Tomorrow is my son’s 18th birthday. Coming on the heels of Christmas, I have struggled to think of a single thing to get him. It was hard enough coming up with ideas for Christmas. He cannot think of anything he wants or needs. Since it’s a milestone birthday, I’d like to get him something nice. The only thing I can think of is a watch, not an Apple Watch or sports watch but one that he might wear when he dresses up, either later in the workforce or for dressier occasions. Years ago, SIL, who is slightly younger than I, made a comment that people don’t wear watches anymore b/c they use their phones to check the time. I’ve noticed that my kids’ friends don’t wear watches like my friends and I did growing up (and I still wear one daily). However, my 13 y/o did ask for and got a trendy watch for Christmas, tho it’s more for active wear, not fancy.
Over the holidays, my daughter and I went into a local jewelry store that is closing. They had some really nice watches on sale, including a Swiss Army Victorinox. It was discounted about 40% but still pricey. When I queried dh, he suggested an Apple Watch, but I don’t really want to give him something that will be obsolete. Plus, I don’t think our son would really care for one. Hestill has an iPhone 6, even tho his older sister and younger brother have already upgraded to better phones than his b/c their phones stopped working. When I suggested a new phone to him for Christmas, he said his phone was fine and didn’t want me to spend the money since his still works for now. Based on that conversation, I don’t think he’d even care for the Apple Watch anyway. He’s very conscious of how much things cost, so I think he’d feel it was a waste since he can just use his phone.
So, just wondering if those of you with older sons can shed some light on whether young men wear nice watches anymore.
Or if you have a suggestion for what might be a nice gift for an 18 y/o male, I’m all ears (eyes!)
We gave our oldest son a nice watch for his 21st birthday. He had never wore one until then. He loved it and wore it constantly until his GF just gave him the newest Fitbit, which he now wears.
My other son didn’t want one at 18, but wears one now. He doesn’t want an expensive one, so just wears something cheap.
18 might be too early for a watch, maybe better at 21. We were struggling with the 21 gift for younger son. Like you, we wanted a keepsake. Never had any help from him, had no clue. We ended up just getting him a really nice Bose speaker, about $300.
suggestions, these are pricey things my kid asked for when he turned 18 (he conned me into a few of these items):
new iPhone (he had a iPhone 5s in HS)
Bose QC 35 headphones - nothing comes close as far as headphone quality
Apple MacBook Pro or Dell XPS laptop
Nike KD 11 basketball shoes
Kevin Durant retro jersey
My 28 yo son has never worn a watch. I bought him a Fossil (trendy back then) watch when he was in HS, but he never “got used” to having something on his wrist. We were just discussing this at Christmas, so I know not to ever buy him a watch! Even my D no longer wears a watch.
I, on the other hand, wear one daily and just used Christmas and birthday money to buy a new one for myself.
I know nobody of this generation that wears a tie pin. Cuff links require French cuff dress shirts, which is a small segment of the dress shirt market, FWIW.
I personally own a few watches that I wear regularly(in rotation), although not necessarily daily.
My nineteen year old wanted a nice watch that he could wear for different occasions so we got him a classic Seiko solar dive watch, it might have cost $300.00 . He doesn’t wear it all the time, just usually when he is going out or to some school function and wants to look more put together. Good first watch for a young man, can wear it swimming, with a suit, durable and no batteries needed.
I was hoping for some sort of keepsake, but yes, perhaps 18 is too young to bother.
I was planning on getting a laptop as his graduation gift. He doesn’t have one now b/c his school requires them to have iPads. I figured no sense in getting him one yet since he won’t use it for another 9 months.
He has Beats EarPods he bought with his own money. He wanted new headphones for Christmas for video games -he had cheap EarPods he got last year. Since I didn’t have many ideas for him, I decided to get him some really nice gaming wireless headphones. He really likes them but upon opening proclaimed them too nice/expensive. he likes video games but isn’t a serious gamer, just plays in his limited downtime. They were certainly more than the cheap $25 ones he got from Amazon last Christmas but not top of the line. They were on sale too. But that’s his mindset - frugal. I appreciate that but for certain occasions it’s nice to get something you wouldn’t buy yourself, and I knew he would like them.
This probably wouldn’t be so hard if he hadn’t just had Christmas! I know he would appreciate gift cards for things like gas and restaurants, but he just got several from family. Plus I’d like him to get at least one nice gift. Ugh, he’s so much harder to buy for than my daughters!
I’d pass on the watch and give him something that would come in useful during college. I second the Bose noise cancelling headphones if he doesn’t already have a pair.
Some guys are watch wearers, some are not. I used to wear one religiously, but am now in the latter camp. OTOH, my S does wear wrist watches…not interested in teh apple watch, even though his mom and sister have one.
Son’s BF from HS is into watch collecting, and recommends a Hamilton for son.
My 26 year old son never has worn a watch. Don’t think he has any interest.
This thread goes to show that the best idea would be to ask him if a watch is something he would enjoy having or not - even if it ruins the surprise. And then even if he says yes, if he has never worn a watch I would not want to make the choice of what style he should have/like. Leather band? Stretchy band? Gold? Silver? Black? If you want it to be a keepsake, it should be one he will love - I’d have him pick it out!
Our 29 year old son does not wear a watch and would not want one. There was a period right after college when he asked for a G-Shock watch but it couldn’t withstand all the extreme activities he does so it didn’t last very long.
I can understand your dilemma in what to give him. Our daughter always has a wish list a mile long and our son never wants anything. We have the hardest time buying him something he’d want.
My style-conscious DS20 bought himself a silver Citizen watch this summer and ask for a black Caravelle for an early Christmas gift. He wears one of them as an accessory nearly every day. They were not expensive…prob $100 each before discounts and coupons at Kohl’s.
Honestly, I would upgrade your son’s phone for his birthday. My mom got DS a new phone for Christmas…an iPhone XR, upgrading from his 6S. He loves it and said it has been “life changing” LOL.
My 28 year old son loved his Mickey Mouse watch as a little kid. Now, he wears a watch that belonged to his late paternal grandfather. He’s a mailman, so having a wrist watch makes it easier for him to tell time. He doesn’t have to pull his phone out all the time and can quickly glance while he is delivering mail.
None of my other 3 boys has ever expressed an interest in watches.