I got a Father’s Day gift for your dad. But why am I buying stuff for your dad? It’s not what you think! We’re just good friends.
Actually, I’ve been meaning to make little surprises for you guys for years, but it’s kind of labor intensive, and expensive, and I suck at errands, and there’s a lot of reality TV between me and my grand ideas. You understand. I finally got my act together because Sandisk slotRadio offered to foot the bill for my theme-gifts project, as long as they got to pick the themes. Of course, they threw in some slotRadios too. Sweet.
They picked Father’s Day, so I made a Lazy Sunday Kit, which contains restful things. Would you like to know what’s in it? Yes:
The Aforementioned slotRadio
It’s like a walkman, but instead of CDs or tapes, you put in a little memory card that comes preloaded with music you didn’t have to download. This one comes with 1,000 Billboard songs, but you can buy other cards if you like. Also, there’s room for you to upload your own mixes if you want to hear something that’s not on the card.
A One-Year Subscription to The Week Magazine
I’ve told you about this epic magazine before on The Morning News. Here’s what I said:
The Week is a news digest for the impatient and globally curious. Say you had a genius friend who read three-dozen of the world’s best newspapers every day. Then say that friend agreed to write a summary for you featuring all the best stuff he found on every subject.
That’s The Week—excerpts from the top columns, news articles, business deals, real estate, gossip, and even TV listings. Best of all, it’s slim enough to fold in half and read during one good, long soak in the tub. You’ll emerge wrinkled, but utterly prepared for the most arduous cocktail party.
Warning! This will be shipped to whatever address the winner provides. So you’ll need to think really hard about how much your dad means to you.
Oxo No-Spill Travel Mug
A travel mug with an agreeable clicky button on the top that opens and closes the cup when you press it. You could practically throw the thing in a bag and it wouldn’t spill. Genius. Now dad can read his magazine anywhere he wants.
The Perfect Cube Silicone Ice Cube Trays
These make excellent, perfectly cubular ice cubes. I’m including these instead of a bottle of bourbon, because I technically have no idea who you are. You could be like sixteen, and Bam! You’re corrupted. Suddenly I’m a corruptor. Anyway, please use these perfect ice cubes in the tasty beverage of your choice — cocktail or otherwise. Kids, stay away from drugs.
Now, isn’t that a nice present? I think so too. I spent a lot of time agonizing at the mall today. Anyway, if you want it, or your dad does, here’s the deal. First you have to live in the continental U.S. or Canada. If you do, please leave a comment below about the ideal Father’s Day gift. Be sure to include your email address in the field provided (so I can reach you if you win) by June 12, 2009 at 12 a.m. EST. Just one comment, please. I have to delete duplicates for fairness. Random.org will decide who wins, and I’ll contact the lucky via email. I’ll also tell you who won here.
So, ready? Best Father’s Day Gift on record? Aaaand go!
Mighty Girl 
My dad likes hugs.
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I am going to play the death card. No seriously, my father passed away this past Christmas so this gift would be perfect for my husband, who takes the cake with being a great parent. He is so good infact, that I get told by my four year old that dad is his favorite. i agree with him every time! But the best father’s day present I ever gave was a macaroni encrusted picture frame of me. He kept it in his office and they mailed it to me when he passed away. I will always treasure it.
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Not having spent much of my life actually living with my dad, I think the best Father’s day gift is one of time spent getting to know each other a bit better.
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I’ve already gotten my Dad two peach trees to plant on his farm (he gets fruit trees every year)…I work in Conservation, so it’s a given! My hub, who is also a Dad would love these great giveaways!
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My dad turns 80 shortly after Father’s day. He’s spending his birthday visiting me in Kenya. His first trip to Africa, I’m getting him a Safari hat and shirt for Father’s day and his b-day. Can’t wait to see the Savannah with him!
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The best gift really is time together. I am making my Dad a nice dinner. That along with grand kids crawling all over him is what makes him happy.
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I’m a horribly broke college student and any man with a 21-year-old daughter and a 5-year-old son (same mother! still married!) deserves a killer Father’s Day Present. So far, I have come up with booze. A little unimaginative, yes, but – hey! He works two jobs and has earned it. And, luckily, he’s a happy drunk.
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I think my father in law would love a hammock. Or a new attachment for his tractor.
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My dad would love an Adult Tricycle. He’s 84 but still likes to ride with the wind in his face.
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Every year, my dad and I go to dinner and a movie for Father’s Day. Actually, we go the next weekend so that everyone else in my family can come over to celebrate all the dads in our lives.
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My husband would definitely say all he wants for father’s day is to SLEEP IN!
