Looking for a unique, fun, and just plain cool gift for a guy?! ~ like for Father's Day, a birthday, a job promotion, or a special occasion beyond the norm? This is a perfect and memorable gift that your man will enjoy not only the contents of, but opening it, as well!
And the bonus is that you will enjoy making it!
It's a jar filled with "guyish" gifts for whatever occasion you want! Any size jar will work; just depends on what you want to put IN it! Many ideas and tips for "all the above" coming up herein!
This is the jar I'll be showing you in detail:
It was for a BBQ Grilling Class that I gave my husband and three sons ~ but all of the ideas and how-to's apply across the board for any occasion you make it for.
(By the way, I have a FREE PRINTABLE for you of the above band around the middle, the punched-circle name tag, and the labels for the money!)
So, first things first ~ let's talk about themes... (coming up after this notice...)
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THEMES
The theme you choose for your jar for your own guy(s), will depend, of course, on what occasion you have coming up. Here are several ideas to inspire you, first in pictorial form, and then I'll list them, in case you can't tell from these little pictures...
Here are all the above-pictured themes, written out, so you know what they actually are:
BIRTHDAY PARTY IN A JAR and include packaged/bagged treats (favorite cookies and/or candies), a few balloons to blow up, a few lengths of curled gift ribbon, a birthday napkin, confetti, a birthday candle (or the two number candles of their age, unless they are 100, which is three candles) + small pack of matches, and a gift card!
JOB PROMOTION: (This one also goes with the purple balloons in the upper left corner above.) gift card for something nice ~ for him personally or for his work place, nice pencil holder, new version of an item he would wear at work ~ (like a new tie, watch, hat, etc.)
MOTORCYCLIST: riding gloves, motorcycle phone mount, riding glasses, hand rest, cup holder, travel repair kit, travel first aid kit, gift certificate to favorite restaurant on the route he takes or will be taking
BASEBALL FAN: tickets to a baseball game, travel mug of his favorite team (small enough to fit in the jar), gift certificate for his favorite snack that you will make for him before the next game,
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GOLFER: golf balls, hand towel with a ring on it to hang on his golf bag, golf gloves, gift certificate to golf club, gift card for an espresso, white Ferraro Rocher candies which look like little golf balls
JULY 4th FIREWORKS: variety of fireworks that will fit in your jar, plus include a pack of long matches and a box of Redvines. (Our favorite July 4th candy, but get whatever your man likes!)
COMPUTER GUY / AUTHOR: gift card (or several of them) for his favorite coffee shop(s), earplugs, phone charger, phone stand etc.
HUNTER: hunting license, gift card for his favorite coffee shop, warm hat, protein bars, snacks, compass (phones don't always work out in the wilderness), elk call
FOOTBALL & SOCCER FAN: tickets to a football or soccer game, (this is the same as for baseball), travel mug of his favorite team (small enough to fit in the jar), gift certificate for his favorite snack that you'll make for them before the next game
FISHERMAN: fishing lures, hooks, warm knitted cap, money for an espresso on the way to fishing spot, fishing regulations booklet (free at sports stores), fishing gloves, sunglasses
WINE, CHEESE & CHOCOLATE LOVER: small bottle of wine, wine bottle opener, napkins, various types of cheeses and chocolate
GARDENER: gardening gloves, a variety of seed packs (for whatever he likes to grow, be it flowers or food), gardening tools, plant tags, sweat band
CHEF: variety of kitchen gadgets (like a timer, garlic press, paring knife, larger knife if your jar is larger, etc.), a guy apron
CAMPER / HIKER: protein and snack bars, water bottle, headband and/or bandanna, first aid kit, compass, hiking gloves
CARPENTER: measuring tape, screwdriver, gift card to Home Depot or Lowe's, carpenter's pencil, a small level (no taller than the inside of the jar), sandpaper or small sanding block, carpenter's glue, work gloves
ROMANTIC (DATE NIGHT) THEME: candle(s), small red light bulb (to replace one in a lamp in your room), favorite chocolate, panties for you (or him!), lingerie for you (rolled up small so it fits in the jar), romantic card game (like "The Love Game: 36 Questions for Falling in Love")
JAR STYLE & SIZE OPTIONS
You'll want to think this through right at the beginning because the size of your gifts will determine the size of your jar. No matter what capacity your jar is ~ be it pint, quart, 2-quart, or gallon ~ be sure to get the wide-mouth ones, or you may not be able to get some of your items in. Regular-mouth would work only if you just have really small items.
A lot can be crammed into a pint (2-cup) or a one-quart jar, but whatever you buy in the way of items to go inside, be sure to check the dimensions of the widest part of your item(s) first to make sure it/they will fit through the opening. (A one-quart jar is what I used for the jars for my hubby and sons, pictureds.)
The half-gallon (2-quart) jar is what I used for the Jars of Pampering & Creativity that I did for my daughters that same year. The jar itself is the same exact style as a regular Mason jar, including the imprinting in the glass, plus the same lid and ring. It's just bigger!! But the opening is the same ~ a basic wide-mouth lid.
If you have even-bigger or even-more stuff to put in your jar(s), you'll want to get the one-gallon jar. This is 10 inches high, has a 7-inch jar diameter, and the opening is just shy of 4.5 inches. It comes with a one-piece white plastic lid, and the glass is just clear and plain; no brand.
WHERE IT BEGAN
What started this was that our son, Tory, had attended a BBQ & Grilling class one summer. He asked me what I thought of sending all four guys ~ his Dad (Dave), his two in-law brothers, and himself ~ to one of these classes for a Christmas gift.
It had been so worth his time that he wanted to go again, and knew his dad and brothers ~ all cooks in their own ways ~ would enjoy it too.
