The Best Christmas Presents for Men 2014

It's came to that time of the year again whereby we're now past Halloween and the shops are really into the festive swing of things. It's a time of year that everyone gets stressed out for various reasons, even though it's only for one day.

The big question I hear a lot is, what are the best Christmas presents for men in 2014? Unfortunately, there is no one universal gift that you can buy that'll appeal to every man. Due to this, I've put together a small list of presents I feel can really help you out this Christmas.

This may seem like a simple option, but it's something that a lot of people overlook. Thankfully this year you're spoiled for choices with regards to games consoles in that there are three on the market; the Wii U, Playstation 4 and Xbox One.

All of them have their merits as well as their downfalls,although all three would make a great gift. The Wii U in particular has a unique feature in that its main controller has a display built into it. It has a lot of great games, some of which are family friendly. It also has more mature games like Bayonetta 2, as well as Call of Duty. With Mario Kart 8 now available on the Wii U, along with Super Smash Bros coming out later this month you're guaranteed a great time with Wii U.

When it comes to the Playstation 4, you've got the amazing graphics coupled with Blu Ray disc playback and also the legendary Gran Turismo behind it. GTA V is also due out on it soon for those that skipped it last generation and a lot of great games are lined up for it next year.

The Xbox One is also a great choice, and whereas the Playstation 4 has Gran Turiso, Xbox One has Forza, as well as the upcoming release of GTA V. Destiny is also out for both consoles.

Regardless of which one of the three consoles you choose, any of them is worthy of a space on this list of the best Christmas presents for men in 2014.

One thing that's been a staple product for nearly ten years now is Call of Duty. Every year Activision releases their latest version of the franchise, and even if there's not a major overhaul in the gameplay mechanics one thing is for sure; it'll sell like hotcakes. This year, Call of Duty Advanced Warfare will be another big hit.

This bodes well since the large user base means there's going to be a large number of players online. Whilst it has a single player campaign, players spend the longest time part of their in game time on the multiplayer side of things. Due to this, you'll be guaranteed to find someone to play online with at any time of the day, so you'll always be able to play the game. It's available on Steam, Xbox One, PS3, PS4 and Xbox 360. Clicking on the Amazon link below will take you to the Call of Duty order page on Amazon where you can choose the game for the format of your choice.

One of the best things you can get a man for his Christmas in 2014 is an electric shaver. This may seem like a dull present to some people, but these days it pays to be well groomed. It takes away the need to have a time consuming wet shave if you're in a pinch.

Despite it being a quick way to shave, an electric shaver provides an excellent finish. It's especially useful for people that are on the road a lot and may need a quick shave in a hurry. However, if you want the ease of use of an electric shaver along with the quality you get from a wet shave you can get the Philips Norelco AT810/46 Shaver 4100. This allows you to have a wet or dry shave to suit your needs and regardless of what method you use, you're left with a great finish. This is one present that will continue to be used all year round.

These days, eveyone has a smartphone, although not all of these phones are created equal. A big problem that is faced by many is that they see a phone that they like, but they're still in a contract and therefore they'd need to pay their way out of it which can be pretty expensive. The other problem is that the carrier they're with may not have the phone they like, and the user doesn't want to go through the hassle of changing carriers.

The workaround to both of these would be to get a SIM card only contract (nearly all carriers offer this now), and purchase an unlocked phone. By and large, this is always a cheaper option than getting the phone through your carrier. As a case in point, I managed to save £300 by going down this route rather than getting my phone as part of a contract. It also gives you the flexibility to change your contract to another provider at any time since you can get a rolling 30 day contract offer. The thing is though, which smartphone should you choose for a man in Christmas 2014?

The two recommendations are the Moto G and the Moto X. Motorola back in the day were a behemoth of the phone world with the Motorola Razr changing the way people use phones. It was seen as a status symbol, something which was later seen in the iPhone line.

The Moto G has been classed as the best budget smarthphone in 2013 and again in 2014. Don't let the budget moniker put you off though. With a battery that can last several days, sporting Android KitKat and an amazing HD screen, the Moto G has it all. The only area where it lacks slightly is that the camera has been found to be lacking in low light situations. However, it does have a slow motion option on the video camera which is a nice bonus.

The Moto X is the flagship phone of Motorola, and builds on the Moto G. It has all the same great aspects of it, along with a much faster CPU, RAM and also a much better camera and 4G connectivity. It also has an even better battery and the ability to expand the storage of the device.