they suggest getting him a pasta machine. Which I think is the stupidest thing ever. Would take up so much room. And we can buy handmade pasta a block away from our home... well, beer too...hmm.

I bought him that exact shaving kit featured here for his bday. And I've bought him a flask (he uses it when the guys go out to the park or concerts or such). And leather notebooks. Guess I'm stereotypical!

My current plan B's for christmas:

A guitar t-shirt you can play
http://www.thinkgeek.com/electronics/c498/

Ninja Cufflinks
http://www.etsy.com/listing/81423276/men-cufflinks-ninja-gift-for-him-under?ref=tre-899319592-2

Storm trooper cufflinks
http://www.etsy.com/listing/60563135/shadow-and-storm-trooper-lego-silver?ref=tre-894460134-13

Fancy Hot Sauce
http://www.etsy.com/listing/85946679/homemade-sriacha-hot-sauce?

His favourite hot sauce has a t-shirt
http://www.etsy.com/listing/82733521/ready-to-ship-asian-hot-sauce-shirt

Laptop Weapon of Choice keychain
http://www.etsy.com/listing/72234496/laptop-weapon-of-choice-stamped-keychain

Sonic the Hedgehog Vans:
http://www.etsy.com/listing/75308711/hand-painted-sonic-and-tails-vans-slip?ref=sr_gallery_11&ga_search_query=sonic&ga_search_submit=&ga_search_type=handmade&ga_category=geekery.videogame&ga_facet=

Robot bow tie:
http://www.etsy.com/listing/76191926/robot-bow-tie?favorite_listing_id=76191926&show_panel=true

Robot pillowcase:
http://www.etsy.com/listing/75737685/orange-robot

Cigarette case (which he'd use as a card case): http://www.etsy.com/listing/72985940/cigarette-case-bee-honeycomb-silver

Shower fizz:
http://www.etsy.com/listing/65921546/clarity-aromatherapy-shower-fizz-set-100

Truly awesome and cool ties:
http://www.etsy.com/shop/Cyberoptix?ref=seller_info

Notebooks:
http://www.etsy.com/shop/blackbirdandpeacock?ref=seller_info

Custom metal bookmark:
http://www.etsy.com/shop/sierrametaldesign?ref=seller_info

Laptop sticker:
http://www.etsy.com/listing/71293128/4-vintage-classic-mario-mac-pc-laptop?

Guess can always go with socks, if all these fail. My guy is a bit of a geek, likes the finer things in life, but the problem is, our wedding anniversary, his bday and christmas all fall within 6 months, which creates a lot of pressure for me to come up with fun gifts for him.

Or t-shirts from Thinkgeek or Threadless. Which I've done in the past. Or something related to his music. But it's hard as I don't really know much about the stuff he'd need and I think he has everything he needs already.

Any more ideas?

So many of these are depressingly stereotyped as manly -- but then there's the kit for making "Gingerbread Ale" beer, surely the girliest-named beer ever. It's what Zooey Deschanel would drink.

Ha! Totally!

Oh goodness, is it already time for AT to trot out the depressingly stereotypcally gendered/sexist "gift guides"? How time flies.

MEN LIKE BEER AND MUSTACHES. WOMEN LIKE SHOPPING AND ROMANCE NOVELS.

Gift guides are pretty depressing. Shouldn't you know your loved ones well enough to pick something out that they are interested in?

As a guy, I'm asking for a couple Nato watch straps, fair isle socks, a pair of Wolverine 1000 Mile boots, a coffee table book called Gestalten about racing paint jobs, some surfer bracelets, high performance brake pads, the new Assassin's Creed, some books, a bike rack, some running shoes, concert tickets, some Criterion DVDs, a Hard Graft iPad case...

I have been subtly pointing these things out for the past month or two, and if anybody noticed I'd be stoked. If anything seems like a good idea for a guy in your life feel free to pick it up, most of those are pretty manly, I suppose.

Who knew such a simple list could bring out so many deeply jaded people. If you want a list for cyclist make your own, submit it, and maybe they post it.

Personally I don't mind a list catered to my sex, as I'd rather not have everything in my house labeled as unisex.

I second Lilli K's warning: my fiance makes beer as a hobby, and it takes a lot of time and effort! I'm talking hours of cooking, weeks of waiting, transferring to other containers, and then bottling. He loves it (and I love drinking the results), but it's certainly not for everyone.

Agreed with making beer being a PITA. One of our good friends does it. It is all over his house. Seriously. Bottles on every horizontal surface.

Think it through before you give this.

I agree they are all stereotypical. I like the ipod speaker, but can't see my boyfriend using that shaving kit on anything like a regular basis.

