I would get him some cool little grill or something similar for tailgating parties or gift certificates for some of the places he hangs out in with his friends or a pair of tickets to a baseball game for next year (football tickets are probably too expensive, but you can still get baseball tix for a reasonable price). I would steer away from the home stuff.

How about a pullover/3/4zip up in his favorite sports team?
Throw, insulated beer mug, tie, in his team logo.

We're big hockey fans so several CBJ items for my sons/hubby under the tree.

Nice pair of Nike sweatpants and a tee shirt to hang out around the house in?

Some sports memorabilia of his favorite team is always good: t-shirts, hats, gloves, a throw, hoodie if he wears those.

Restaurant gift cards, supermarket gift cards, car wash gift cards.

I got DH a good grill mitt from C&B. Grill tools, also good.

I agree, barware, pint glasses, shot glasses, mugs. You can get a lot of team logos in Tervis. Free shipping ends today.

I`d look in to tailgating goodies. Most sporting goods stores have great ideas of things one can use while tailgating. Does he attend a lot of games? If so, stadium gifts are good-weather appropriate wear. Hand warmers, stadium seat cushions, etc. If not, then maybe a cooler with his fave team logo he can bring to tailgate events.

Sun/warm weather things for baseball season at the ball park. Some binoculars?
A radio for the play commentary?

What about something for his cats?

How about a few bottles of his favorite wine or liquor or a case or two of his favorite beer.....

I was going to suggest the book Total Baseball (it's a tome full of just about everything you'd ever want to know about baseball) but it's above your price limit. My DH loves it though. Other baseball or football books might be good ideas.

Gsciencechick said it first, but large Tervis tumblers. They don't sweat on the furniture and can go in the dishwasher unlike some of the less expensive brands. Everyone I know loves them!

I would get him a gift ctf for a massage.

Thank you all for your thoughtful replies!
Cyn: He already has everything, seatwarmers, weber q, and season tickets to games although not football although he goes to many games. But again, out of the range.
I am considering a restaurant gift certificate but clients/his company take him out all the time to great places.

Carol: he doesn't really need more of that kind of stuff and what he REALLY wants and has some of, is original football jerseys worn by his favorite players. Sigh. Big bucks.
He always needs work clothes. Not more "fun" clothes.

Gscience: he already has lots of that kind of stuff. Including waterford barware that was my mothers. So he has the functional and the beautiful.

Pesky: he has all that. I take back that he is not into gadgets. He is and has lots of them! But not silly faux luxury stuff like a silver beer can holder.

Joannie: he doesn't drink much at all. A couple cases of Dr. Pepper? lol

Roses: I think he would think it was dated. He is very current, has gotten The Sporting News for years, is wildly involved in fantasy football..

Fun: maybe...I tend to think he lots of that stuff but I will look into them.

Mtnr: possibly. I think he might like that. One of his best friends is a chiropractor and has treated him free for years so he does have that all the time.

Regarding the home stuff, he did appreciate it as he likes his house to look good and not have to think about it. The shower curtain/towels didn't have a wow factor certainly and weren't fun, but months later, when he had company, he was glad his spare bathroom looked good. He liked the sheets I've bought too.

Ok, so you see where I am at! I would like to avoid gift certificates and have a real present under the tree but maybe no can do.

He wanted to get some new ornaments for his tree this year, he said all his were old looking. I showed him my vintage ones piled in a vintage dough bowl and said "like these? yep, he doesn't want that kind anymore.
(and they can't be too big like all my huge mercury ones on my tree)
So, we talked about places to look for them and he headed off to Target to buy some....and bought a new tv instead!

LOL that's funny Bumble.

How about an iphone case that is also a wallet? There are a lot different types.

It sounds random, but I mention it because it is one of the gifts I got DH. He saw one at the Apple store and expressed some interest, but didn't like that particular style.

Fingers crossed he liked the style I chose; buying a wallet for a man is about as easy as buying a purse for woman!

