Because
who knows what to get the old codger?
Yay,
they're back! Our annual foray into random gifts to get random
friends and family is back on these pages, to inspire your present
buying thoughts in time for Christmas. This time around we thought
we'd kick things off a little differently, taking a look at a few
pressies for your dear old dad, granddad, brother, husband, uncle, or
platonic male friend. Or for yourself, if you fancy. Because you're
just as important as anyone else. You deserve all thing things. Read
on, handsome.
Dremel
3000 Gold Edition
For
the fans of DIY you know, or for people into crafting and making,
this special edition kit from Dremel is ideal. Included in the pack,
which comes in a hardy metal tool case, is a Dremel 3000 Multitool, a
hand-held powerhouse of versatility. But swapping out the various
accessories, the Dremel 3000 can carve, cut, polish, grind, and sand,
as well as adapting for other uses.
Dremel
have released three specialist kits containing the Dremel 3000; a
Gold, Silver, and Bronze edition, each with a mix of accessories and
appropriately descending prices. But, as we're pretty special, Dremel
was kind enough to supply us with one of the Gold Editions to try out
(and also a Silver Edition which we'll be giving away as a
competition prize in November – watch this space).
The
Gold kit is intended for the more serious DIY fans, and features five
interchangeable attachments and also 70 accessories! The attachments
include a detailer's grip, a comfort guard, a flexible shaft, a
multi-purpose cutting kit, and a line and circle cutter. With these
you can use the included bits and bobs to complete a multitude of
tasks to a high quality finish. The Gold kit's accessories, all of
which can be safely stowed away in the included aluminium carry case,
contains a wide selection of quick-change EZ SpeedClic bits which
allow you do everything you need, right there in an instant. This
makes DIY and workshop jobs all the more easier, and quite a bit more
fun.
Gold
Kit (£99.99), Silver Kit (£79.99), and the Bronze Kit (£39.99).
Visit
www.dremel.co.uk
Accent
5-in-1 Male Grooming Set
Just
as the Dremel was a multitool for DIY, so this kit is a multitool for
a chap's hair. The Accent 5-in-1 Male Grooming Set, available from
Lloyds Pharmacy, includes a powerful rechargeable shaver with five
interchangeable heads for various kinds of beard battles. There are
three precision trimmers for detailed styling, a standard shaver
attachment, and also a nose hair trimmer because... well, y'know why.
Other
than that there is a handy comb included, perfect for parting your do
prior to the annual Christmas inspection from you gran, as well as an
internal battery that will you last you for 45 minutes, following an
eight hour charge. All that, and it even comes with its own stand.
You just nailed the gift getting thing, my friend.
£12.99
Available
from www.lloydspharmacy.com
Victor's
Drink 48 Hour Cider
Granted,
if you ordered a cider in your local pub and it took 48 hours to
arrive, you might be a bit miffed. However, a cider home brewing kit
that goes from strange plastic wrapped cardboard box to ten delicious
pints of cloudy cider in just 48 hours, sounds petty decent –
especially as it is super easy to make. Victor's Drinks have produced
a simple system, whereby the home brewer need only pour a small
sachet of yeast into the box, then top up with a few litres of water.
After
leaving it for two whole days, the cider (we opted for mixed fruits,
but apple is also available) can then be decanted out of a lovely
little tap on the front of the box, making it ideal for Christmas
parties, or for just drinking until you feel funny and like, super
festive and that.
 |
| Look what we made! Didn't last long, mind. |
As
we said, it was extremely easy to do, and Victor's even provide a
little cardboard funnel to help you get the water in. Once brewed the
resulting cider is very sweet, naturally cloudy, and un-carbonated
(which made a refreshing change from most other ciders you buy in the
shops). It really was a very tasty tipple, landing in at around 4%
alcohol. We say 'was' because its all gone. Seriously, we drained
that mother in just a couple of nights. Great for people who like
cider, but who also like to get involved in the making process
themselves.
£15.99
Available
from www.victorsdrinks.com
Jam
Trance Mini Bluetooth Speaker
If
you're buying this stuff for your dad, the above suggestions have
neatly covered the DIY, grooming, and alcohol dependency bases, but
what about ol' Pa's love to boogie? Everyone needs a wireless speaker
to accompany their phone or tablet, mainly to bolster what is often a
lacklustre effort in the speaker departments of most smartphone
manufacturers, but also to GET DA PARTAY STARTED, YO!
In
which case, you could a lot worse than the Trance Mini Bluetooth
Speaker from Jam Audio; a small, compact, and resilient speaker that
also displays a crazy light show along to the beats of your chosen
tunes. Charge this baby for just three hours and you'll receive a
whopping ten hours of playtime in return, along with six different
light patterns.
In
use this is actually a very capable little speaker, and although the
flashing LEDs on the front are a unique selling point, we'd
definitely recommend it for the quality of the sound alone. Highs and
lows are both remarkably clear despite the diminutive size, and the
bass reproduction is more than decent. Tell dad he can also use it as
a speakerphone as well.
£29.99
Available
from http://uk.jamaudio.com