Your brother may be a nuisance, but he's also a built-in best friend. Chances are, you've spent years together, taking part in shenanigans, teasing each other endlessly, and fighting over which one is your parents' favorite. You've been through it all together — but that doesn't mean you know what to get him for a gift. Turns out, the best gifts for brothers are useful and cool (and don't always have to come in the form of cold, hard cash!).
Not sure where to start? We have you covered. Whether your brother is more of a tech type or a street-style pro, we've researched the best gifts to get your bro in 2021 — for both big and little brothers. From noise-canceling earbuds to sleek watches to comfy and cozy sweatpants, there's bound to be something he'll love on this list. Here are 50 gifts for brothers that you should add to cart immediately.
Just like Carhartt’s durable outerwear, the Legacy Gear Bag can take on the elements with tough water-repellent fabric and an abrasion-resistant base.
Available in the iconic Carhartt brown color, this stylish and sturdy bag is perfect for him to lug around his gym gear, camping equipment, and just about anything else a rugged man can think of.
Sometimes when you really don't know what to get, a curated gift subscription is the way to go. Let Bespoke Post take care of the hard work with a subscription to their monthly themed boxes. Box themes range from cocktails to coffee and tech to outdoor essentials, so there's something for every man.
If your brother can't stop watching reruns of The Office or throwing in a casual “That’s what she said” into a conversation, this is his idea of the perfect gift.
The box features a mix of both ankle- and full-length socks with references to Dunder Mifflin, the “world’s best boss,” and other inside jokes that fans are sure to know. Your bro will happily show up to your holiday dinner in one of these 12 pairs, we assure you.
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For the Marvel Fanatic
The Story of Marvel Studios: The Making of the Marvel Cinematic Universe
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For the Marvel Fanatic
The Story of Marvel Studios: The Making of the Marvel Cinematic Universe
If he's binged every big-budget Marvel movie ad nauseam and know every Avenger by heart, he'll love learning how their favorite film franchise came together.
This massive two-book set goes in-depth on all the behind-the-scenes stories of the massive movie undertaking, making it great for comic book junkies and casual MCU fans alike.
Whether your brother has always been athletic or is making their first steps towards a more active lifestyle, now you can help them turn their personal fitness efforts into a measurable science.
That's because the latest Fitbit watch offers a myriad of health tracking apps, from sleep tracking to stress management, to not just monitor their workout but help them improve it too.
We're crazy about this car vacuum cleaner, and who wouldn't be? The Thisworx vacuum really does work, eliminating the little messes of dust and crumbs that get caught in every nook and cranny of a car with ease. Its helpful attachments and powerful suction mean it's able to handle whatever gets thrown its way.
An avid outdoorsman knows to always have some rope on hand. But even if he's not the type to tame the wild frontier, he could absolutely use this compact container of paracord, whether to tie things down to the top of the car, secure items during rough weather, or even as a makeshift laundry line.
There's a myriad of tasks this rope can tackle, and the built-in rope cutter on the lid ensures he'll always have exactly the length he needs.
Some guys are really particular about their beards, whether sizable whiskers or manicured stubble. If their beard maintenance requires the kind of precision trim he thinks he can only get at a barbershop or some expensive trimming kit, then introduce them to the Philips Norelco OneBlade.
A hybrid trimmer and shaver, the OneBlade is an easy-to-operate trimmer that allows for precise — even artful — facial hair maintenance.
This year, don't just give your brother some knick-knack that'll sit on a shelf collecting dust — give him a project to do. That project? Finding all those old VHS tapes sitting on a shelf collecting dust at your parent's house and converting them all to digital files.
We tried and loved this simple transfer device, which makes for not only a great gift for your brother, but great gifts for your parents as you can give them DVDs and USB drives of memories long-thought lost to outdated technology.
An admittedly strangely-shaped pseudo-sofa that serves a broad spectrum of people, from the serious outdoorsman in need of more comfortable seating to the slacker bro with the sparsely decorated apartment. Whoever he is, if visits with him often wind up with you sitting on uncomfortable logs or hardwood floors, consider this as much a gift for you as them.
Sit on it like a couch or sink into it like a hammock, this waterproof, leakproof inflatable seat will make you feel like you're in safe hands wherever it's set up.
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For the Music Enthusiast
Vintage 3-Speed Bluetooth Portable Suitcase Record Player
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For the Music Enthusiast
Vintage 3-Speed Bluetooth Portable Suitcase Record Player
For music fans, especially vinyl enthusiasts, there is nothing quite like the crisp hiss when the phonograph needle first hits a classic LP. Whether it's getting to hear that first blast of brass on John Coltrane's Blue Train or the wind-up of the soon-to-be shredded guitar on Led Zeppelin IV, some music just sounds better on vinyl.
