This June holiday is just around the corner and it is not too early to start thinking about what would be the appropriate gift for dear old dad. Before setting off to purchase a present for dad you need to know his interests. This can be easy information to attain for some, but other children seem to lose touch with what their father’s hobbies are.
For years my dad was always interested in golfing and fishing as he participated in both sports with his family and friends. He made it easy for us to purchase a gift since all we had to do is peruse the sporting goods store and buy him a gift in as little as five minutes. Times have changed now as my dad has aged and so has his body. He isn’t up for golf anymore as he has undergone few leg surgeries and finds the golf outing to be more of a marathon than a leisurely outing.
A mother is usually a good reference point when it comes to giving you the idea for dad’s day. My dad is not always forthcoming with his own personal interests, but he does communicate to my mom on a daily basis what his likes and dislikes are. If you are in a quandary as to what to purchase for your father, reach out to mom or even one of your dad’s friends to gather some ideas on what dad’s latest and greatest adventures are.
Supplement Dad’s Hobbies
My dad is a cooking nut. He watches culinary competition cooking shows and seems to have an insatiable desire to see every cooking show that is aired on these networks. This year we gave my father a year subscription to a gourmet cooking magazine for his birthday. He really enjoyed the thought and looks forward to getting the magazine every month.
Lesson learned. If you want to get dad a winner, find out his hobby and shop for any appropriate accessory or wish list item you think he may need to push his hobby to the next level. The hobby expense might be signing dad up for a class, purchasing a magazine subscription, or getting him that latest and greatest accessory for his play time.
Appeal to the soft side – Multi Media
I used to think photo albums and scrap books were lame. They aren’t. There are not too many dads out there that pass up a collection of photos of family and friends whether it is covering the past year, past five years, or past fifty years. Once a father opens up the book, he will become entranced seeing a history of holiday celebrations, little league games, and fun fishing outings. Keep it lighthearted and throw in some funny pages wherever possible.
If photographs aren’t your thing, you might want to gather a collection of videos that either you possess or mom, aunts, or uncles have and create a movie montage of your family’s special events. These days, old home movie reel tapes and VHS tapes can be converted to DVD by a professional. Such gifts as these will be very tough to top by anyone. A good technician will have the ability to take certain moments out of each individual tape to provide you with a great montage.
Classic Gifts
If the ideas mentioned above do not meet you or your dad’s wish list, you might want to consider the classic ideas. Dads always like tools or gift cards from home improvement centers. They also enjoy items that pertain to grilling as Memorial Day and Father’s day kick off the summer grilling season.
Other classic gifts include a sporting goods store gift card or a night out for dinner at one of your father’s favorite restaurants.
