Dads and fathers are treasures. In many households, there are father figures, but the actual dad or father is not willing to accept the responsibility of children. Those men who do fill in that vacuum, which is so necessary for the proper growth and development of both boys and girls, are very much treasured – more so in society today than some may want us to believe.
Dads and fathers are treasured because they seem to be a bit more endangered these days than in the “old days” of the nuclear family. Boys and girls have always appreciated a male figure to guide them through life, teach them discipline, hard work, and protecting those we love and providing what is needed – food, shelter, love, honesty, and support.
Recognize the Father
Whether you are a religious type, a spiritual type or a secular one, there is always a father in our lives that goes above and beyond the male elders in our lives. No matter what we call the Creator of the universe, the “father” of the universe is who (or what) we are all trying to express. And fathers don’t have to remain in the male presence, either.
There are fatherly qualities that exist in both men and women who have responsibility or accountability for children in this world. We should recognize those who have these qualities – strength, independence, intelligence, courage, patience, self-discipline, protection, pride, confidence. We appreciate and learn many of our values from men and male figures who best epitomize these qualities, and Father’s Day is a chance to show our appreciation for these qualities.
Whether the father figure is a biological dad, a stepdad, a grandfather, an uncle or just a family friend, anyone who expresses these fatherly qualities as a reflection of the father of the universe – whatever or whomever you think that is – is worthy to be honored and given gratitude and appreciation for the work he does to enhance our lives.
In that vein, we are happy to help you come up with great gift ideas for the father figure in your life in 2018. Father’s Day is just a few days away, so you might have to hustle to get these, but we’ll help you with your research by providing for you, in one place, 10 great gifts for Dad – curated to appeal to all different kinds of dads. Because we know that every dad is unique and should not be pigeonholed into a necktie.
Dad’s Got Something Brewing
If your dad is a coffee connoisseur (or a snob), he is one who takes a dim if not an outright cynical view of those Keurig K-cup pods of coffee. He is usually a whole-bean kind of guy, right? But while he is a fan of French press, he often works and never has time to just enjoy a cup of coffee.
If he is one who is on the road and would rather drink coffee in his car, he should not have to sacrifice flavor for convenience. And now he doesn’t have to, thanks to a 22-count package of K-cup packages by Lavazza, available for less than $20 on Amazon.
Hey There, Mr.
Many women, wives, mothers, and daughters, love a man or a dad who smells good. Not only do we like when he showers – and uses that stuff called soap! – but we also like his natural scent as well as those brought forth by a cologne that does not overwhelm.
Burberry is one of the great fashion brands in the world, and especially when it comes to men’s fashion. One of the fashion items for men is cologne, and Burberry now has you covered. To make your dad a fashion plate, consider buying him the Festive Set for $100, which consists of a home bottle of Mr. cologne and a travel-size bottle. The set can be found at the company website, burberry.com.
A Light in Your Pocket
Our smartphones have evolved into quite the dynamic little computers over the last 10-plus years since the invention of the iPhone. Over the last decade, the mobile phone has become so much more than a phone – we can surf the web, conduct research, have video conference calls with clients from a taxi or hotel room (or the beach!), check news and sports scores, order take-out or delivery food, hire a rideshare, check account balances at our bank, watch television, get directions – and now take professional-caliber photographs!
Technology has been amazing, and there are literally thousands of apps now that can give our smartphones the power to guide much of our lives and do many tasks for us that we no longer have to do. Some of those include securing our houses by remotely turning on lights, arming security systems and opening and closing our garage doors as we arrive or leave.
Another new skill is the ability to dim the lights in our home to create various moods. If your dad is a mood kind of guy and is also a techy sort of geek, then he might love this light-dimmer kit which he can use on his smartphone to dim lights in his home without needing an actual dimmer switch! The product is $99 from Lutron and is available on Amazon.
A Smart Smile
It is called the Internet of Things (IoT). It is a way to describe the pervasiveness of computers and data-gathering into many aspects of our lives. Thanks to products made by Amazon, Google and the rest, there is almost no room in our houses for space in our lives that data isn’t being gathered about us and shared with advertisers and other third parties.
The unfortunate thing is that much of the IoT collects data for use by others; it doesn’t provide much in order to educate us, the owners of these products, to learn how to live our lives better, more efficiently (or geez, more privately?). Fortunately, Colgate has come up with a device that meets the IoT standard in being a “smart” device, yet it actually serves its owner with data that is useful.
Want your dad to know how he could brush his teeth better and make his smile whiter and his breath cleaner? We might have learned a certain technique, but this Colgate Connect E1 toothbrush can help your dad customize his technique to provide maximum coverage with maximum efficiency by providing real-time brushing- and hygiene-related information. This state-of-the-art toothbrush is available for $100 by Colgate and through Apple. (Yep.)
Speak Loudly in the Man Cave
Men just want a place to escape every so often. A dad does his duty being a dad most of the week, but every so often he just wants to sit down in a quiet place and either watch the game or listen to his favorite music while enjoying a drink or piddling around in his workspace or den.
