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The last time we had an unexpected groomsmen gift roundup was back in 2009! It's no wonder, because, as Ariel mentioned back then:
I really don't dig the gender-normative trends in groomsmen gifts. It feels like it's assumed that groomsmen are interested in booze (flasks!), titties (pin-up cufflinks!), tools, and sports. I mean sure: you know your dudes best. Maybe they love these things. But are we really so sure our guy friends are so narrow in their interests?
Yes, some dudes really DO love cars and tools, but some dudes love them some art supplies or silly gadgets. And sometimes, the “dudes” in the groom's party aren't actually dudes at all! (Gender-blind wedding party, anyone?) That said, since I've been doing my holiday shopping online, I've been stumbling upon some pretty awesome gifts ideas. So here's a pretty wide-spread roundup of some creative groom's party gifts sure to please the guy AND girl best friends alike.
(Not shopping for your wedding party? Well then, by all means, shop for yourself, because this shit is all kinds of awesome, and the holidays — they do approach. You are welcome.)
This is one of my most FAVORITE toys! After shooting a Steampunk wedding where all the groomsmen had a customized version of the Nerf Maverick and seeing how much fun everyone had with these babies, I went out and bought one for myself. It's super fun at parties.
The BookBook iPhone Leather Book Case is a two-in-one iPhone cover and wallet. Perfect for dudes who want to to economize their pocket space AND the vintage look of the case is fairly Steampunk-y, is it not?
Think Geek is selling officially licensed Star Wars bathrobes in either Jedi or Sith to suit whomever you're giving this too. I want one SO bad.
Skull-shaped beer pitcher or skull drinking glass anyone? Yes please. Mmm, refreshing with a hint of intimidation.
Someone PLEASE needs to outfit your groomsmen with any of these retro gamer ties!
From necks to feet… these argyle socks with the slightly hidden mustaches might make awesome gifts for the groom's party to wear with their wedding suits.
I always love to throw in a cute USB drive as a gift-giving option. This robot guy is cute and useful (as robots should be damn it).
Got someone sporty in your party? This water bottle is super convenient as it doubles as a wallet. So they can just grab their drink and go on a hike with you!
Speaking of grabbing a drink… how cool are these shark attack mugs!? Y'all might have noticed by now that I simply can not resist a good shark-themed product.
Buy shoes for your groom's party. I suggested Rainbow slippers in the last roundup, but this time how about Toms?
I mean, really, you can't go wrong with a flask. I've been watching a lot of Breaking Bad lately, so this chemistry-licious Ethanol Molecule Flask is really calling to me. But I'm also intrigued with these flasks with a compartment for your cigarettes or one for cigars.
Not everyone has the space for an awesome grill, but EVERYONE can find room for this awesome mini grill. Your groomspeeps will LOVE 'em.
If they're more of a lounger than a griller, this R2D2 folding arm chair is PERFECT. Bonus points if you're having a BBQ wedding, as this could double as outdoor seating.
If everyone in your groom's party is wearing suits or tuxes, cufflinks might be a great idea and this post is full of great cufflink options.
How about a pretty container or a sack of personalized M&Ms!? Delicious and clever. Hell, you can always ask your friends to be in your wedding party WITH personalized M&Ms.
OMG official Barney Stinson Armani grey suitjamas! These are pricey, but holy holy crap, is there a gift any better for a fan of How I Met Your Mother? I think not, because these are legendary!
Got any more legendary gift ideas? I know y'all have been poking around for the holidays, share some of your favorite shopping ideas that would be perfect for groomsmen and groomsgals alike in the comments.
About the Author: Megan Finley Horowitz
When Megan's not writing, traveling, and sleeping, she's eating like the fate of the world depends on it. (You're welcome, world!) You can snoop into her personal life over on her website The Dash and Dine!
My husband got his dudes really nice shaving kits including a safety razor, mug with manly smelling lathering soap and a nice brush. He made sure to get one for himself too!
