Shopping for Men
Thanks to Bonnie for all her help with recipes! She won a copy of Midnight Magic by Shari Anton and some Dove chocolates. Congratulations!
Men are impossible to shop for. This is when I wish I were the Goddess of Tools and knew what to order from a Tool catalog. Both my father and my husband enjoy building things, and they are always happy with gifts involving power tools. I think it’s the element of danger. You have the ability to cause major bodily damage, and if you survive the task, you have something to show for it.
But since the majorly cool power tools involve some serious digits in the banking department, I’m left staring at clamps. Maybe a wrench or two. I actually bought my husband a flashlight for his birthday that came on a tripod. It’s sort of a tool, honey! Really. :loser:
So I have GOT to figure out something cooler than a pair of jeans. But what? I feel like I’ve used up my Christmas shopping mojo. If you have any ideas that have worked for your husband/significant other, please send them my way. I’m all ears.
Off topic: The writing has been going well lately. I’m slowly starting to figure out my process. Basically, if the writing comes to a screeching halt, it’s because I am doing something wrong. If I sketch out my rough ideas for the scene ahead of time, it gives me a starting point and often it will take off from there. I don’t outline. I can’t figure out what’s going to happen through the course of an entire book, so I tend to write down 4 or 5 major turning points. Then when I write, I look at whichever turning point I’m heading for and figure out rough scene ideas. Tonight, it was cooking. I love days like today. My goal is to finish a rough draft of this book by March. That gives me a little bit of time for revising. I’m a heavy reviser.
Okay, but back to my dilemma. What are you buying for the men in your life this year?
Michelle posted in Writing @ 10:24 pm | Viewed 2351 times
Bonnie Ferguson Says:
Woo Hoo on the good writing day, Michelle
Bonnie Ferguson Says:
And thanks again :xmastree::shimmy:
Kelly Says:
My Dad is easy to buy for - he wants books and will give me a list. And golf balls. My brother always provides a list. My brother-in-law on the other hand is SOOOO hard to buy for and I’m terrified I’m going to draw his name this year to fill his sock for next. He really likes stuff people make but I’ve already made him a pair of camp socks this year and a hat and scarf the year before…I’m running out of stocking stuffers. And he’s a carpenter so he already has every tool under the sun. And he doesn’t read a whole lot and already has a stack of TBR books. If I get his name, I’m going to have to really put on my creative thinking cap to fill his sock.
beth Says:
I’ve become a bit of a tool diva since my hubs is into them as well. Since I don’t know what kind of price range you’re looking at and I don’t know what your hubs already has, these are what I would term “reasonable” for bang for buck tool investments…and they have made Tim squeal with glee:
-A cordless drill with a drill bit set that includes various screwdriver attachments and some of the harder to find things like allen wrench attachments (makes putting Ikea stuff together a breeze!) (If he’s already got the cordless drill, the bit sets are always nice additions - eventually he’ll need both metric and, what is our system called? Imperial?)
-A cordless circular saw. I don’t know how we’ve lived without ours. Sometimes you can find sets of the drill and saw together in a hard sided carry case - those rock.
(For either of the above, you want to get the 16 or 18 volt variety or higher. Less than 16 will be underpowered for a lot of jobs.)
-A RotoZip and as many attachments as you want to afford. Gosh this is a handy little sucker to have. You can start with a basic one and just add attachments for the future, as well.
-A wet/dry shopvac with a Hepa filter
-A Good quality tool chest (if you have room, the tall ones that roll are very nice for organizing stuff, but a solid portable one is good too)
-Sturdy sawhorses (not plastic)
And I should probably stop there. Good luck finding just the right thing!
Cece Says:
Son #1 - His own set of tools so he’ll leave mine alone–heh!
Son #2–a new TV
Dad–nothing per his reqeust
Bro–gift certificate for western wear store
Nephews–GC’s for movies and probably Old Navy
Cece Says:
PS I really want my own chain saw!
Tori Lennox Says:
I haven’t got a clue what to buy ANYBODY in my family this year. *sigh*
Rene Says:
Oh…I thought you meant you were shopping for a new man. Silly me.:lol:
I’m only getting my dh a token gift since the man bought himself a Vespa earlier this year. That one counts as a lot of presents. I’m getting him the latest season of “Home Improvement” on dvd. The rest of the adults in the family don’t exchange gifts.
Melissa Says:
No idea. My husband wants some sort of power tool that costs well over my budget, so maybe I’ll just get him a gift certificate to Barnes and Noble.
mary beth Says:
dh like gadgets. computer stuff, phone stuff, apple store gift cards.
he’d really like a Harley, but it’s not in the budget just yet.
Glad you had a good writing day and have figured out your process.
April Says:
I’m the tool nut in our family. Hubby likes gizmos. Anything that has electricity and makes something do something or that he can “play” with he’s happy. I used to ask for power tools, but he’d never get them. Then one year he told me he was afraid I’d cut off a finger and blame him because he bought me the tool. So my mom gets them for me instead. A gift cert to Lowe’s for him is probably the equivalent to a gift card to B&N for you though… It’s candy land!
Good luck!
Michelle Says:
Kelly–ooh, golf balls! Good idea.
Cece–LOL on his own set of tools.
Beth–I may have to print out your comments when i go to the hardware store.
Thanks!
Suzanne Says:
I’m out of ideas. Not all men like tools……
phillip barr Says:
need an easy tip for buying for a guy? Find his favorite store and get him a gift card for it. That way when he wants something, he doesnt feel guilty about hitting the bank account for it.
Get a new family picture made. So he can count his blessings too………
Phillip
Bonnie Ferguson Historical Romance Author » Blog Archive » Twilight Magic Says:
[...] I had the good fortune to read an ARC of Twilight Magic, a December 2006 release, not long ago. It’s the 2nd book in the “Magic” trilogy and the first book I’ve read by Shari Anton. It’s a rousing historical romance set in medieval England with just a hint of the paranormal. I enjoyed the characters and story so much that I eagerly look forward to getting my hands on the other books in the series. Imagine my delight when, last week, I won a copy of Midnight Magic–the first book in the trilogy–in a contest on Michelle Willingham’s blog! [...]