Christmas Gift Ideas for Him 2023

It's been a few years since Life Unexpected has compiled it's Christmas Gift series, but I am pleased to report that for Christmas 2023 we are BACK!

I am the first to admit that I find shopping for 'Him' one of the hardest things I do each year, and I usually have to act while we are out shopping together. I mean this in the sense that if he is eyeing something up but cannot commit to the purchase, I will usually sneak around when he is out of sight taking photos of the item in question, making notes on my phone and also taking down the sizing so I can either come back later or hop online in an attempt to beat the price!

This usually works pretty well, and as I start Christmas shopping in July usually (Yes really...) it means I have plenty of time for that particular item to dispel from his mind. The only potential problem is that he may decide to head back and actually buy that item for himself before Christmas which means I am walking on egg shells for months on end!

I usually like to put together an eclectic selection of gifts, this will usually boast a Christmas Stocking full of fun little treats that will be opened in bed before the day gives way to the children's demands of us heading downstairs. This is then followed by the tree gifts, I don't ever think of a number of gifts that this should involve, and it will of course change each year, but I do like to make sure I have snuck in as many of the items from those shopping exhibitions from earlier in the year as I can muster!

It really is just about finding that right inspiration to spoil the man in your life, so this year I am going to walk you through how we prepare for Christmas and hopefully share some inspiration if you are feeling a little... well... stuck!

Christmas Stocking Ideas for Him

For our very first Christmas together I purchased a Christmas stocking with his initial on it, all these years later this same stocking comes out each Christmas Eve full of the goodies I have lovingly chosen for him.

My other half is on a fitness mission right now, and he has been absolutely smashing it. For this reason I have opted for some healthier treats in his stocking this year.

Pulsin Plant Based Snacks and Treats are a great alternative to chocolates and sweets, they come in a wide range of different flavours:

- Peanut Choc

- Caramel and Peanut Choc

- Vanilla Choc and Almond

- Maple and Peanut

- Choc Fudge

- Cookie Dough

I enjoy Pulsin in my everyday, my all time favourite being their Mint Chocolate and Peanut. They are the perfect size to wrap up as part of a festive treat.

Pulsin also do a complete Vegan Protein blend boasting 20g Protein per serving, which will make a great addition in readiness to hit January hard with the post Christmas diet!

You can view all of Pulsen's Plant Based Treats here.

Around the Christmas Tree Gift Ideas for Him

As we gather around the Christmas Tree this festive season, I am excited to see our whole little family of 4. Being a blended family, this will be the first Christmas that we have had BOTH children on Christmas Day! 

It's set to be our best Christmas to date! 

I am envisioning family games and lots of laughs, and this is why I am recommending Charades for the festivities. Under the tree this year will be the Cheatwell Games Family Charades for the other half to unwrap, and for us all to enjoy. We have some smaller theatricals in our family and I know that they will be more than up to the occasion acting out a selection of the 1000 mimes in a race across the board!

The aim of the game is to move your playing counters across the board all while acting out and guessing each other's mimes from the six categories:

- Famous People

- Films

- TV Shows

- Popular Songs

- Books

- Pot Luck

The box contains: Charades, Card Decks, Sand Timer, Counters, Playing Board, Rules. Age 12+.

It is going to prove to be a fun way to spend Christmas Day afternoon with a few glasses of bubbly, let's hope that this will aid the miming!

If there is one thing that I know my other half loves, it's cosying up on a Sunday when the cold is raging outside and battening down the hatches at home. As I type this that is exactly what is happening, it is a Sunday post full roast. The first frost has dusted and there is nowhere else I would rather be than cuddled up on the sofa as the festive candles burn.

In this time all the candles will are lit and the wax melt is diffusing around the house, making it smell wonderful. I have noticed of late that a number of our favourite candles are burning low, and with this in mind I have made sure that there is a Large Scandi Christmas Candle from Copenhagen Candles waiting to be unwrapped. 

The Copenhagen Company Magic and Cheer Candle smells just like Christmas in a jar, it is absolutely stunning. It has top notes of Orange, Mandarin, Lemon and Red Fruits, middle notes of Cinnamon and clove, base notes of Sandalwood, Patchouli, Vanilla and Cedar. 

The large version of this candle is substantial and smells absolutely divine as it burns. It has a burn time of 60-65 hours and the fragrance fills the room as you would hope!

Another observation I have had is that the other half’s beard trimmer has grown tiresome in recent months, not to mention that he has broken the plug and half of it has to reside permanently in the wall as it has split… Yes I do believe it is time for a replacement. Finding a trimmer for a male is something that I think we females really struggle with, how can we possibly know what is good and what isn't when we have absolutely no idea? 

Recently we were stood looking at potential contenders and I left as baffled as before the introduction into male grooming commenced. What I did take away from this conversation was that the shorter the cutting length the better!

