Personalised Gifts for Him: Cufflinks, Wallets, Hip Flasks and Football

Men are famously "hard to buy for", which usually means they already own the obvious things. Personalisation solves that: a wallet is a wallet, but a wallet with his initials and a hidden message inside is a keepsake.

Cufflinks: a quick guide

Cufflinks need a shirt with double (French) cuffs or a cuff with buttonholes on both sides. The main types are:

• Bullet back or torpedo: a small bar that flips to lock; the most common.
• Whale back: a flat, fixed flap that folds down; very secure.
• Chain link: two faces joined by a short chain; the traditional style.
• Fixed back: one solid piece; elegant but fiddly.
• Silk knots: inexpensive and casual.

Round or square faces are the easiest to engrave: initials, a date, coordinates, a tiny map of his home county or even a fingerprint. Wedding cufflinks for the groom, best man and fathers are among the most popular personalised gifts in Britain. For the full wedding party list, see wedding party gifts.

Wallets, card holders and money clips

A leather wallet is the gift that gets used every day. Slim card holders suit men who pay by phone; classic bifolds suit those who still carry cash. Embossing or laser-engraving initials on the outside is subtle; a message on the inside (the date you met, "Don't spend it all at once") is the personal touch. A money clip, engraved on the front, is the stylish option for a man who carries a few notes on a night out.

Hip flasks

Hip flasks are the classic engraved gift for him, and they have a whole guide of their own: sizes, steel versus pewter, what can be engraved and, importantly, where you can take one. See engraved hip flasks and the racecourse.

Football gifts

For football fans, personalised gifts in club colours always land well: a framed shirt with his name and a favourite number, a mug with the date of a famous win, a print of the stadium, a scarf. Official club crests are trademarks, so personalised items using them are made under licence; independent makers usually stick to colours and text.

From the pools to the weekend acca

For much of the twentieth century, Saturday afternoon in British homes meant two rituals: the football results on the radio or television, and checking the pools coupon. Littlewoods Pools was founded in Liverpool in 1923 by John Moores and two partners; Vernons and Zetters followed, and the "treble chance", predicting which matches would end as score draws, became a national pastime. Pools collectors called door to door each week, big winners were photographed receiving giant cheques, and the phrase "a win on the pools" meant a life-changing fortune long before the National Lottery arrived in 1994 and slowly took its place.

The habit lives on in a new form: the weekend accumulator, a small multiple bet on several matches that football fans love to share and moan about in the group chat. For a dad or grandad who remembers filling in the coupon, a framed vintage-style pools coupon with his name and lucky team printed in, or an engraved tankard for the Saturday results, is a gift with real nostalgia. And if he follows golf as well as football, our guide to gifts for golfers who like a flutter has the perfect partner present.

Other ideas he will actually use

• An engraved pen and leather notebook for work.
• A personalised wash bag or luggage tag for travel.
• Whisky tumblers or a tankard with his initials (see our tankard guide).
• A "man cave" wooden sign, a chopping board or an apron for the barbecue.
• Personalised golf balls with a joke only his playing partners will understand.

Budget	Ideas
Under £20	Keyring, mug, golf balls, socks, card
£20 to £40	Cufflinks, hip flask, money clip, tankard
£40 and up	Leather wallet, watch, decanter set, experience day

Written by the Ribbon & Tag editors.