The 73 Best Gifts for Men

The one gift he definitely, definitely wants above all else? A subscription to Esquire, of course. You can get 28% off right this very second – which means a year’s worth of issues arrives at your door for just £19.99.

There comes a time in every friendship when you move away from giving each other gifts for consumption right now – pints, chocs, one-time gag presents which quickly get hoyed out – and start thinking that maybe you should be trying to beautify each other's lives more permanently. Get these and next time you're round theirs, they'll crack them out and you'll instantly feel like you're in a very exclusive small plates place. Except you'll probably have crisps and cans. Nice.

There's no better failsafe gift than a candle, and this set of four from Malin and Goertz allows the recipient to switch up the scent of their home. Ranging from a spicy Dark Rum fragrance to lighter notes of peony and rose, there’s a candle for every mood.

We’ve said it once and we’ll say it again: Montblanc’s Meisterstück fountain pen is a masterpiece. Not that we’re the first to arrive at that conclusion – “Meisterstück” literally means “masterpiece” in German, so there was clearly some confidence in the product when it launched 100 years ago – but it remains the ultimate stationery status symbol. A timeless gift will last for a very long time.

Sure, you can dash down important notes and momentous thoughts on your phone. But when your biographers come to piece together the intricate workings of that magnificent brain of yours, they'll be delighted to find you left behind your scribblings and works in progress in your many notebooks. And your pals are, if anything, even more luminous than you, so a really beautiful, gilt-edged, pocket-sized, leather-bound notebook from luxe stationers Smythson is the least they deserve.

What’s the next best thing to a warm embrace? A Dryrobe, because it’s the sartorial equivalent. This wind-and-water-proof outerwear is what every surfer and sea swimmer wants to be greeted with after a quick dip, as its technical design is poised for any outdoor activity.

After ditching his job as an insurance underwriter to take up photography in the early Seventies, Denis O'Regan shot most of pop's great and good over the next few decades. He got the plum gig of being David Bowie's official snapper on the 1983 Serious Moonlight tour, and caught him at his happiest, fittest, and poppiest. This numbered, signed, framed print is a beaut, and shows off a vastly underrated aspect of 'Let's Dance' era Bowie: the magnificent suiting. There's an extra 30 percent off for Black Friday.

It’s easy to see why these were the most popular trainers in our running round-up this year. They’ll protect against the elements and keep you comfortable in the process. Look nice, too.

Nothing says 'I know you, man' like getting someone a proper heavyweight coffee table behemoth of a birthday book, and Simon 'Woody' Wood of footwear mag Sneaker Freaker has put together a doozy here. It's less about the trainers themselves (although they do look absolutely gorgeous) than the way in which the trainers became so deeply lusted after, which started with the ads and how they were introduced to the world. Over more than 900 images – alongside snarky commentary and loads of insider anecdotes – there are pics of luminaries including Michael Jordan, MC Hammer and Shaquille O’Neal. What a three-on-three team that would be.

Giving your friend a massage: awkward, threatens to spill over into a doomed love affair that leaves you both heartbroken and adrift. Giving your friend a massage gun: nice.

Gift the experience of a Haeckels spa without having to leave the house with this gift set, packed with the ingredients behind the Margate-born brand’s thalassopherapy treatments. The Algae Plump serum hydrates and moisturises, while the non-greasy Skin Oil locks in that goodness. Use the Gua Sha to de-puff your face, and the Seaweed Tea – which also includes bladderwrack, ginger, turmeric, dandelion root and cinnamon – to rebalance your gut. And while this treat will enhance the gift receiver's life, 10% of Haeckel's sales will be donated to the Margate Independent Food Bank this season, meaning you’re helping out a stranger, too.

Smeg’s all-new Manual Espresso Coffee Machine is as high-spec as you'd expect from the kings of design-led kitchen equipment. It offers the ability to grind coffee beans, create two espressos at once, froth milk to perfection and create a full coffee menu, turning any kitchen into your own personal coffee shop. The curvaceous, retro finish remains true to Smeg’s unique Italian heritage, while the features place it firmly in the 21st Century. You'll never set foot in Pret again.

A nice chopping board is the kind of thing that people rarely buy for themselves. They’ll spend heaps on Japanese chef’s knives and kitsch tableware, but they draw the line at prepping food on anything but a discoloured plank of scratched-up plastic. That changes now, with British kitchen brand Katto’s beautifully crafted two-sided chopping board, made with American black walnut and packaged with the matching stand it deserves. You can even get something engraved on it.

A well-fitting pair of joggers that can easily fit into actual, going-outdoors-to-do-stuff outfits: invaluable. Look to these brown cotton bottoms from Harry Styles’ Pleasing brand.