25 Stocking Stuffers for Picky Dudes

Kevin is hard to shop for (he claims otherwise, but he is biased).

Over the years, stocking stuffer shopping has been kind of overwhelming. I've found tons of lists out there with gift ideas for "the man in your life," but most of these are stereotypical "dude-gifts"- i.e. beef jerky, beer cozies, sports-themed spatulas, etc.

But what do you do for a guy who is vegan, doesn't watch sports, doesn't fish or hunt or play video games? When your S.O. reads every review before buying anything and actively votes with his dollar? In this case, you can't just go to the Dollar Store, buy a bunch of candy and plastic junk and call it good, so I've had to get creative.

Here is my list of 25 Stocking Stuffers for Picky Dudes: 

1. Toothbrush (We like Preserve brand toothbrushes)

2. Toothpicks (Preserve makes some of these, too!)

3. Novelty socks

4. Pocket Bocce Ball

5. Tangerines/pomegranates (classic holiday fruits)

6. Unique dried fruit (goji berries, mangos, etc.)

7. Beard Oil, such as Badger Beard Oil, or try making your own!

8. Novelty teas or coffees

9. Apothecary bottles

10. Chapstick

11. Incense

12. Kombucha Starter kits (or other starter kits, like mushroom inoculating kits or cheese starters) 

13. Mini bottles of liquor 

14. Seasonal Microbrews 

15. Mini bottles of hot sauce, or this sriracha key chain

16. Wallet photo (because this tradition should never die)

17. Mixed CDs (make your own!)

18. DVDs (look in the discount bins at big box stores)

19. Unique candy (go to your local health food store and browse their candy aisle)

20. this build your own kaleidoscope kit

21. Ear buds

22. Magnetic rocks or a sliced agate magnet

23. Coffee mug (with his favorite coffee brand logo, perhaps?)

24. Handkerchiefs (Kevin is getting a tie dyed one this year!)

25. Novelty deck of cards, like these super awesome mushroom cards by Fungi Perfecti

27 in Review

Today is my 28th birthday. Unlike most other birthdays I've had, I didn't take the day off from work. Instead we had a staff meeting and we made gingerbread men while we went over the agenda. Pretty fun meeting, honestly.

My birthday gingerbread man

Kevin took me out to dinner, and our friend Matt (who happened to be in town for business) joined us. Afterwards, we went to Skep and Skein for drinks. Pretty good day all around. (Also this made me almost sound like an adult.)

Turning 28 means my Year of 27 is over. And although I didn't accomplish everything on the list - darn wedding got in the way of my free time, you know :P - I did have a pretty good year.

Below is a review of the 27 things I did (and didn't do) while I was 27.

1. Go to Lovesick Expo (January 26th 2014) 
2. Go to a concert
3. Try a 30 Day Challenge - This I just didn't do, at all. I thought about it, but other than a very short-lived "I might go gluten free" burst of enthusiasm, I just moved on with my life. Maybe next year. Maybe.
4. Face a fear - I didn't write about this one at the time, but I most definitely faced my fear of leaving my job for a new one. Even though I loved my job and the people I worked for, I wasn't getting enough hours and not making enough to pay the bills. However, I felt so loyal to my employer that I didn't want to leave unless I found the "perfect" opportunity. Then when I found an opportunity elsewhere (maybe not perfect, but paid a lot more!) I was horribly uncertain. I remember being so nervous before my interview that I couldn't stop shaking! I wanted the job, but I didn't want to disappoint my current employer, but I went through with the interview anyway and got the job. Telling my employer was difficult, but she was very supportive and happy for my career advancement. It may seem silly, but I definitely count that as facing my fear of disappointing people. 
5. Take a class - I started going to yoga classes Monday nights after work, but I'm not sure if I can count this. It was a Gentle yoga class with Nidra (a type of meditation) which I referred to as my "Monday Night Nap", but at least I went for about five weeks in a row.
6. Stress less - A wedding doesn't help this goal at all. However, I do remember sitting down to get my hair and makeup done the morning of my wedding when my aunt called looking for the groom, who was already an hour late (turns out there was a perfectly logical explanation for that) because nobody could find the barn to set up the ceremony and...I was done caring. I took a deep breath, decided they'd figure it out, and went on to enjoy my morning. Breathe, relax, grow, ladies and gentlemen.
7. Learn a new skill - I, uh, learned how to plan an event? I learned how to tie a lot of tiny bows? I'll get back to you on this one.
8. Buy less, sew more - I made myself a pillow, made lavender sachets for Christmas gifts, and collected a lot of sewing project ideas. Thank you, Pinterest, for destroying my life.
9. Plant a garden - Part 1 and Part 2
10. Eat less junk - A work in progress, also part of my goal for next year.
11. Exercise more - See #10.
12. Marry my best friend (July 26th, 2014) More posts here, here and also here :)
13. Honeymoon in a yurt
14. Volunteer - Nope, unless you count volunteering to help clean up at my own wedding?
15. Be more social - I am proud to say we hosted a housewarming/bonfire when we first moved in to the tiny house, we had a dinner party, and we've gone out a few times to peoples houses and events. If you truly understood our introverted reclusive nature, you would be proud of us, too.
16. Watch less TV - We cancelled our Netflix...but Kevin started bringing home DVDs from work.
17. Join a protest - Nope. Not even close.
18. Go camping - We didn't go camping in a tent, but moving into our tiny house in the woods counts as glamping, right?
19. Run a 5K
20. Make plans for Halloween
21. Move to a new place
22. Find a new job
23. Recognize all there is to be thankful for
24. Take more days off
25. Nurture my creativity - I would like to point out that most of my holiday gifts this year were hand made, but I'll admit my comics have been horribly neglected.
26. Write more letters - I hand wrote all our wedding thank yous. All by myself. (Thanks, Kevin...) I definitely get to count this one.
27. Call my grandparents more often - When my grandpa passed away in February, I made a special effort to call my grandma a bit more often than I had been. We also went to Arkansas to visit Kevin's 93 year old grandmother who was unable to make it to our wedding.

Year 27, meet Year 28 :)