Groomsmen Gifts

bevacquam4

I am the future husband so please be gentle again. I am staring to pick out gifts for my groomsmen. So far each of them will receive a medium sized duffle bag from Art of Shaving I picked up recently and I will probably fill that with other various items, snacks, liquors from the Washington DC Area, and headache medicine for the day after, but I wanted to get them some other things and I was thinking a Pair of Ray-Bans either the Wayfarers or the Classic Aviators. We are having an August wedding so the sunglasses could be useful in the end. In the past when I was in weddings as a groomsmen I received BBQ sets, and flasks which are now gathering dust somewhere.  While I know the items I provide to them as gifts could end in the same situation I just want to give each of them something useful/with a purpose beyond that day. 

Thoughts or advice?

Maggie0829

The best advice I can give you is to shop for them like you would if it were Christmas or their birthday.  The gifts do not have to be identical.  Example, if one of them is a beer lover you could get them a "brew your own beer" set.  

Personally, sunglasses are something that I have to try on and see what I like on my face.  I would hate to see you waste money on a pair of sunglasses they will never wear.

novella1186

Maggie0829 said:

The best advice I can give you is to shop for them like you would if it were Christmas or their birthday.  The gifts do not have to be identical.  Example, if one of them is a beer lover you could get them a "brew your own beer" set.  

Personally, sunglasses are something that I have to try on and see what I like on my face.  I would hate to see you waste money on a pair of sunglasses they will never wear.

This. 

I did something similar for bridesmaid gifts; I got them each a purse, and then I'm putting some stuff in each purse for them, but the stuff is all different. One girl is super busy all the time so I got her spa products so she can relax. Another girl loves tea so I got her a few different fancy teas, and so on. 

To me, liquor is always a good gift (assuming the person drinks, because I have friends who absolutely do not drink) so if you want to put snacks and liquor in the duffel bags, I'd be sure to get a kind they each like. i.e. whiskey for the whiskey drinker, gin for the gin drinker. You know. But try to spend roughly the same amount on each guy. 

I'd skip the sunglasses and get them something more individualized instead. 

southernbelle0915

I would scrap the current plan and get them stuff they each would like individually. Because, as you note, the blanket gifts end up gathering dust.

If you can't think of individual gifts, I'd just go with gift cards. REI for the outdoorsman, GameStop for the gamer, NewEgg for the gadget guy, Amazon/visa gift card for the guy you aren't sure about... You get the idea.

Liatris2010

My husband was in a WP where everyone got Ray Bans. He really likes them, and it seemed like they went over well with everyone else.

 

That being said, it is always better to get something talored to the individual. A top shelf bottle of everyone's favorite booze is my go to.

levioosa

Shop for them like it's their birthday.  While the sunglasses are nice, I would only buy them if the groomsman had specifically expressed interest in them before. That's a lot of money to spend on something that might never be worn.  If you stick to buying them individualized gifts you know they'll like them and use them.  It will also show that you are thoughtful.