Father's Day Gift Ideas, From a Guy

I thought I had come up with the perfect Father's Day gift idea for Hubster this year. That is until his genius BFF showed him the tweet where I was asking for recommendations for an electric shaver. I swear, sometimes guys just don't think. I thought I would have to go back to square one, but instead I got some recommendations from a dad to share with everyone. 
 

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Gift Guide for a Happy Dad

I know how hard fathers are to buy gifts for. We tend to buy what we want when we want it and when you ask us what we want we can never come up with a good answer. I come from a long line of men who are difficult to buy for, who say thank you for the hammer or the tie, then toss it in the back of the closet where it won’t be seen until next year’s neighborhood garage sale. So instead of the usual dad gifts, I’m going to offer what I think are some better suggestions.

Ties/Socks

If your father dresses in business formal on a daily basis, he has enough ties, and if he’s going through socks so fast that you need to replace them for every gift giving occasion, he probably has some sort of foot disorder that needs a doctor’s attention. If you tend to like to go the clothing route, how about getting him a gift certificate to a tailor? That way he can get something that he likes and have it custom fit. Not only will he have an article of clothing he loves, but it will make him confident to wear it.

Tools

Another obvious gift choice for dads includes some variation of a tool, lawn care item, or garage organizer. Honestly, I’ve always thought that this is the equivalent of giving a mother an iron or vacuum. That isn’t a gift for a person, it’s a gift for a house. If you are giving the house a gift, make it something my whole family can enjoy. How about a game of Kan Jam that I can play with the kids or a basketball hoop? That way we all get an item we can enjoy together.

Razors/Shaving Accessories

I’m pretty sure that every father I know has a drawer filled with various clipper heads. The best part is I don’t think a single one of my friends clips his own hair. We all head to the barber. So how about we take a page from the ‘gifts for moms’ playbook and offer us gentlemen some pampering? I would love a couple gift certificates to my local barber for a shave. Granted, it’s always a little nerve wracking letting someone near my throat with a razor, but as long as I’m not headed to Fleet Street Shaving Emporium, I leave with a close, tight shave, feeling great.

Hobby Trinkets

When I started playing golf, everyone gave me golf accessories for gift giving occasions. When I wanted to try fishing, I received a ton of lures. When I was trying to eat better, everyone gave me healthy cookbooks. Oddly enough, I never used any of the golf accessories and the lures were for a completely different type of fish than what I wanted to catch. I pop open the cookbooks occasionally but they mostly collect dust. I know people mean well, and of course I appreciate any gift I get, but I can tell you what I would have preferred. When I was starting out golfing, I would have loved to get a gift certificate to a course I hadn’t tried yet, or even better, golf lessons. When I was fishing, having a local guide take me out would have been awesome.

I think the common tie with all of these suggestions is that rather than focus on just phoning it in and getting your dad one of the basic gifts, consider offering a bit more of an experience, or just something that the father in your life would really get value from. Or just get us barbecue accessories we always need those.

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Blake Daniels is a stay at home dad living with his wife and 2 sons in upstate New York. When he isn't blogging you can find him working on various home improvement projects, spending time with his family and pursuing a healthy lifestyle. If anyone has any questions for Blake feel free to email him at bdaniels589@gmail.com

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