Retirement Gift Ideas for Men

Buying for a man who is retiring is hard, because many men say they want nothing and mean it. The best retirement gifts for men give him a new reason to get out of the house on a Tuesday morning. Here are 12 ideas, from under $50 to a real splurge, for a friend, a brother, a boss or an uncle. Our top pick is a song about his years on the job, because it says what the handshake at the party does not.

Play a real Songbond song first

This one was made for another family. Yours would carry his name and your stories about him.

12 retirement gift ideas for men

1. A song about his years on the job ($39.90). You share where he worked, what he was known for and the jokes the crew still tells, and Songbond turns it into an original song, ready within 24 hours. It is a gift that takes up no shelf space at all.
2. An e-bike. It makes long rides easy on the knees and gets him out every day. Usually $800 to $2,000.
3. An engraved whiskey decanter set. His name and last working day etched into the glass. Usually $50 to $150.
4. A woodworking class at a local maker space. He gets the tools, a teacher and a room full of people who like building things. Around $150 to $400.
5. Binoculars and a field guide to local birds. Birding sounds quiet, but it gets men walking for miles. Usually $100 to $300.
6. A golf club fitting or a round at a bucket-list course. Clubs matched to his swing, or a tee time at the course he keeps talking about. Around $100 to $400.
7. A cast-iron cookware set. Heavy, simple and hard to ruin, for a man who wants to learn to cook. Usually $80 to $200.
8. A national parks annual pass and a road atlas. The pass is about $80 for a year of park visits, and the atlas gives him somewhere to draw the route.
9. A telescope. For the man who likes to stay up late and no longer has to be anywhere at 7 a.m. Usually $150 to $500.
10. Guitar or piano lessons. A weekly lesson gives the week a shape, and it is never too late to start. Around $150 to $400 for a set.
11. A craft beer or coffee club. Something new arrives every month to try and talk about. Around $40 to $70 a month.
12. A good canvas tent. For the camping trips he said he would take one day. Usually $150 to $400.

How to choose for him

Look at what he does on a free Saturday now. That is the hobby that will grow into his retirement, so feed it. If he has no real hobby, pick something social, because many men lose their daily circle of friends when they leave work.

• If he likes to build: the woodworking class or the cast iron.
• If he likes to be outside: the e-bike, the binoculars or the parks pass.
• If he likes to be around people: the golf round, the lessons or a song played at his send-off.

If he says he does not want a fuss

Plenty of men dread the retirement party and the speeches that come with it. You can respect that and still mark the day. Give the gift one to one, over a beer or on a drive, instead of in front of a room. Keep the card short and specific: name one thing he did at work that you still remember. If the gift is a song, let him hear it alone first. A man who hates speeches will often play a song about himself more than once when nobody is watching.

Make his retirement song

Order a retirement song for him. Share his story, and his song is ready within 24 hours. If his last day snuck up on you, express delivery gets it to you in about an hour.

Also in the Journal: retirement party songs and retirement songs for dad.