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My ideal Father’s Day gift for my dad would be a week long guided fishing trip. He loves to fish but doesn’t get to go as often as he would like. He not only works full-time but he watches my twin toddlers one day a week! I love my dad and he’d love these toys!
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I think my dad would consider a plasma cutter to be the ideal gift for Father’s Day. I wish I could give him one! That would be neat.
What he’ll get is another Border’s gift certificate so he can buy himself some CDs.
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I think my Dad would totally dig the radio. He’s just got through his first cancer scan and the results are looking good. But, he still feels awful. I think he’d love this and the subscription. He’s also really love a fly-fishing trip and to be able to taste a decent meal (cancer killed the tastebuds, hopefully temporarily).
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My husband’s birthday falls on Father’s Day this year. Wouldn’t this be a wonderful surprise. Beats the video game our 12 year old boy wants to get him. Hmm. Video game – kinda like a bowling ball with the name Homer on it isn’t it?
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My husband would love it if I took our two kids, and left him alone so he could be home alone. Then he could nap endlessly, or watch mindless sports on tv. An hour in, and he would then call me to say he misses us and to please come home and bring him a cheesesteak on the way.
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A homemade pecan pie is my dad’s gift this year.
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I would love nothing more than to be able to tell my dad that he’s going to be a grandfather on fathers day. Fingers crossed for the plus sign!
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My Dad is lovely man, which can mean that he drives me crazy because he’s always concerned about my, and my female friends, safety and general well being. He is the kind of guy who if you have a late night class will show up outside the University in his giant van and load every girl in your class onboard and then drive around the city for an hour making sure everyone gets home safe because it is (quote)”cold and dark out”. He snowblows out other people’s walk ways in the winter, mows the boulevard in the summer and will pick up your mail when you are away even if you didn’t ask him to. I am still in school and cannot afford all the fantastic things that he deserves. He’s aces.
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This would be a great gift for my husband–otherwise he is not up for a gift since I got him a Harley for his 50th last year. My dad? He’s more of a tractor guy. ;~)
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The ideal father’s day gift would be one where I managed to pick something my dad actually wanted and I didn’t always feel like I was letting him down. I always dream of something fantastically out of reach, novels I wish we could talk about, or movies I wish he would see. Conversations I wish we could have about the things we believe, yet we never will. The best father’s day gift would be reconciliation, but I don’t know how to make that happen.
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Argh, I never know what to buy my dad! Probably a perfect Father’s Day for him would be as follows: get up early, play a round of golf, go see a movie of his choosing with the whole family, grill something tasty for dinner, grab a bowl of chocolate ice cream and watch 24, asleep on the sofa by 9PM.
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My dad is fairly simple when it comes to gifts, I just have to make him a pie or two and he will be happy. This year its going to be cherry. This is the only time of the year that he gets pie as my mom won’t make them since they are bad for him and he will eat the whole thing!
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Best father’s day gift – I’m a huge baseball fan and like to take trips to ballparks around the country. My wife made me an enormous scrap book containing all the photos, scorecards, ticket stubs, etc. from games that we’ve attended over the years.
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What my dad loves most is time with us, his children. I love him for that.
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My dad passed away a few years ago, but for my husband, I am putting together a picture from his childhood, sitting on the front lawn with his beloved dog. Framed nicely for his office…it will mean the world to him.
In my experience, men don’t frame anything, but are happy to display pictures when you do it for them. So I think framed photos are a great present!
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Both my husband and my dad would enjoy those gifts. And I would say time with their loved ones is the best gift. And maybe a tee time. 😉
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Best fathers day gift for my Dad would be uninterrupted time to sing along loudly with his beloved Opera/Caruso CDs, a bottle of good red and some high fat cheese and baguette… stuff he’s not supposed to have any more but screw it, he’s 75. He would Love the subscription to The Week.
For my Husband, I think best fathers day gift is a sleep in, afternoon riding his motorcycle (that has been parked 98% of the time since our twins were born and he became a SAHD) and a BBQ steak dinner where he doesn’t have to refill sippy cups or bribe anyone to “just try one bite…it is supposed to be green, its yummy nummy!”
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My dad’s favorite gift? Chrome (chrome for the holidays you know). For his harley. Or really, anything that he can use while riding his harley or make him wish he was riding his harley.
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My dad was over-the-top selfless, so Father’s Day always ended up having good things for everyone else (sometimes he’d even buy us presents), and maybe a few things my dad liked. But I know his ideal Father’s Day would have involved everyone sitting in the living room and sharing what they’re thankful for, what God is doing in their life, what they’ve been learning lately, etc. That’s what he requested on every birthday and holiday. And then maybe he would have liked to go play soccer (his favorite sport) as a family. And then I think he would have liked to be left alone to sleep (which rarely happened), although he probably wouldn’t ask for it.