Well it's a good thing that beer making uses up a lot of calories, right???!!!

I'm the kind of man who grunts when asked what I want. I'd grunt if I received any of these. Make what you wish with that grunt...

haha yea...I don't know anyone who'd really use these things. Again as many people posted in the what to give a party host post. Not everyone drinks so that narrows it down to a mustache guide or ipod speaker...I don't know anyone with a mustache or ipod...

wow this list is both painfully stereotypical and very pretentious and hipsterish. Perhaps the post is a joke, no?

Have to say I take issue with the Brooklyn Beer Kit. Apparently they have time to make a little video, but not type 3 lines to tell you what's in the kit. Is it an all-grain kit? Is it extract brewing? What's the batch size? Does it include carboy, air lock, hydrometer, etc? If not, that's not "everything to get you started on perfecting your own homebrew" as stated above.

Go to Northern Brewer, get a starter kit first unless you are buying for an experienced homebrewer. If you are, then get an all grain kit.

As many other commenters I am also disappointed by the sexism of those posts and would prefer to have gender-neutral gift guides. Yes, those sterotypes do exist, but do we have to strengthen them and make everybody who doesn't fit the stereotype feel like they aren't "real men" or "unwomanly" women because they have their own taste?

Also, aside from the well-commented sexism of this list, did anyone else notice that the 'nail bottle opener' is basically just a $22 bent nail in a piece of wood? What a great gift!

LOL Pascal! That's totally what my father is like. *grunt* And my husband smiles with joy about any and every idea or gift. So basically I'm always totally clueless about what either of them want or even like.
I did get my husband the grill spice set on this list though.

At least a signed baseball or such ( goodness forbid stock car stuff) was not on the list to lead it to stereotype heaven.

How about a tie with mustaches and pint glasses?

I have a male in my life for whom I must get a gift.
He's a gentleman, but not all that modern ( which appears to mean vain and drunken) and I'm leaning toward a roku so he can watch Netflix on his telly.
After that, it looks like experience gifts, the tour of his fave city he'd love for the cheese factor and some memories; gift certificates for the pinball museum, etc.

maybe this is better as a cross post for ohdeeddoh but what my husband would really like is MORE LEGOs to play w/ our son and STORAGE for said legos...

I've been trying to pursue a "no more stuff" gift strategy in favor of things that get used up (booze, chocolate, olive oil, salt, occasionally vouchers for cooking courses or whiskey tasting events). It works fine.

asibtroy, I don't know anyone who wouldn't want LEGOs.

Food and booze are great go-to gifts. Buy a level or two higher than the quality he/she is used to.

I did buy a flask for my ex-husband, and he loved it and he used it. Of course, he was an alcoholic. You can get very well-priced vintage cigarette cases for the unrepentent smoker in your life. These gifts kind of say, "I give up. Destroy yourself in style."

I guess I must be a guy, since I'm more interested in speakers (I just got an iPad, and I'm looking for an attractive yet reasonable set) than my boyfriend. Both of us have all the spices we need, and he already has a shaving brush (I bought it for him because he likes the cutthroat razor I bought him - his grandfather taught him to shave with one). He would laugh at the mustache and beer stuff though, and both the opener and flask aren't his style (I'm more likely to carry brandy on a cold winter's day than is he, but I was in the liquor business for a while).

What my boyfriend likes are things like well-made shirts, books on pretty much every subject (including cooking), fountain pens, and 'comfy' things like socks and scarves. He likes getting me electronics accessories (which I appreciate) and yummy things like deer meat (I'm a trained chef). But the 'manly' stuff you have here wouldn't really send him.

Meanwhile, I'm hoping he gets me power tools for Christmas, and I'm as girly as they come.

I asked for a couple of Bose Speakers and an Louis Vuitton case for my Ipad. Sure hope i get what i want for christmas! :P

What a crap list -- no pocket knives, multi-tools, and small flashlights? Classic gifts for almost anyone, guys included. My current pairing is a SOG Twitch pocket knive & a Gerber Shard prytook with philips & regular drivers & a bottleopener. The Twitch is the smallest knife that still feels useable in my (mens' glove M-sized) hand, is slim, beautifully designed, and not pricey.

(Check out Everyday Carry for some fun pocket dumps: http://everyday-carry.com/ )

My dad gave me a hip flask when I graduated college (4 oz.) - it has gone hiking, paddling & camping with me & my friends many a time, and been to more than a few outdoor concerts. A good gift for someone who likes that sort of thing, and whiskey! Obviously not a good gift for someone with a drinking problem....