Fun and inexpensive Father's Day gifts are easy to find. Say thanks to him with gourmet gifts, personalized tools, and activities he didn't even know he could do.
Father's Day is a tricky holiday. Men are hard enough to shop for, and it always seems that dad is the man who has everything. This holiday is to extend gratitude to dads for all the things he provides: advice (whether it was good or bad!), a sense of humor, and encouragement.
The key to finding the perfect Father's Day present is to think of all the things dad likes to do in his leisure time, and what makes him happy. Then take that and relate a gift to it. Whether he loves to fish, grill gourmet meats, golf, listen to music, do extreme sports, or smoke specialty cigars, there are creative gifts for him on Father's Day that he has surely never received before.
The Sports Nut Dad
- Plan a day full of his favorite sport. Take him to the batting cages, the driving range, or attend a basketball or football game. Spring training games and Minor League games are thrifty choices for a dad who loves to go to games.
- Play 9-to-18 holes of golf at a course he has never tried, or his favorite golf course. Make a bet that winner buys a round of drinks or dinner for a little competitive edge.
- Present him with the NFL Game Day Cookbook to throw a great tailgating party on game day next year.
- Buy him some clothing with the logo of his favorite sports team, like a comfortable t-shirt and sweats.
- Provide dad with glasses and snack bowls decorated with his favorite team or sports logo. .
- Surprise him with the NFL Football Follies DVD to have some laughs together.
- Do a double-gift: order golf club covers with the logo of his favorite teams.
The Gourmet/Griller Dad
- Order him a personalized grilling apron with the logo of his favorite sports team or his favorite quote.
- Order specialty meats to the house for grilling. Visit Omaha Steaks to order packages that range from 4 filets to a full meal for six people, including stuffed potatoes, steaks, stuffed Sole, and dessert.
- Enroll him in a Microbrew of the Month Club, a Lobster of the Month Club, a Hot Sauce of the Month Club, or a Cigar of the Month Club, to name a few. These definitely are (as they say in National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation) "gifts that keep on giving all year".
- Get him a home beer-brewing kit and create a hobby of brewing beer together then bottling it, ranging from strawberry to dark ales.
- Customize a beer tap handle with his favorite sports team or initials.
- Get him a gift certificate to his favorite restaurant so he can go out and enjoy the free meal as he pleases.
- For the man who loves gourmet meats, get him the Instant Marinator. This marinates the meat by opening up the meat's pores, giving meat a 12-hour marinade within a few minutes.
- Get him a thermometer grilling fork for the dad who loves to grill. This regular BBQ elongated fork has a thermometer in the end of it, displaying the meat's temperature constantly.
The Dad Who Loves the Outdoors and Adventure
- Spend a day cleaning and polishing up dad's boat, RV, ATV's, car, or whatever other vehicle he cherishes.
- Personalize a pocket knife for him by getting his initials engraved in it or a design.
- Surprise him with the Stock Car Driving Experience. Take him to the local raceway (not available in all locations) and let him experience driving or riding in a racing stock car. It is a fast-paced, loud, exciting experience he's sure to never forget.
- Go out on a hiking and camping trip the Saturday night before Father's Day to a nature site he's never been to.
- Go skydiving, for the extreme sport enthusiasts.
- Provide him with a portable hammock for camping and tailgating. These are easy to fold up and set up, and are not very expensive.
The Traveler and Businessman Dad
- Help dad charge all of his electronic devices anytime, anywhere (as long as there is sunshine) with the Solio device. It is a solar-powered charger that will charge anything from his phone to his GPS.
- Get him an XM Radio to use on business trips to keep up on his favorite music and news.
- Go with him wherever he travels by hooking a digital frame key chain to his keys. Upload picture of his family to the keychain.
- Make a custom mouse pad with pictures on it for his desk.
- Print pictures on photo bookends for his desk. These are usually bound in leather and very elegant looking.
Present dad with one of these gifts on Father's Day and he is sure to be surprised and remember it forever.
Copyright Lauren Wise. Contact the author to obtain permission for republication.
Lauren Wise - Lauren Wise has a BA in Journalism with an emphasis on Media Analysis and Criticism from the Walter Cronkite School of ...
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