I agreed and set out to "package this up" in a fun way for the four of them. So each guy got their own gift-in-a-jar!
TAKIN' A LOOK!
I love anything in a jar, so that's what I started with. A quart-size jar, to be exact. Here's Dave's jar with all the contents inside:
Here's another view of it from the other side. (I pulled the orange tie and name circle-tag around to this side so they'd still be in front. Since I gave this as a Christmas gift, there are some Christmasy candies in it, but if you're doing it for a birthday or Father's Day, just include treats that are your man's favorite!
Here are all the contents laid out so that you can see everything that's in the jar:
Here's a list of all the items I included:
HAND WIPES ~ because anything of a barbecue-ish nature will be messy!
MINTS ~ Christmasy or not ~ they're refreshing after any meal.
CHOCOLATE COVERED CHERRIES ~ one of Dave's favorite candies. (And Cella's is his favorite brand.)
CRAISINS ~ just a non-sweet snack. (Plus I had them on hand and they fit nicely into a "space hole" in the jar!)
TICKET FOR THE BBQ CLASS ~ printed from the internet, this is what's rolled up in the lower right corner. The candy cane ~ which was in the jar too ~ is just keeping it weighted down.
MONEY BUNDLES ~ I thought it would be fun for all the expenses for the trip to this class ~ held in a city an hour away from us ~ to be thought of ahead and included in this jar!
(These money bundles are all crumply looking because they've been rolled up in the jar for a few months. The BBQ & Grilling classes don't start up until March.)
So the money I included covered:
MONEY FOR DESSERT - I suggested ice cream just to put some sort of picture on the label, and because I thought it would be nice after a day of BBQish eating, but I told them they're welcome to get anything they want.
ESPRESSOS - I figured they'd probably get these on the way out of town anyway, and thought it would be fun for the money to already be there for them!
GAS MONEY - Instead of the guys having to dig into their pockets for money to help out with gas, I wanted to provide it.
LABELS
Here are the same labels as above, one step earlier ~ cut out, "banner-trimmed" on the right sides, (just snip into the center from each edge), and sitting on my counter, ready to attach to the bundles of money. (So twelve bundles total, because each of the four guys got the same three bundles.)
In case you can't tell, those are two little ice cream cones on the "FOR DESSERT" label; a little espresso cup on the "FOR COFFEE" one, and a little car on the "PITCH IN FOR GAS" label!
JAR TOP
As you can see, the jar top is very simple ~ just some striped scrapbook paper. I set the metal jar lid on a piece of striped paper, traced around it, cut it out, and glued it onto the lid on the rim around the edges so the paper wouldn't sink down in the center. I put a few Dimensionals (Stampin' Up's version of those puffy things that you use in card-making) in the very center so the paper wouldn't sink down.
This isn't absolutely necessary as the paper circle will stay put once the ring is screwed on, but I figured it would be opened and closed back up a few times, so I didn't want the recipient ~ a male ~ to have to deal with that, and be taxed or traumatized.
POTHOLDER
When I wrapped the jars, I placed a potholder that I had made (one for each of my guys) around the outside of each jar, and then put the jar plus the potholder hugging it inside a clear cellophane bag, which I tied at the top. (Sorry I don't have a picture; they opened these before I could think of it.) But here's Dave's potholder!
I found fabrics that represented the BBQ & Grilling class as well as the guys' forté in BBQing (the two flame strips) and then also their combined interests in baseball, soccer, and music (black edge, which actually has gold notes on it, seen in full on the back).
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And don't feel like your gift will be incomplete without these! I just happen to love making potholders, my guys all just happen to enjoy cooking, and I thought these would be a fun addition to their jars!
I've included photos of the guys at the BBQ & Grilling class further down the page!
Here are the free
PRINTABLES:
basic fonts / editable
This format utilizes only the Arial font, which is basic to all Word programs, so the font is very plain and doesn't look like the fonts in the photos. You can read it, but it's not fancy. Just... basic.
fancy fonts / editable
This format utilizes the fancier fonts that I used in my document (as seen in the photos in this blog post.) If your computer does not have these fonts, the document will look very skewed and messy. However, this and the Word document above are the only formats that you can edit.
fancy fonts / NOT editable
The fonts in this format will look exactly like mine, BUT you can't edit it, even if you have Adobe Writer, because a PDF file is actually a picture of a document; not text.
OK! You're all done ~ unless you want to see...
OUR GUYS
AT THE
GRILLING CLASS
And now, I'll show you the recipients of these gift jars at the event they were designed around! Each of my guys ~ my hubby and my three sons (one by birth, two by marriage) ~ got one of these jars for Christmas, and the wives helped with financing the BBQ class tickets ~ which were $65 each.
Tory's working on making stuffed green peppers. (The teacher is on the right.)
Dave's about to inject some extra flavor into a pork roast:
Both Dave and Tory HATE ~ as in gag at the slightest sniff of ~ mustard, let alone touch it!!! (I'm sure they were extra-thankful for the gloves!) So I just laughed hysterically when I saw this photo! If they look like their smiles are forced or like they're about to gag, I'm sure they ARE! I'm actually very proud of them for doing this and not asking for a different task!
CJ cuts up a chicken while Sam and Tory make sure he's doing it right. (Just kidding; they're just watching.)
Sam and CJ are working on preparing... uuuum... something BBQishly ummy:
My three precious sons: (I SO love these guys!!!!!!)
And here are the four of these dear-to-me guys in the outdoor BBQ area. Left to right: our son Tory: my husband Dave; our son-in-love CJ; and our son-in-love Sam.
So there you go!
I'd love to hear and see
what YOU include in
your gift jars!!!