So if your brother is a serious music lover, spare him those compressed audio files from streaming sites, and foster the audiophile in him with this portable Victrola record player, which also doubles as a Bluetooth speaker.
Does your brother have a podcast, a YouTube channel, or a Twitch stream? Don’t worry if you’ve never actually checked it out. Odds are it’s either just him and his friends making each other laugh, or 80-plus dry episodes on the Van Buren presidency or something.
But there is a way you can support their creative outlet without having to “rate, review, and subscribe.” Get him this excellent, and affordable, audio accessory set-up so that he’ll look and sound just like the pros.
Was your brother the one who introduced you to new tunes? When he heard you jamming to the latest hits, was he handing you A Tribe Called Quest bootlegs and Bizarre Ride II The Pharcyde?
If he's an old-school hip-hop head, odds are he already knows Shea Serrano from his fantastic Twitter feed or 2015 best-seller The Rap Year Book. Serrano's latest collection of essays, filled with his usual musings on his favorite music genre mixed with scattershot pop culture references and personal reminiscences, is a must-have for any rap enthusiast.
Whether he needs rhythm while he rinses, is too absorbed in his latest crime podcasts to take a break for bathing, or just need some accompaniment while he sings in the show, help him out with this awesome, inexpensive shower speaker.
Connecting to his smartphone, this water-resistant speaker will allow him to pause and play, skip tracks, or even answer calls, all with 6 hours of playtime on a single charge.
Let's face it: Some guys are not great about what grooming products they use. You grew up with him, so you've probably seen him settle for some cheap bar soap or worse just because it's there.
Help introduce some better grooming products into his wash-up repertoire, starting with this great charcoal powder-infused body and face wash set. This jet black serum uses powerful natural ingredients to help cleanse and refresh skin and may make them banish the cheap bar soap for good.
So, he's a Star Wars fanatic. With so much merch out there, he shouldn't be hard to shop for. But there's a catch: His significant other will hate you forever if you add one more Lego set, toy spaceship, or replica lightsaber to the collection currently clogging up their shared home.
Simple solution? Add the power of the force to his shower routine with this four-bar Dr. Squatch soap set depicting heroes and villains from a galaxy far, far away. With four different scents and levels of grit themed to characters from the most recent trilogy, it's sure to be a hit without consuming any significant space.
Cat dads are devoted to their four-legged friend, spending more than a fair amount of their time and money trying to figure out what appeals to their feline's refined and mysterious tastes. And if your cat-dad brother struggles, you'll have quite an uphill battle trying to decide which treat or toy his cat might like.
So don't try and figure it out all on your own. Instead, turn to the experts at Chewy and get him a Goody Box. This collection of trending treats and toys is hand-selected by an expert to fit that special kitty's taste, so you know it will be a paw-some hit.
As many of us discovered during lockdown, puzzles can be a unique and enriching way to pass the time because they offer both the soothing effect of slow and deliberate activity, mixed with the sense of accomplishment that comes when you pop in that final piece.
But the folks at Gentlemen's Hardware know that puzzles can be more than just pretty pictures: They can deliver fun facts like beer trivia or guides to knots. But our favorite is the Wilderness Survival Puzzle, which offers vital survival advice for those who plan to go all Jack London once they finish their jigsaw puzzle.
Let's be real: This is a bit of a self-serving gift. If you're buying this for a biological brother, you're really buying a gift for yourself, too. That's because this kit uses the latest science to trace the various elements of your DNA back to their origin, unlocking elements of your family history that can date far, far further back than any older relative could tell you.
If your bro isn't already an amateur family historian, he will be once he catches the genealogy bug from this Ancestry kit.
If your memories of childhood family camping trips involve a lot of “brother/dad cursing at collapsing tent poles,” then you surely know that the Great Outdoors may be great, but setting up a complicated tent can be anything but.
That's why we love this pop-up tent from Coleman, which can be set up or packed up in seconds thanks to its pre-assembled poles. Give the gift of a far less disgruntled outdoor getaway with this convenient camping tent, and whoever your bro goes camping with will be eternally grateful, too.
Michael Natale is the news editor for Best Products, covering a wide range of topics like gifting, lifestyle, pop culture, and more. He has covered pop culture and commerce professionally for over a decade. His past journalistic writing can be found on sites such as Yahoo! and Comic Book Resources, his podcast appearances can be found wherever you get your podcasts, and his fiction can’t be found anywhere, because it’s not particularly good.
Katherine (Katie) is the associate editor of Best Products, where she gathers unique gift ideas, tests out buzzy products, and puts too many items in her cart for research — her work can also be found on MyDomaine, Byrdie, and Oprah Daily. When she isn’t writing, you can most likely find her tending to her 50+ plants, starting a new DIY home improvement project, or playing with her puppy, Olive.