If you’re looking to give a great gift to an important guy in your life, then consider what the best presents for men might actually be.

Every woman I know seems to have a closet or cabinet full of various bath products, lotions, and perfumes… Most of which are unused.

In a similar way, there are presents that men often receive that, while well-intentioned, will go unopened or unused.

The items below made my list of things people often buy for someone when they aren’t sure what a good gift would be. They are the “safe” options… You know.. The ones that line the aisles of big box stores this time of year.

Most of these aren’t what I consider to be “bad gifts”, and for the right guy, some of these might even be great! However, for most guys, these gifts end up leading an unfulfilled life in a closet, forgotten shortly after they are received.

The List

 1.  Grooming Kit
Lining the gift isles right now are little boxes of grooming supplies that guys are supposed to love. There are usually nail clippers, a razor, a file, tweezers, and some scissor-looking things that, honestly, I’m not really sure what they’re for. This isn’t really the kind of thing making men’s wish lists. And, we probably already have this area covered. We might like it, but the odds are that it will go unused.

2.   Gag Gift
As much as we appreciate the humor associated with receiving a Shake Weight or some nice handerpants, it also suggests that perhaps you don’t take the recipient seriously. After all, what’s supposed to happen after Christmas? Am I obligated to hang onto this unicorn meat forever, or can I just throw it away?

3.   Tie
For the right guy, ties might be great. However, these days few men wear a tie every day, and of those that do, have ties that coordinated with the rest of their wardrobes. That means a lot of men will have a surplus of ties, and yours has a good chance of hanging out in the closet, never seeing the light of day.

4.   Wallet
Men love having a nice wallet. The thing about nice wallets is they last a long time. Once we’ve found one that we like, it’s probably going to see daily action for years to come. This means, men often receive a lot more wallets than they will ever use, and often the one we end up using we found for ourselves, anyway.

5.   Random Tools or Gadgets
Sure, we tend to like things that require power and come with warning labels, but if the widget came from SkyMall or Sharper Image, you might be better off just going with a gift card. The nose hair trimmers, remote key finders, and motorized grill brushes aren’t for most of us.

6.   Hobby-related Novelty Gift
It’s easy to be pigeon-holed into one area. When your family notices that you have a particular hobby or, perhaps have a favorite sports team, they try to do well by giving you anything they can find that is somehow related. This can result in a tidal wave of random items that happen to have a sports logo stamped on them.

7.   Watch
As with most of the items on this list, a watch isn’t necessarily a bad choice for a gift… But, like wallets, most of us prefer to pick out our own watches. And recent studies have suggested that not as many people are wearing watches as in previous times. I suggest if the guy on your list does wear a watch, determine whether it’s for function or fashion, and choose appropriately.

~J.C.

The post 7 Gifts For Men You Thought Were Great (But Aren’t) appeared first on Metal Master Shop.

What is the point of living in Miami if you don’t have a little fun every once in awhile? Our Miami, the new Millennium Miami, has earned a reputation as one of the most exciting places in the world. This Miami has become the gateway to America, a new-world city that is part culture, part resort, and part nightlife.

While much of the country will be pretending to enjoy their winter wonderlands this month, some of them wise up and come here for December in Miami, during the peak of our tourist season. That’s because not only is the weather considerably better than most places right now, but there is some great stuff to do in Miami for the holidays.

Enjoy the Holidays, Miami-style

1. The Santa Crawl- December 12th – The Santa Crawl  is becoming a Miami tradition. It’s improved each year with better organization, attendance, and participation. If you want to fit in with this crowd, squeeze into your Christmas-themed attire and join a couple hundred other Santa’s, reindeer, and suspiciously human-looking elves, as you move from bar to bar. Participants are given wristbands and route cards and are led through one of multiple routes (so everyone is not hitting the same bar at the same time). What’s that? Why yes, I will have another!

2. Miami SantaCon – December 19th – Christmas comes but once a year, so come and drink some beer and be merry! There’s absolutely no rule saying you can’t partake in more than one Christmas-themed pub crawl; and really, isn’t that the point of a pub crawl?! This round is free to participate in, but make sure you’re appropriately garbed if you want to receive the advertised drink specials.

3. Santa’s Enchanted Forest -Through January 2nd – Looking for something the whole family can enjoy? Look no further than Santa’s Enchanted Forest. That’s right, we have our own Christmas theme park. One ticket grants you entrance to all of the rides, and you enter into a wonderland of holiday lights and decorations as you drown in mountains of chocolate-covered marshmallows.

4. The Orange Bowl- December 31st – If candy canes and elves aren’t really your thing, then perhaps I can offer you the best football game of all time? The Super Bowl doesn’t count, and the Rose Bowl can eat it. Every year around this time, two of the country’s best teams face off in Miami. The stadium has been updated this year and it will be our first playoff semifinal in the new CFP system. Tickets might be hard to come by, but that is why they make large-screen TV’s.

5. Bring in the New Year – Miami might be the party capital of the country, all year long, but that doesn’t mean we let it fizzle out toward the end. Nope, we go all out, at all levels. From luxury, million dollar velvet-rope events on a yacht that would never let me in, to party buses, and the famous orange drop! There is a lot to do.

Since Miami is the #1 party city in the country, I’ll just leave this little list here.

Seasonal Comfort Foods – Miami Style

On top of being a world-renowned vacation destination, Miami also offers some great seasonal comfort foods– albeit, with a little bit of Miami flair involved.

If you have a seasonal favorite, share it with us on our Facebook page!  

Here’s are just a few of our favorites:

Coquito – A Miami Spin on Eggnog

Image Credit: Alejandra Ramos

If you’ve never tasted coquito, you don’t know what you’re missing. Coquito is a popular Miami favorite during the holidays! You can make your own, here.

Flan – A Traditional Style Custard

Though, not technically a “holiday” dessert, Flan is another favorite we look forward to during the holidays. Flan is found in recipes as far back as ancient Rome, according to this site, and was originally a savory dish that was not too sweet, but rather, aromatic and pleasing to the palate.

If you’re feeling up for the challenge, you can follow this recipe and give it a try!

Work Hard, Play Harder

We have a lot to be thankful for, and a lot to celebrate this month. While these lists are short, I didn’t even talk about the Hip Hop Nutcracker or the Trial of Ebenezer Scrooge, but there just isn’t enough room to cover it all.

Just remember: before you go back to working hard, take a moment with those special in your life and enjoy all that Miami has to offer.

~J.C.

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