We have been sent the Wahl Aqua Blade 10 in 1 Multi Groomer, a cordless trimmer which has the potential to be the ultimate tool for trimming, shaving, edging, clip and detailing! Not to mention that it can cut as close to 0.2mm making the Wahl’s closest trimmer shave. 

Wahl say that it cuts 60% closer than their standard trimmer blade.

It comes with 4 interchangeable heads which offer the capability of full haircut's at home, I don’t think he would ever allow me to trim his hair but it may help him save on the once a week haircut he MUST have each week.

What is in the box?

- Cordless Trimmer

- Dual Foil Shaver Head

- Rotary Head

- Detail Head

- 16 Attachment Combs

- Soft Storage Poach

- Charger

- Beard Comb 

- Blade Oil

- Cleaning Brush

- Instructions

The other heads offer precision beard trimming thanks to the ground T-blade, making this the perfect groomer to keep those lines nice and sharp. The Aqua Blade is fully washable so can be fully utilised for a wet shave as well as a dry shave, each providing ultra close shaving.

This model provides total body grooming and even the removal of beard and nose hair. 

The battery life on the Multi Groomer is exceptional and will last up to 180 minutes from a full charge. (that’s approximately 3 months shaving from one 60 minute charge). If you forget to charge and are in a rush though, the 1 minute quick charge feature will give you 3 minutes run time for last minute touch ups.

The handy LED battery indicator will let you know if you are running out of juice though, so you don’t have to worry too much about that.

Wahl are so confident in their trimmer that they provide the Aqua Blade 10 with a lifetime blade warranty! 

The trimmer comes with a handy travel case that means that you can take it anywhere, it’s a really lovely set that I am really excited about having under the tree this year. I think this will earn me super brownie points!

The Aqua Blade 10 in 1 Multigroomer retails at £104.99 but is currently on offer at £69.99 at the point of writing this guide.

I have been hearing so much of late about VPN’s (Virtual Private Network), mainly because Leo has been playing Pokémon Go and he was convinced that if we had a VPN then we could ping ourselves through different countries servers and somehow obtain their native Pokémon!

It turns out that although this is possible with a VPN, it transpires that you also need a location spoofer in order to trick the Pokémon Go app into believing that you are indeed in another country. 

This being said, it turns out that VPNs have a whole range of capabilities, and it isn’t just about connecting your device through another countries servers. A VPN is the most effective way for people to protect their internet traffic and keep their identities private online.

We have been sent the ExpressVPN Aircove Router - A WiFi 6 router (the industry’s first hardware product!) that comes with a built in VPN which you can use with a ExpressVPN account (this isn’t included with your Aircove purchase). 

I will be doing a full review on the Aircove in the coming weeks, but I felt this needed to be highlighted as a tech gift in this gift edition!

Benefits of using a VPN

Change your location - using the ExpressVPN account you can change your location to different destinations around the world. The VPN alters your IP address which can make you appear somewhere different than where you are. Leo has been watching Netflix on his smart TV logged in from Australia! 

Each countries Netflix offerings are different, and Leo has been enjoying the new Mario movie which has not made it to UK Netflix just yet!

With servers in 105 countries ExpressVPN helps you access your favourite services and apps.

To control all of your device connections and change their locations, it is all done through a simple drag and drop system on your phone or computer. You can put the connected devices in groups and then set the location.

Protect your privacy and security  - Changing your IP address helps to conceal your identity online, which stops the services across websites and apps being able to track you. This can go as far as stopping internet providers, mobile carriers and anyone else from seeing your online activity!

Combat throttling to boost internet speeds - There are some internet service providers that intentionally slow down your internet speed when they are consuming bandwidth, just like when you use Netflix. By using a VPN you can stop this from happening and enjoy much faster speeds.

The other half was responsible for implementing the new router into the home, and he appeared to find the whole set up process pretty simple. Within about half an hour we were up and running. The beauty is that you can use 8 simultaneous connections with the router, even those that are not usually compatible with VPN software, just like smart tv’s and speakers.

The Aircove provides so many wonderful benefits for the entire household, it gives us the flexibility to enjoy tv content from other countries in a really easy manner, it is just a case of logging into the account and changing the connecting country you wish to appear from. 

This has been Leo’s favourite aspect of the VPN so far, and I know that he is already looking at location spoofers so he can try to utilise this through Pokémon Go!

As I mentioned above, I will be doing a full review of the Aircove Express VPN in the coming weeks, but with Christmas coming up and Black Friday I wanted to share that ExpressVPN are currently running 25% off Aircove through until November 30th! 

That concludes this year’s Christmas gift ideas for him, I do hope that this aids some inspiration in your upcoming Christmas shopping. 

For me, I am now moving over to wrapping presents! 

Disclaimer: The products listed in the above gift guide have been received in exchange for my honest views and opinions within this post.