‘Tis the season to be jolly… Unless you’re struggling with ideas for Christmas gifts.
Whether you’re shopping for your dad, grandad, brother or mates, our guide to the best Christmas gifts for men is here to help take the panic out of any last-minute present-buying.
Whether you’re looking for budget-friendly gifts that look more expensive than they are, or gear that will help him improve on his favourite sporty hobbies, we have you covered.
This gift guide features everything from present ideas for F1 fans to edible gifts the guy in your life can enjoy while watching football on the TV.
We’ve hand-picked and tested all of the gift ideas featured to ensure that each one lives up to expectations and will put a smile on his face as he unwraps it on Christmas Day.
What are TalkSPORT’s best gifts for men this Christmas?
- Best edible gift: Cutter & Squidge beer and brownies gift hamper, £34.99 – buy here
- Best wearable gift: Garmin Forerunner 955 sports watch at Boots, £359 – buy here
- Best gift for runners: Brooks Glycerin Max at Runners Need, £180 – buy here
- Best luxury gift: Silverstone supercar driving experience at Virgin Experience Days, £449 – buy here
- Best gift under £20: Quirky Monkey Choc-o-Shroom mushroom hot chocolate at Amazon, £15.59 – buy here
- Best instant gift: Amazon Prime membership, £95 – buy here
Best Christmas gifts for men – tried and tested by the Talksport team
1. Best wearable gift: Garmin Forerunner 955 GPS sports watch
Garmin Forerunner 955 GPS sports watch at Boots, £359
Pros:
- Track progress
- Make training plans
- Find new routes
Cons:
- Slightly bulky
- Expensive
What I like about the Garmin Forerunner watch is that it can help improve all aspects of health and wellness with morning readiness reports, sleep tracking, and real-time insights into rest and recovery.
I used it for marathon training, and initially paid the most attention to GPS navigation, heart rate monitoring and VO2 max analyis.
It was so satisfying to see my heart rate decrease and my VO2 max increase as I got fitter, and it gave me motivation to continue upping my mileage, even when I was tired.
After a while, I decided to test the sleep tracking functionality, which showed me I was going to bed late every evening (after midnight) and consequently not getting enough deep sleep.
After taking action on this data, moving my bedtime back and recording more time in deeper sleep, I found it easier to push myself a little harder during interval training, which hugely improved by performance in the marathon itself.
Yes, it’s an expensive gift, but it’s one item the guy in your life will wear every single day of the year, for years to come.
Review by Zoe Nicol
2. Best home fitness gift: Argos cast iron kettlebell 16kg
Pros:
- Sturdy iron
- Easy to store
- Perfect for home workouts
Cons:
- Rough on hands
- Not beginner friendly
Having just moved into a new flat, I’ve been a bit too busy to walk half an hour to and from my new gym, so to say this cast iron kettlebell has come in handy is an understatement.
While not the most beginner-friendly piece of equipment, once you’re familiar with the kettlebell, you’ll be taken aback by how much you can do with one item.
I love using mine for strengthening and toning muscles from my own front room.
But this bit of kit is so much more than just a lump of iron. It can be used for cardio, endurance or even flexibility work and is a one-stop shop when it comes to effective workouts.
Review by Jack Strong
3. Best gift for movie lovers: Amazon Prime Membership
Prime annual membership at Amazon, £95
Pros:
- Access to 20,000 movies
- Exclusive deals in the Prime Day sales
- Free, fast delivery on Amazon shopping
Cons
- Not as many sports documentaries as Netflix
I’ve had Amazon Prime membership for more than five years and I use it every single day.
I might buy something on Amazon and benefit from free delivery, put on an episode of Peppa Pig in Prime Video for my children or wind down with a movie at the end of the day.
Occasionally, I’ll even order groceries on Amazon Fresh, where a 2-hour delivery window is free if I spend over £40.
It really comes into its own on Prime Day, as only members can shop the thousands of massive price reductions on everything from tech to fashion.
I once saved £100 on a pair of headphones, which is more than a whole year’s subscription to Prime (£95).
