The Best Idea for a Bespoke Men's Gift this Christmas!

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     It is no secret that men are so difficult to buy gifts for! Am I wrong?  They only like expensive things, I feel like they are polite about handmade things but disappointed on the inside, except for maybe the beautiful quilt or blanket made by grandma, and they never really tell you what they want.  Clothes don't excite them that much and so many men's gifts seem like cliches.  Most gift guides suggest alcohol, but the men in my life don't drink it.  What is a woman to do?  
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     Well, this year I was inspired!  I saw an idea for giving crazy soda's in Christmas stockings, then I saw that some places sold soda samplers for largish amounts of money.  World Market sells one for $17 and that is the lowest, but the soda selections seemed rather ordinary to me. Other sites offer samplers at around $30 to $50!  I thought, I think that I can put together samplers that fit the tastes and personalities of the men that I am buying for and do it at a lower price point! Guess what!  I did it! 

     Not far from our house, there is a store called The Pop Shop.  It carries so many types of unusual sodas it is unreal!  And, if you buy a case of mix and match sodas, which contains 24 bottles, it comes to a total of about $43!  I'm sure if you Google a store like this in your community, there might be one.  I've seen similar stores in other places that I've traveled to.  The Pop Shop does have an online presence that you can order from, but I'm not sure of those prices or the cost of shipping.   Another alternative would be your local grocery store which probably carries a few unusual brands of soda.  Although they may be a bit pricier than the $1.80 per bottle that I paid.
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      I decided to make a sampler of 4 beverages, so with 24 bottles in a case, I could make 6 samplers.  
​      I started by ordering soda carriers from Amazon. 

     These carriers come as a two pack, but you can fit them together into a four pack or a six pack. There are 25 in the package for only $8.  Then I designed the label to stick on the front and back.  I am giving you the download for your own use below.  When you go to print it, unclick the "fit to page" button.  Then, just print it off and cut it in half to use one half on each side of your carriers.  

     My husband and I went together to pick out the sodas for everyone!  We had a lot of fun doing that. It was like a date!  We had a blast deciding which soda would be best for which person.  There were so many to choose from! 
For example:  Make America Grape Again, Candied Bacon, Zombie Root Beer, Candy Cane Soda, Hippo Huckleberry, and the list goes on and on! (We grabbed a few extra for ourselves!  I really wanted to try a few of the holiday ones.)
     Some of our guys aren't big soda drinkers, so we gave them a couple of soda's and a couple of unusual juices.  
         Next, after we brought everything home, we assembled the boxes and glued and taped on the labels.  I reinforced the boxes with a bit of packing tape because four bottles will be a bit heavy.  When I glued on the labels, I put them across the sides with the seam where the two boxes were joined.  I glued the labels and then taped them on the ends.  I think that they look pretty cute! 

     We divided the bottles of soda or juice into the carriers and then I added the crimped paper shreds in coordinating colors to pad around the bottles to keep them from knocking around and to add that festive look.  I was able to get the crimped paper shreds on sale for about 3 dollars a bag and it took me about two bags to fill the carriers.  I am going to wrap the entire thing with clear cellophane and a bow. (I already have those.)   I'm also going to add a gift card to a favorite man's store to each!  
      Judging by how excited my husband got about helping me with this gift, I really think it is going to be a big hit with our guys!  I think he wants one, too!  Maybe I'll make him one on the sly!  I can hardly wait to see how all of the men like the soda's we picked !  (I hope they will give me a taste of a couple of them! LOL)
      

      All in all, I have done the math, adding in all of the components including ink for the label, and this gift comes in at right around $10!  It would be a great gift all by itself for a neighbor or friend.  I'm adding a gift card, so of course that brings it to a different level, but I feel like it is so much more personal and fun than just handing someone a gift card by itself when you want a gift to be more fun and personal, which is what I want when I give a family member a gift card.  

     So, what do you think?  Is this an idea that you might try?  
     Do you have any genius men's gifts to share?  PLEASE let us know!  I will file them away for next year! 
       By the way, SHHHHH!  Don't tell the men in my family and don't let them read this post! lol

Other Gift Ideas:

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