Those wallet cases are mentioned in various Great Gifts for Men, I will look at them. I don't know what kind of phone he has though, it could be a nook, need to find out first.

Crossing my fingers for you, hope he likes what you picked!

Some of the gifts that have gone over well here with brothers or boyfriends.. under armour. ALL the guys in my family love it and wear it in the winter. GOOD socks.. the ones none of them will pay for. Noise cancelling headphones. the dvd Searching for Sugarman. Concert tickets. Books (the David Byrne's How Music Works was a hit).

Finally, if he likes pistachios, this Hillborn Pottery pistachio dish was a surprise win-- I needed a last minute gift and bought two. Gave one to my dad and one to the bf. They both came back later and said what a brilliant idea .. they always piled up their shells! LOL I bought mine locally but I see there are a number of places selling them.

Here is a link that might be useful: pistachio dishes

What about either a charging STATION or a charging PAD for his electronic devices? I'm thinking of getting one of them for my DH. I really like the idea of a charging PAD where all you do is set your device down on the pad and it charges, but they are pricier than a charging STATION.

I have this same brother.....I got him a g/c to a meat market and one of those "as seen on tv" tortilla pan kits with some tortilla fixings. You literally throw a tortilla in one pan for 7 minutes in the oven and it comes out adorable. Even he can do this. Scramble some hamburger, add salsa etc....
Thought it was a cute and different idea~
good luck~

Does he use an iPad? I have a speaker stand for it that I really like. It also acts as charger. The charging station above is good.

I also got DH a leather organizer where he can place his keys, wallet, etc. for the dresser.

Here is a link that might be useful: iPad speaker stands

I have three of these brothers. Christmas is always a fun time. (Not.)

Does he have Netflix or Hulu Plus? You can give him several months of streaming video, if he likes to watch TV.

A "luxury" brand of something he uses often? Like gourmet coffee or chocolate or nachos?

If he has a favorite movie or TV show, something related to that? I knitted one brother a Doctor Who scarf last year and he loved it.

Even though he's not into gadgets, what about one of those emergency radios? The ones with a flashlight and charging port, that run on batteries but can also be hand-cranked. Nearly everyone has power outages at some point, and needs some emergency gear.

Two places I've found good gifts for my brothers: Restoration Hardware and ThinkGeek. Check out RH's gift section--look at the stocking stuffers. There are a lot of ideas there. ThinkGeek does have a lot of techy stuff, but there's some useful home gadgets there as well. In addition to a cat hammock that my cats just love. (Would he like a gift for the cats?) It's a good place for outside-the-box gifts. Granted, he is probably not going to want the Zombie Apocalypse Garden Gnomes, but they have a lot of iPhone and iPad accessories, desk/office stuff, and a lot of things related to coffee and bacon, which a lot of guys seem to like.

I have a dog in my lap so am typing slowly with one hand.... i need to find out what kind of phone he has, i like the charging pad idea too....food wise, he eats out all the time or it's frozen in a box. seriously. turning the oven on or bacon is too much cooking!
Pistachios? maybe.... they are kind of a social thing and he doesn't have people over.

I am also considering a bunch of ornaments for his tree and some frozen, homemade dinners. He loves it when I make lasagna pans for the freezer for him and I could do some roast beef dinners too.
Movies, he records when we have free hbo weekends and never has time to watch them. All those football, baseball and basketball games, ya know...
Besides, he would rather go to the theater with friends.

I feel for you all with similar brothers!

don't know about the cats, I think they are fine, have a new tree.

funky - there is such a thing as a pistachio dish! Thank you for the information. Gotta love GW - I should keep a notebook next to my laptop to jot down all the interesting, unique and helpful things I learn here.

I always give my kids pistachios for Christmas - next year I'll give them a pistachio bowl too.

When my brother was a bachelor, he really needed sheets for his bed.

very cute idea, but spam is not welcome and you've posted this same exact wording on numerous threads.