A Prime subscription makes a great gift as it can be hard to justify the cost of subscribing to both Netflix and Amazon Prime, and gifting it means they can have hours of entertainment without feeling the pinch.
Review by Zoe Nicol
4. Best gift for runners: Brooks Glycerin Max Running Shoes
Brooks Glycerin Max running shoes at Runners Need, £180
Pros:
- Bouncy
- Responsive
- Shock absorbent sole
- Improves posture
Cons:
- Make feet look massive
- Get dirty easily
The Brooks Glycerin Max running shoes are a joy to wear and the ultimate gift for a runner.
The sole measures 4.5cm, and largely consists of two types of nitrogen-infused foam, designed to improve take-off and landing with larger cells for airy landings and smaller cells for higher toe-offs.
When I ran in these, I felt like I was being propelled forward and they definitely contributed to helping me shave two minutes off my half-marathon PB.
Brooks has included a Glide Roll Rocker in this shoe, crafting the bevel and the toe at just the right angle for effortless heel-to-toe transitions.
As a result, I ran with better posture and recovered faster when wearing these shoes, making them a great gift idea for anyone trying to inch closer to a faster time and avoid injury.
Review by Zoe Nicol
5. Best luxury gift: Ultimate supercars Silverstone driving experience
Ultimate supercars Silverstone driving experience at Virgin Experience Days, £449
Pros:
- Memorable
- Exhilarating
- Once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,
- Full day out
Cons
- Expensive
- Need to travel to Silverstone
I had no idea what to expect when I turned up for a supercar experience at Silverstone, but I ended up having one of the best days of my life.
If you’re looking for a gift for someone who likes luxury and fast cars but already owns a lot of stuff, a supercar driving experience will satisfy their tastes without adding more clutter to their lives.
The day is meticulously organised, from the safety briefing to the three amazing supercars that I got to drive in quick succession – a Ferrari, Lamborghini, and an Aston Martin.
Feeling the raw power of these machines on a real racetrack was truly exhilarating and a memory that lasted far longer than any physical gift could.
Review by Zoe Nicol
6. Best gift for swimmers: Form Smart Swim 1 swimming goggles
Form Smart Swim 1 swimming goggles at Amazon, £119
Pros
- Count lengths
- Increase motivation
- Comfortable strap
Cons:
- Takes a few uses to get the hang of where to look
Swimming goggles are perhaps a left-field Christmas gift, but the Form Smart Swim 1 are not your average swimming goggles.
They have an innovative heads-up display (HUD) embedded in the lens, so users can track key metrics like split times, stroke rate, distance, pace and calories burned without interrupting their swim.
It was quite distracting when I tried them out at first, but after some time I got used to it and knowing how fast I was going made me try a little harder.
I also liked reviewing my performance at the end of each session using the FORM Swim App.
Although I was shocked by how poor my form was, I enjoyed having actionable insights to work on, which was great motivation to go to the pool on cold, dark evenings.
After a few months, I noticed that I was faster over 100m, which I hope will equate to a minute or two off my next Olympic-distance triathlon time.
Review by Zoe Nicol
Gifts you can get in an instant
If you don’t fancy going to the shops or have left your gift buying to the very last minute, buying an e-voucher is a great option.
These gift vouchers will be emailed to you instantly, so you can print them off and put them into a card or send them directly to your loved one.
7. Best gift for foodies: Cutter & Squidge beer and brownies gift hamper
Cutter & Squidge beer and brownies gift hamper, £34.99
Pros
- More-ish
- Delicious
- Letterbox sized
Cons:
- Calorific
If you’re buying a gift for a foodie, the Cutter & Squidge beer and brownies gift hamper will hit all the sweet spots.
On opening the box, the chocolatey aroma made my mouth water and I wasn’t disappointed when I took my first bite.
It was a little hard to chose what to tuck into first as the hamper contains a total of 12 brownies in six different flavours; chocolate Nutella, salted caramel, classic chocolate, peanut butter fudge, white chocolate and millionaire shortbread cookie.
