Holiday Gifts Under $20 for the Sports Fan

Are you ready for some football? Or basketball? Or Hockey? I bet your special sports fan is. But what kind of gift can you get the sports fanatic? There are so many to choose from and if he or she is anything like me when the Duke Blue Devils are playing, the fan is obsessed and will take anything that says his or her favorite team on it. This guide will help you narrow down the search a little bit and even toss up a couple of gift ideas for the special new sports fan. Step into the batter's cage, dig in, and prepare to hit a home run for your sports buddy. Okay, I'll stop with the sports puns now.

1. For the NCAA Basketball fan: T-shirts insulting the rival team. Every good sports fan knows his team's rival. College basketball fans are no exception. The rival teams often meet twice a year, sometimes three times if there is a conference tournament. What better way for a sports fan to express his extreme dislike of the rival team than a witty T-shirt? Most of the time all you have to do is go to the school's official athletics website and you'll find at least three or four gift shirts. Collegegear.com also has a store for every major team. Just type the team name into the search block and hear yourself say "ooh, that's mean! I'll buy it." For Duke fans, I found one that said "If your kid goes to Carolina, you can always have another kid" for 16 bucks easy.

2. For the NFL Football fan: Throw pillows. Face it, sometimes the NFL fan's team doesn't play well. It can be stressing, so instead of throwing a fit, he should throw a pillow (especially you Pittsburgh Steelers fans)! Sportsunlimitedinc.com features plenty of gifts for the NFL fan. Most of them are a bit high, but virtually every throw pillow can be bought for $19.99. Just buy it for the sports fan and tell him it's for sleeping on when his team racks up a big lead.

3. For the new female sports fan: "The Smart Girl's Guide To Sports" by Liz Hartman Musiker is a highly-recommended book for the wife or girlfriend or mom who wants to understand the fascination by their special man's sport. You could find
this in major book stores everywhere, but amazon.com often has a decent price if the local book store is out of stock and you need it fast. For a more focused sports fan, Teena Spencer has written two books, "The Girlfriend's Guide to Hockey" and "The Girlfriend's Guide to Football." They can also be found on Amazon between 10 and 15 bucks. Buy this early and you can have a sports convert on your hands in no time!

4. For the young sports fan: sportskids.com is all you need to know. They have plenty of sports-related gifts for children under $20. I searched for gifts in apparel under $20 and found over 3400 items, right down to clothes and toys for babies. There is a mascot puzzle featuring over 20 NCAA football teams for $17.95. Gotta start 'em young.

5. For the NASCAR fan: Memorabilia.There is no more dedicated fan than a NASCAR fan. It seems like you name it, they got it if their driver's name or number is on it. But 4yourstyleracing.com has a few odds and ends holiday gifts that the NASCAR fan may not have, like tire gauges, light switch plates, collectable tins, and even bottle openers! And guess what? Almost all of them are under 20 bucks! A NASCAR fan can never have enough.

I hope these ideas and websites point you towards the goal line when trying to purchase that special gift for that special sports fan. From brand-new babies to old, die-hard cheer leaders, no sports fan can resist a gift with his or her favorite team name on it.