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Last year we lost our beloved family dog to cancer and I know my husband is ready for another. I’m thinking of surprising him for Father’s Day. He’s a terrific dad to our 3 little girls and could use a boy dog to balance out the ratio!
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The gift that always makes him smile: a coupon for a day of antiquing together–we love to treasure hunt together! When he finds something special, I buy it for him to remember our day!
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What a great set of nifty things! Sounds perfect for my brother-in-law who’s about to be a new dad in the next week or so 🙂
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The best present for my Dad is one that’s not a tie! I did that one for years. =) Really, the one thing I gave him that he still has and talks about, is a card I made in college with a picture of us and words cut out of magazines that make me think of him. He loves that thing. Here’s hoping I win, he deserves it.
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My husband would love these gifts. Fingers crossed:)
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For my dad it would be a fishing trip, maybe to Florida or some place tropical. We used to go all the time when I was a little girl, but he could spend all day fishing if you let him.
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My dad is hard to get gifts for, he never offers up any other suggestion than “a hug and kiss”, or, now that we’re living away, “to see you soon.” Also happens to be my favorite gift to give….
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My Dad would love a good bottle of Glenfiddich and some kind of best-of This American Life. Wow. Writing that out makes it clear that he’s pretty cool.
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Every year I get my dad a bag of “goodies” from the Sierra Nut House–pistachios, almonds, walnuts, cashews, dried fruit, sunflower seeds, etc. And sometime a book (he loves trivia)…this year he is getting Stupid American History: Tales of Stupidity, Strangeness, and Mythconceptions.
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I like to try and find a new CD or book that my dad hasn’t heard of yet. We have similar tastes in many regards, and we were able to share a lot of music and literature when I was growing up. Now my perfect gift is surprising him by showing off the eclectic tastes he passed on to me!
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It was always breakfast in bed when I was little, then a Louis L’Amour book until he had them all…now, some sort of computer relate gizmo. Dad’s love gizmos!
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My Dad may not think it’s the BEST gift, but it’s my favorite present every year. I renew my Dad’s subscription to Smithsonian Magazine. I know he reads it (Mom does too), and it’s as simple as checking a box on a reminder post card each year.
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My mother has been staying with her palliative father in Nova Scotia now for about 5 months, so for Father’s Day my brother and I are sending my Dad (we live in Ottawa, Ontario)down to see her. We’ve booked hotels along the way, as he’ll be driving since she’s in a very rural part of francophone N.S.
This includes loading up his ipod with new music and podcasts, and preparing picnic lunches and snacks for the trip up.
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For my dad usually a good bottle of wine does the trick. It’s not my most imaginative holiday.
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My dad is notoriously hard to shop for; he buys himself anything he wants, and his interests are fairly technical so you dare not guess. But I felt like I pulled off a good father’s day gift last year for him. He loves photography, and is an avid flickr user. After a trip to Taiwan he was telling me about how fun it was to meet lots of people and write down his flickr address so they could share photos he had taken. A lightbulb went off and I spent a great deal of time picking a selection of his most interesting/picturesque flickr photos, then had Moo cards made with his name and flickr address. Now he can just had one out to each of those people he meets. He had never heard of Moo cards and he was surprised and touched at the care I’d put into picking the pictures. I think he really liked it, and I was proud of myself for coming up with something he needed but didn’t know to buy for himself (for once)!
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Best gift is time spent fishing.
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The perfect fathers day would be full day of carb- and red meat-laden cooking and eating with my dad. Pasta-making, bread-baking, meat-grilling, wine-drinking. And lots of olives.
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I think the perfect Father’s Day gift for my dad would be for him to wake up and find out that he has two completely different kids. Like, maybe one (or both) of us is a boy, who loves to go golfing with him. And that we call him all the time just to say hi. It’s not that my sister and I don’t love our dad and don’t like spending time with him. But he’s an introverted guy and we’ve always felt more connected to our mom. I think he wishes we came to him for more than just his opinion on cars.
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The perfect Father’s Day gift for my dad would be me and my sister surprise visiting him, and taking him and my mom on a day trip to go fishing with a new GPS that we got him so he doesn’t get lost when he scours new fishing holes. And all of the things on the above list would be perfect for this trip!
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The only thing my Dad wants for father’s day is time with his kids and grandkinds, which seems like a cop out on my sister’s and my side because we do that once a week and are getting off way too easy. I think that perfectly cubed ice cubes are a close second for him.
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