Christmas Gifts for Your Brother-in-Law (Funny, Useful, and Safe Bets)

Finding Christmas gifts for your brother-in-law is hard for a simple reason: you know him from family dinners, not from everyday life. A brother-in-law can be your sister's husband, your spouse's brother, or your spouse's sister's husband (Wikipedia: Sibling-in-law), and you might see any of them only a few times a year. This guide skips the guesswork: pick by what he does when everyone is together. You'll find 12 ideas, funny ones and practical ones, plus a section for the brother-in-law who has everything. Two picks come from our shop, the Beer Mortar and the CapBlast; the rest you can find anywhere.

Key Takeaways

• Pick by habit: the grill, the bar, the game or the stories.
• Funny works when the joke is about the object, not about him.
• For the brother-in-law who has everything, give something he'll use up or do.
• Agree on the gift with your partner and sign it from both of you.
• Every idea here has an alcohol-free version.

How to choose when you don't know him that well

Watch the next family get-together, or ask your partner these four questions:

1. Where is he during the party? At the grill, behind the drinks table, in front of the TV or at the center of the conversation.
2. What does he complain about? A dull knife, an opener that always goes missing, a team that keeps losing. A complaint is a gift idea.
3. What does he already own too much of? Mugs, socks and novelty T-shirts usually.
4. What does the family usually spend? Use the same level. A gift that costs much more than his gift to you makes Christmas morning awkward.

If you draw his name in a family Secret Santa, the same questions apply, and our guide to funny Secret Santa gifts for men has more small ideas.

Gifts for the brother-in-law who grills

Photo: Shixart1985 / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0)

1. An instant-read meat thermometer

A thermometer with a fast digital readout takes the guessing out of chicken and thick steaks.

2. A large cutting board

A thick board with a juice groove gets used for resting meat, carving and serving. Wrap it with a pair of heat-resistant grill gloves if you want to make it a set.

3. A rub or hot sauce sampler

A box of three or four rubs or sauces is something he'll use up, which matters if his shelves are already full. Check the label for heat levels if he's not a fan of spicy food.

Gifts for the brother-in-law who hosts

4. A cap-launching opener for his bar

If he's the one handing out drinks at every family party, give him a show piece. The Beer Mortar sits on the cap, takes one palm strike and sends the cap flying straight up while the bottle opens. It works on any glass bottle with a crown cap, so sodas and alcohol-free beers get a turn too. Aim straight up into open space, never toward people, pets or faces, and keep it out of children's reach, which matters at a family Christmas with kids around. Our guide to what a beer mortar is and how to use it walks through the motion.

5. Glassware he'll actually use

Two or four good glasses beat a boxed set of twelve. Look at what he pours, then match the shape: our beer glass types guide explains which glass suits which style.

6. A bar towel and coaster set

It isn't flashy, but anyone who hosts goes through towels and loses coasters. For more ideas in the same spirit, see our list of man cave bar gift ideas.

Gifts for the brother-in-law who watches the game

7. A keyring opener for watch parties

When he watches the game at a friend's place, the opener is never where it should be. A slim lever on his keys solves it. The CapBlast is a stainless steel lever made for one-handed opening and small enough for a keyring. Our guide to the best keychain bottle opener explains what to look for.

8. Tickets to a game, together

If you get along, two tickets for a game next season (one for him, one for you or your partner) turn a gift into a day out. If you're not that close yet, give both tickets to him and let him choose who to bring.

9. Something for his team

A scarf, a mug or a framed print from a historic game. Check with your partner first: getting the team wrong is worse than giving no team gift at all.

Gifts for the brother-in-law who tells the stories

10. A book of bar tricks

The relative who always has a story usually likes having a new one. A book of bar tricks and puzzles gives him material for the next dinner. Our post on bar tricks and bets you can win gives a sample of the genre, all played for bragging rights.

11. A card or tabletop game for family gatherings

A game that plays well with six or more people gets brought out every time the family meets. Pick one with short rounds so the kids and the grandparents can join in.

Funny gifts for your brother-in-law

A funny gift is a novelty item: something valued more for the laugh or the conversation than for its use (Wikipedia: Novelty item). With a brother-in-law, the safest joke is one that's also useful.

12. A novelty bottle opener

A wall-mounted opener with a cap catcher, a magnetic fridge opener, or the Beer Mortar above. All three get used every week and make people ask about them. Browse our novelty bottle openers page or the roundup of funny bottle openers for the home bar.

Three rules for the funny gift:

• Joke about the object, not the man. Nothing about his weight, his hair, his job or his marriage.
• Nothing that embarrasses him in front of his kids or his parents. The whole family will see it opened.
• Nothing that pushes drinking. Skip beer bongs, giant novelty glasses and drinking-game kits. NIAAA defines binge drinking as about five or more drinks for men, or four or more for women, in around two hours (NIAAA); a Christmas present shouldn't push anyone that way.

Gifts for the brother-in-law who has everything

When he owns every gadget already, give something he will use up or do:

• Something to use up: coffee from a local roaster, a hot sauce sampler, a box of craft sodas.
• Something to do: a brewery tour, a cooking class, a game day out.
• Something new for an old habit: if he hosts, the Beer Mortar gives him a new way to open the bottles he already serves.

Our guide to Christmas gifts for the dad who has everything takes the same problem further, with ideas sorted by type of dad.

Which gift fits your brother-in-law?

A note on age and alcohol

Alcohol gifts are for adults of legal drinking age: 21 in the US under the National Minimum Drinking Age Act, and 18 to buy alcohol in the UK (GOV.UK). If your brother-in-law doesn't drink or is cutting back, every idea above works without alcohol, and NIAAA's Rethinking Drinking site has practical tips.

The bottom line

The best Christmas gifts for your brother-in-law come from watching what he does when the family is together. The griller gets a thermometer or a board, the storyteller gets a book of tricks, and the one who has everything gets something to use up or do. For the brother-in-law who runs the drinks, the Beer Mortar gives the next party a show, and the CapBlast stays on his keys for game day. Shipping is free on both. For more ideas, see our gifts for beer lovers page.