5 Gifts for Boys Under $25

I feel like summer just ended a couple of days ago and suddenly the holidays are upon us! Even though it snuck up on me, I am really looking forward to the holidays this year after last year’s socially distanced version. For me that means planning lots of family time and activities, cleaning, prepping, shopping and wrapping. It’s the shopping that’s on my mind lately. And especially, shopping for the men in my life – of which there are many. I need gifts for boys! With a husband and three sons in the house, I’ve got to get into the male mindset to figure out what Santa should bring this year. 

At the same time, I’ve been trying to reduce the amount of *stuff* we have in the house. After 21 years and three boys, the thought of adding more to what’s already here is giving me agita. I was recently introduced to the five-gift rule for Christmas and think that I’m going to try to abide by that this year. 

So here are my five gifts under $25 for the boys in your life…

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Gifts for Boys #1: Something you want

What they want changes from year to year, but a surefire delight that doesn’t break the bank is their favorite candy.  

I do try to keep candy out of the house most of the year. This seems to fall apart around Halloween, but typically we are pretty good. So I don’t feel too bad about stuffing the stockings with a few sweet treats. 

Favorites on my guys’ lists are Reese’s Christmas trees, giant Toblerone bars, Ferrero Rocher, and Jolly Rancher. I usually go for the Christmas packaging or giant size for the holidays.

Gifts for Boys #2: Something you need

This of course varies from age to age but personal care items are a go-to. I try to pick up something new they haven’t tried or just something nicer than they normally have. In year’s past this has been aftershave, the latest toothbrush, facial cleanser or moisturizer (yes, skincare for men is a thing!) or a new body wash to try.

This year we were introduced to a new brand of men’s personal care items called &better that we love. It was started by an ex-colleague of my husband. He sent us some product to try and my teen loved it. It’s an all-natural shampoo bar. It smells amazing and the form is genius. No plastic bottles to recycle and portable for a gym bag. They also have face and body bars and a skin moisturizer. This will definitely be in the stocking!

&better is offering 25% off now for the holiday if you want to try it too.

Gifts for Boys #3: Something to wear

My pick for this is socks. Growing up Santa always bought us new socks and underwear at Christmas time and it’s a tradition that’s continued in my maison. 

The men in my life typically gravitate to sports socks when in need of this necessity, so I take the opportunity to inject a little fun into their lives with novelty socks that reflect their personality or are just funny. I’ve personally spent many moons laughing over some salty socks at our local Paper Store and have gifted them to the merriment of the receivers.

Another option that works here are socks for special-purpose favorite activities like hiking, skiing, or lounging (slipper socks). 

Gifts for Boys #4: Something to read

I personally love to read so books are always under our tree at Christmas time. We’ve been through the Berenstain Bears, Magic Treehouse, Harry Potter, and this year we are focusing on our new favorite series: Percy Jackson. And this Santa loves a box set!

For my teen who is always too busy with school, sports, activities, and work to read for pleasure, I’ll be gifting him his first self-help tome to get him ready for college. And with a name like The Naked Roommate, I couldn’t resist! 

Some other boys faves in our house:

Gifts for Boys #5: Something to do

My take on this is gift cards. I know, I know. I used to think this was the most thoughtless gift. But I’m not talking about the ubiquitous amazon gift card (sorry, not sorry Bezos!) to buy more STUFF. I’m talking about gift cards that allow for more experiences. Think: something to do!

Now that my high-school son is driving, he loves to grab a quick meal with friends after sports or on the weekend. Post-pandemic, I’m all about the face-to-face friend time for my teen, so to facilitate this, I’m stuffing his stocking with gift cards from some of his favorite haunts like Chipotle and Chick-fil-A.

And I ran across this adorable gift card holder from Brown Paper Studios which I thought was a cute addition to personalize the present!

Other ideas for experiences you could purchase a gift card for:

I hope this list sparked some ideas for the boys in your life. To cap off your gift giving, attached is a free template for printable holiday gift labels – enjoy!

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