My husband wanted to give these kits too but they were seriously out of our budget. Instead he got each of the guys a mini Leatherman tool and had it engraved with their names.
If you are going to get something engraved, go to a trophy shop rather than the engraving store at the mall. Totally saved some buckaroos there.
I was considering these for my bridesmaids (I am a practicality queen) but I decided instead on a jewelry box with a photo frame in the lid, with a picture of me and each bridesmaid. I thought it would be easy to find something nice like this but let me tell you – it was HARD.
Most of the photo boxes I found had writing on it, like “DAD” or “GRAD 2009” or “Baby’s Blessings”. It took a lot of searching to find a plain box of nice quality.
I had to be sneaky about getting the photos (I did not have old photos I could use) and wound up getting them taken at a friend’s party (“ohmagawd you guys I don’t have photos of anyone let’s take some now!”). The girls (seemed to be) pleasantly surprised by the gift and they laughed when they realized where the photos had come from.
Jen, I love the 1up flasks!!
These are all awesome! I was thinking of the shaving kit idea (found cute ones on Etsy with mustaches sewn in haha) or also there are personalized metal water bottles which are good for both guys and gals.
One thing my friend Drew got his Groomsmen i thought was pretty neat, it was a USB charging bracelet. It was a hit! so for the techie in your wedding party a USB charging bracelet (basically a thick wrist band) it can be perfect 😀
Ooh, are you talking about this thing:
Because I just saw it today in the Think Geek catalog and it. is. AWESOME!!!!
you have aMAZing ideas Megan!
the mini grill is adorable and I’ll be looking at those flash drives – might be great for all the wedding photos!
now, if I only had an iphone, I’d be buying that book case for myself!
Thanks! My world has been online shopping for WEEKS now. Too many good things to keep to myself. Plus, YES, flash drives are your wedding photos’ best friend.
The belt buckle is pretty sweet, thinking you could do a belt buckle for each guy or girl with their favorite thing on it…
we went the flask route, but that’s because our boys do love ’em some booze.
we did, on the other hand, try to make it fun. we found some aweeeesome flasks with skulls on them for $10 each! and the guys loved them. (from target, thank you halloween!)
i just honestly don’t know anyone, especially not our friends, that would have any use for a $40 flask with their initials engraved on it. i mean, c’mon.
ThinkGeek BuckyBalls (or any of a lot of other things from them, really….). BuckyBalls are little spherical magnets that are really fun to play with!
Hehe, I got some of my LADIES flasks and they loved them! I also got several handmade pottery travel coffee mugs, those went over REALLY well. And I got a metal water bottle for one of my brdiesmaid’s gifts, I still use it, it was a fantastic idea!
Okay, I’m adding flasks to the roundup because CLEARLY y’all are still loving them! Ooh and also Bucky Balls because Sylvia’s right — they ARE really fun! 🙂
For my friend’s wedding, the groomsmen got flasks AND the featured Nerf gun. I got jewelry… and a pair of slippers… suffice to say, I was jealous of the gents.
See, THAT’S what I’m talking about! You totally got screwed over — those Nerf guns are the SHIT and it’s super hard to sip booze out of a slipper! 😉
Holy shit, that Steampunk Nerf Maverick…..I die! I literally sat here staring at it while drooling for a full five minutes. Must. Have. !!!!!!!!!!!
My friend has the iPhone case. It’s funny that it is marketed as the “BookBook”. We laughed about it for a long time.
Nerf guns! You can paint them too!
We got our groomsmen personalized sculptures made from railraod ties from Roland Metal Art http://www.rolandsmetalart.com/. We liked that everyone was able to get a gift that represented them.
We went the shoe route. All of our guys and gals are going to be rockin’ red converse at the wedding.
I got my bridesmaids a pocket revolver knife! Got there names etched in it
http://www.budk.com/product/Revolver-Assisted-Opening-Pocket-Knife/174570.uts?