novelty neckties - Stuff Parents Need

I used to have the philosophy that I would only buy presents for other people if I liked those gifts myself. I understand where I was coming from, not wanting to spend money on something that I personally thought was silly or uninteresting, but I’m proud to say that I’ve matured since that time and now have a different perspective. I’ve realized that giving someone a gift is really all about celebrating that person, and part of that is celebrating the kinds of things that bring them joy. When you give a gift that makes someone smile, that’s a gift coming right back to you…it doesn’t matter if what you gave is not something that you would have put on your wish list, too!

One of my brothers-in-law LOVES to have a lot of ties. But not just any old tie will do for him. He loves to have novelty ties (think cartoon characters, funny sayings, etc.). I’ll just come right out and tell you that novelty ties are my least favorite kind of tie, with bow ties coming in a very close second. But you know what? I’m not wearing them, so who cares what I think?! My brother-in-law lost almost all of his worldly possessions in a house fire this past April, and among his losses were all those crazy ties that made him smile. I knew that I wanted to get him a really fun tie and I knew exactly where to look.

I went to ABC Neckties, which is an online tie mega store! They have every kind of tie for every kind of style. Tim owns a tie from the company and he looks SO sharp in it! I knew that I would be able to get something of good quality by going back. This time, I was looking in the novelty tie section, which as you have read is a new adventure for me.

You know what? Once I made peace with buying a novelty tie and just thought about my brother-in-law and what he might like, I had a ton of fun picking out something! I ended up with this trumpet tie. It was priced very nicely, at just $10! That’s a steal, people! I’ve received the tie and already wrapped it up. The quality is excellent and the tie is bold and bright. He’s going to love it, I just know it.

ABC Neckties is such an excellent resource for gifts for men. I love their patterns, their prices and their speedy service. We will definitely shop there again! They also just launched a very helpful page on how to tie a tie. Definitely check it out if you need to brush up on your skills in this area or if you want to learn a new style (they have 15 different ways!).

Win it!: Just in time for the holidays, one lucky Stuff Parents Need reader will win a $25 gift certificate to ABC Neckties! Yay!

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Clean shirt, new shoes
And I don’t know where I am goin’ to.
Silk suit, black tie,
I don’t need a reason why.
They come runnin’ just as fast as they can
‘Cause every girl is crazy ’bout a sharp dressed man.
-ZZ Top

Does anyone else remember that song? I’ve always loved it, for some reason. Maybe that’s because I really have always loved when men are all dressed up. Tim’s a very casual guy. His preference is to be in jeans and a sweater (I can relate to this feeling!). Perhaps that’s why when he puts on a tie, it really is something special. He’ll usually wear a tie to work just once a week or so. I always think he looks exceptionally nice on those days.Tim is also the kind of guy who wears clothes until they are absolutely shot. I appreciate that about him, and I wish I was as disciplined. But I get tired of my clothes after just a few seasons. We recently went through his tie collection and actually got rid of several ties, many of which he has had since college (12 years ago). After he honestly assessed which ties he did and didn’t like, his “keep” pile was really quite pitiful. I knew it was time for a new tie to join the few that remained.I’ll just be honest, I always hit the thrift stores to see if I can find any great ties for a song. I’ve done it before with success, or at least I thought I had. Those thrift store finds from the past were all in Tim’s “discard” pile, as it turns out! I knew So I decided not to go that route again. I also knew that going to a department store and spending $40+ dollars wasn’t going to happen, either.

My preference would be to shop online, to get a good price, and for returns to be hassle-free. And yes, there’s a store where you can get all of this! Allow me to introduce you toABC Neckties. This site has an EXTENSIVE collection of ties (long ties and bow ties). You can search by price point, by color or even by style. If your guy happens to like wearing novelty ties, they can seriously hook you up. That’s not Tim’s style, but that doesn’t mean that they didn’t have a great selection for him, though.

I snagged a beautiful purple striped tie for Tim on this site. Before I committed to it, I checked out their return policy just in case he didn’t’ like it. You have 30 days to make a return or exchange, and you just have to contact the company to get a return form that you submit with your package. Pretty simple, really. They only charge $2.95 for shipping, and if you spend $30 or more, shipping is free. Nice!

When the tie arrived, I showed it to Tim and asked him what he thought. He REALLY liked it. He commented that he was surprised by the high quality of the tie, and he also thought the style looked really current. Most of his ties are some combination of navy, red and yellow, so a purple tie fills a pretty wide gap in color choices for him. He actually wore it to work the day after it arrived, because he was so happy to have a new tie (that he actually liked) in his collection.

I can tell you now that this tie is going to be one of the ones that sticks around for several years, and joins the ranks of those other handful of ties that have made the cut for Tim.

EDIT: You have GOT to check out this fabulous video series that ABC Neckties has out. They show you how to tie a tie 15 different ways! So cool!

Buy it! If you are looking for a new tie at a reasonable price, check out ABC Neckties. They also offer big and tall ties and boys’ ties! And if you agree with me that Tim’s new tie is fabulous, you can purchase one for $20!

Win it! One lucky reader will receive a $25 gift certificate to ABC Neckties! The contest will run until January 14th at 11:59pm EST when a winner will be selected using Random.org. The winner will have 48 hours to respond to winning notification before the prize is forfeited and a new winner is selected. Open to residents of the United States and Canada. Limit one entrant per household, please.

Mandatory entry: Tell me anything about your (or your man’s) tie collection. Is it out of control? Is it sparse? What kind of ties are we talking about here? Are there any you absolutely love or hate? Anything related to the topic works for me!

My answer: My husband still has the tie that he wore on our wedding day, and I hope he keeps it forever, even if it falls out of style. I smile so much whenever he wears it!

Additional entries:
1. Sponsor love: “Like” ABC Neckties on Facebook and post on their wall that I sent you!
2. Blogger love: Follow Stuff Parents Need on Google Friend Connect (you can find it on my sidebar…it’s super easy to sign up, I promise!)

Be sure to enter my other current giveaways, found on the sidebar of my home page.

Disclosure: I received a complimentary product for review purposes. The opinions expressed here are strictly my own.