I went for the peanut butter one to start, which had just the right amount of saltiness to compliment the rich, melt-in-the-mouth chocolate flavour.
For something that arrives in the post, they’re amazingly moist and fresh-tasting – most likely as they’ve all been made by hand.
Order until 23 December for delivery in time for Christmas Day.
Review by Zoe Nicol
8. Best stocking filler: Runlio fitness tracker at Amazon
Runlio fitness tracker at Amazon, £19.99
Pros:
- Thin strap
- Lightweight
- Tracks sleep
- Counts steps
Cons:
- The app can be tricky to read
The Runlio fitness tracker is the perfect Christmas gift for men who value health, fitness, and staying connected on the go.
Having a daily step count on my wrist motivated me to do 10,000 steps a day when wearing it, as I felt like I was failing if I only got to 6,900.
Although it’s under £20, it has a lot of functionality including heart rate monitoring, step tracking, sleep analysis, and GPS functionality.
It’s compatible with the VeryFit pro app, which shows all the stats at a glance, but I did not find it as easy to use as some of the other fitness apps available such as Apple Health or Garmin Connect.
Review by Zoe Nicol
9. Best gift for boosting motivation: Shokz OpenSwim waterproof swimming headphones
Shokz OpenSwim waterproof swimming headphones, £
Pros:
- Clear sound
- music helps with speed and endurance
- Durable
Cons:
- Need to manually add songs
- Requires a swimming hat
Swimming uses all the major muscle groups, but doing endless laps up and down the pool can feel boring – unless you have the Shokz OpenSwim headphones in your life.
With 4GB of internal storage, they hold up to 1,200 songs for you to enjoy as you swim.
They’re easy to use, I transferred audio files via a USB, powered them on, and was set for hours of entertainment.
As they conduct music directly to your earbones, you can still hear the ambient noise of swimmers around you, so you stay safe and alert when someone’s about to overtake you.
However, I recommend wearing a swimming hat with these headphones to secure them to your head and stop them from wiggling up and down during your session.
Review by Zoe Nicol
10. Best gift under £20: Quirky Monkey Choc-o-Shroom mushroom hot chocolate
Quirky Monkey Choc-o-Shroom mushroom hot chocolate at Amazon, £15.59
Pros:
- Enriched with superfoods
- No sugar
- Promotes mental clarity
Cons:
- Doesn’t taste like traditional hot chocolate
For a tasty gift for a guy who’s cutting down his alcohol intake, I can highly recommend the Quirky Monkey Choc-O-Shroom mushroom hot chocolate.
The drink combines rich, velvety cocoa with the wellness benefits of adaptogenic mushrooms like lion’s mane, reishi and chaga.
With an earthy flavour, it’s a little different from traditional hot chocolate you might have tried in the past, but the taste improves if you add a little sweetness with sugar or honey.
What I like most about it is that it offers a tasty way to get the benefits of fungi, which are known to enhance focus, reduce stress, and boost immunity.
I also think £15.99 is excellent value for money for a tub that offers 30 servings, making it just 50p a drink.
Review by Zoe Nicol
11. Best gift for teens and kidults: XBox Series X 1TB
XBox Series X 1TB at Argos, £479.99
Pros:
- The most powerful Xbox ever (more than a PS5)
- Thousands of games available
Cons:
- Expensive
- 1TB storage isn’t that much
- Controllers break easily
The perfect gift for gamers, the Xbox Series X is one serious bit of tech.
As the most powerful Xbox to date, this Series X console delivers stunning visuals and significantly reduces loading times, meaning you spend more time playing the games you love.
The Series X is also capable of playing thousands of existing Xbox titles from the four previous generations of Xbox, with newer games released on a monthly basis.
To put it simply, I can’t get enough of my Xbox Series X.
Not only do I use it for my gaming, but since it is app and internet-compatible, I also use it for Netflix, Amazon Prime and much more!
Review by Jack Strong
For more sports, health and fitness deals and buying guides, check out our dedicated talkSPORT shopping hub.