What to get your brother for his birthday

Overview

Finding a suitable gift for your brother can be a challenge, especially if you’re looking for something funny and playful.  In this article I’ll help you work out what sort of thing to buy by thinking about the type of person he is and your relationship with him.  I’ll also give you some ideas about how to work out what sort of thing he’ll like.

OK, let’s get started.

Is your brother smelly?

He might be, but I’m sure he’s not the only one.  It’s just a fact that boys and girls smell differently, and when you’re used to the way that girls smell, boys seem smelly and vice versa.

This is why so many people buy things like deodorant as a gift; it’s not so much that they actually smell, it’s just that we’re not used to it.

So should you buy him a gift to help him not smell?  It’s hard to say; I certainly can’t answer that question for you.  What I can do though is to help you work it out for yourself.

The first thing to think about is what type of person he is and what sort of relationship you have with him.

If he’s the sort of person that is able to laugh at himself and take a joke then this sort of thing is probably a good idea.  It can be a lot of fun to give a playful gift that you can both laugh about.  Very often it’s the experience of giving and receiving the gift that is the fun bit and not the gift itself.

If he’s not that sort of person though and is likely to take offence, then it’s probably not a good idea.  He might be someone who is very self-conscious about the way he looks and smells.  If this is the case then he’s probably not going to take it well if you give him something that implies that you don’t like the way he smells.

Of course, you know him better than I do so you’re in a better position to decide, but this is something you should think about.  What sort of person is he?

If you decide that it is a good idea, then you have to decide what sort of thing to buy.  This depends on whether you want the gift to be something he can use or whether it’s just a joke.

If it’s supposed to be a useful gift, then I’d suggest some sort of body spray or deodorant, but if it’s just a playful joke then maybe something like a bar of soap with a silly message on the pack.

What if your brother is not smelly?

Again, only you can answer that question, but I suspect that he is in fact a smelly person, but you just don’t notice because you’re used to it.  But whatever the case, if you believe that he is not smelly, then what sort of gift should you buy for him?

The best way to answer this is to simply ask him, but of course, you can’t do that directly.  Or maybe you can, depending on your relationship, but either way, you don’t want to make it obvious.

I think the best way to do it is simply to ask him: ‘What do you want for your birthday?’.  He’ll probably respond with something silly like ‘I don’t know’, or ‘I don’t care, just get me something silly’.  This is good because it means that you can give him a playful gift and you know he’ll like it.  If on the other hand, he gives you a serious answer then you know he’d prefer something more meaningful.

The other thing to think about is whether you want to get him a gift that he’ll use and enjoy, or something that is just a funny thing for you to laugh at together.

I think you can answer this by thinking about what you usually do together.  Do you spend time together doing things, or is your relationship more based around funny banter?  If it’s the latter then I think a silly playful gift that you can both laugh at is probably a good idea.

OK, I hope that’s helped you decide what sort of gift you should get for your brother.  The next step is to have a look through our product range and find something that matches what you’re looking for.

Check out our gifts for brothers.