what to get the GUYS?

there's no way i can even start to talk about the bridesmaids' gifts on here, because they will all see it!  but i can say with plenty of confidence that none of pat's guys have ever visited the blog, (oh wait - except when i started it and they ripped on pat for like 3 weeks telling everyone it was his blog called "she said yes!" - it wasn't funny at first but i got over it :))

so what to get the guys?  we're less than 2 months out now - holy crap - and it's really time to get things done.  i've googled "groomsmen gift ideas" like 40 times and it always comes up with the same things... but after being in several weddings himself, pat wants to try and come up with something his guys won't already have.

some thoughts...

the ever-necessary flask.  ask my friend regis (code name), who brought one of these puppies filled with jack into a bruce springsteen concert a few years back and made the night quite eventful.

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then there's the cufflinks.  but pat got those in our friend's wedding last year, and most of our guys were in that wedding too.  good idea though, if he didn't already have them.

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then what about the cooler bags?  those are good.. but pat's dealing with a bunch of NY firefighters and wall street guys and i just can't picture them toting this little number around (but their wives and girlfriends would LOVE them!!)  i still think they're nice though, but we'll see how it goes.

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and the personalized pint glasses?  nice - but they'll last about 15 minutes between the rehearsal dinner and getting them back home (because most people are making a bit of a road trip for the wedding).  and after what pat and i went through to clean out our cupboards and make room for new glasses, etc., i'm not sure how long they'd stay around.

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now this is cool (i think), but if the guys aren't cigar smokers, would they appreciate a cigar humidor?  we're not too sure about that but this is a definite contender.

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one of pat's guys got him and the rest of his guys tickets to a giants/jets pre-season game.  that was a good idea and something they could all do together... but with us living on the other side of the country, it's tough to plan something like that.

pocketknives?  good idea but for the travelers, it won't work.

sports memorabilia - maybe a signed picture of jeter or a signed jersey or something... but again.. .who knows what the guys already have?

personalized pub signs?  could be cool considering most of the guys are irishmen and enjoy their brew... 

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a share or two of a good stock?  i saw this on weddingbee, the groom bought a  share in a company that is personalized to each of his groomsmen..ex- for the golfers he got them Callaway or Nike, and gave them a framed certificate and bottle of booze.  could be good?

ray bans?  i think they're niiice, but would the guys?  not sure how they'd feel about someone pre-picking sunglasses for them.

seriously, like it's not hard enough for women to shop for guys, imagine guys having to shop for guys?  it's really challenging to find something that the guys will like, use, and something they don't already have!

now if i was in charge, i would have all these pretty ideas like vineyard vines ties  or something like that.. but there's a reason i'm not in charge and i get to choose the other detailed stuff..  i'll leave this one to pat :)

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what's everyone else thinking?  anything different??