Bose is known as one of the world’s premier authorities on speakers and great sound. And with this latest creation by Bose, a dad doesn’t’ have to have a stereo system or even a TV to enjoy good sound in the man cave. All he needs is Netflix or iHeart Radio on his smartphone and have Bluetooth capability, and he can enjoy rich sound anywhere in the house – and turn it up loud to drown out the kids, even for just a moment. Nirvana!
The Bose Soundlink Bluetooth II speaker is available for as low as $130 on Amazon.
The Future’s So Bright …
The one-hit-wonder band Sigue Sigue Sputnik was onto something in the late 1980s. Father’s Day does come on the cusp of summer when the sunshine will be out with full intensity. Eye protection is just as important as skin protection in the sunshine.
But dads and father figures have children for whom they have responsibility. Children are our future, and our dads can see in us that their future is bright. So bright, in fact, as the one-hit-wonder band will sing, that they “gotta wear shades.” But too often, that bright future is shielded by shades that are traditional or old-fashioned, using black or brown frames that are very neutral but not very exciting or stylish. They are white noise, so to speak.
If you think your dad is stylin’ but needs sunglasses, you might have to dig around a bit for some style, but it’s available. Check out Ray-Ban’s gunmetal-toned, round-framed shades for $150 through mrporter.com. Gunmetal is the color that is dynamic and stylish without standing out. It adds class and manliness to your dad’s face when he’s admiring his very bright future in the summer sun.
If Only a Lake Were Portable!
In the old days – like in the days of The Andy Griffith Show –one of the great dad-child bonding events was the leisurely Saturday or Sunday afternoon at the local watering hole, fishing in a boat. Many dads would have their fishing poles at the ready in the back seat of the car or in the trunk, just in case the opportunity arose spontaneously to take the child to the lake for some fishing after school or after the baseball game.
With cars now serving as portable storage units sometimes, and dads often filling their vehicles with food and drink containers, computers, phones, briefcases and the like, the fishing poles are often pushed aside into the garage because they can be cumbersome and not terribly portable.
Until now, the age of the telescoping sticks. While society is pretty high-tech when it comes to entertainment, there is still a low-tech way to enjoy some bonding time that is more convenient than ever. Check out the Patagonia 10.5-foot fishing rod that folds and compacts easily into a portable case, allowing for the old days of the spontaneous fishing trip to occur more readily because the pole takes up a lot less room as it easy to handle and use. The Tenkara fly-fishing rod is available at patagoinia.com for $225, but it’s an investment that will last years.
Watch for the Bluetooth!
Bluetooth is not a new technological advancement, but it does have ever-widening applications, making smartphones and their users more and more wireless.
One of the first wireless and portable devices was the clock, which got reduced in scale to fit on a persons’ wrist so a person can look at the wrist to get the time, instead of finding a clock in the town square or having to pull a watch out of a vest pocket or purse.
Now you can combine both wireless ideas into one – and no, I don’t’ mean the Apple Watch. We have a wristwatch that looks like a regular wristwatch (complete with hands), but it has Bluetooth capability in order to communicate with other Bluetooth-enabled devices such as your smartphone. Introducing the Grayson Hybrid Smartwatch by Michael Kors, available for $275 at michaelkors.com.
No Weight Barrier in Travel
Traveling on airplanes these days has become more difficult and restrictive. Airlines all over are adding baggage fees for heavy suitcases that are checked and don’t fit in the overhead bins. (And has anyone noticed that the planes, and the overhead bins, are getting smaller and smaller?).
Not only does size matter, but weight also matters, so if we have a suitcase that might fit, we have to be careful not to overpack it so that it passes the weight threshold. But with the Jaunt roll-on suitcase by Roam, weight may never be an issue again, as the bad weighs less than six pounds. Check it out for $350 at roamluggage.com.
A Basket Case?
OK, maybe one might think of a gift basket as something for the women in our lives. Many of us often think of a gift basket as something for someone in a hospital or mourning a death or even a care package for the child who is going off to college. These kinds of baskets tend to feature chocolates, candies, teddy bears, balloons or other items more geared toward girls and women.
But gift baskets would not be such a hit if they only cater to half the population. Gift baskets, fortunately, can fit any occasion and any gender and any role – son, husband, father, grandfather, etc. The best gift baskets are customizable to include items that your specific dad or father figure would enjoy. Whether it is something associated with sports, hobbies, travel, beverages, cars, or anything else, you are sure to find just the right gift basket that your dad will remember and use for a long time.
While June 17 may be Father’s Day on the calendar, we all love and appreciate our dads year-round (or should). His patience, strength, wisdom, humor, class, and love are what we all need in our lives, and we should always be able to show him how much we appreciate all that he teaches us every day by his example.
Any of these gift ideas will help set the example in showing our gratitude for him and thanking him for being a dad for us when we really need him. Which is virtually every day.
