As a father who often struggles with buying presents for people, I’m a big fan of the concept of wishlists – my Amazon one has served me very well over the years, and our wedding wishlist produced presents we’re still using now. But what do you do if you need to buy for somebody who hasn’t got a wishlist, or who refuses to tell you what they want?
My next step is usually those “Gifts for…” lists on sites like Not on the Highstreet or IWOOT – but they’re usually full of a LOT of filler and not much killer.
So, I decided to take the initiative and ask some fellow dads, brothers and sons what they REALLY want for Christmas, in order to compile a list of suggestions which I’m pretty sure EVERYONE will find something they want on. So whether you’re a dad looking to fill up your own wishlist, or a child looking to surprise your dad with a gift they’ll love, I present to you 15 suggestions for presents that the father in your life is bound to love…
(And they’re not ALL gadgets or iPads, either!)
1. USB Cassette Player (£50)
Still got a bunch of old cassette tapes lying around, but can’t bare to part with them in case they one day enjoy a revival? Then convert them to MP3 so you can play them anywhere you like! Or better still, just use it as a cassette player and play your tapes through the computer speakers, all the while insisting that the sound quality is much better than these “new fangled devises”…
2. Teroforma Whisky Stones (£18)
I’m reliably informed by drinkers of “real” drinks like Whisky and Cognac that the addition of ice is a big no-no, due to the watering-down that inevitably results when the ice melts. So these Whisky stones are apparently the answer – you freeze them in the freezer before dunking them in your drink, thus keeping it cold without losing the flavour. Magic!
3. Autoloader Screwdriver (£20)
As somebody who owns at least 6 or 7 screwdrivers in various formats (traditional, bendy, multi-head, electronic to name but a few) I can see the appeal of the Autoloader straight away. In a nutshell, it’s got the flexibility of a multi-head screwdriver without the worry about dropping the screw-heads down the back of the cupboard, or worse still, in to the corner of the garage with all the cobwebs in, never to be seen again.
4. Sonos Play:3 (£250)
This one was suggested to me by my friend Dave, and ever since I saw it I have coveted it. Put simply, it’s three speakers in one box – ideal for the budding home cinema fan without a lot of room in their home!
5. Custom-build Nike Trainers (£65+)
Want to look cool with all the kids “on the street” but without the worry of having to be seen in a shoe-shop? Now you can create your own, customised Nikes online – so you can be JUST different enough, but safe in the knowledge that people will know how cool you are…
6. BookBook for iPhone (£50)
Not only will the BookBook iPhone cover make you look all KINDS of hip-n-cool with it’s leather finish and fake-book design, it also doubles as a wallet for all those pesky credit cards – with the only obvious disadvantage being that if you lose your iPhone, you’ve also lost all your money. But let’s focus on the positive – this looks really cool!
7. The Laurel & Hardy Collection (£42)
This one’s a sure-fire winner – not only do you get the joy of 21 DVDs to watch, it also looks like it should cost at LEAST £200 – so the gift-giver gets to look much more generous than they really are! What dad doesn’t love a bit of Laurel & Hardy? If there’s one out there, I don’t want to meet him…
8. LEGO Architecture Models (£50+)
If you, like me, still LOVE the joy of owning/building/collecting LEGO models, but feel too embarrassed to ask for the LEGO police station for Christmas, help is at hand. Thanks to these beautiful LEGO architecture models, you can ask for LEGO with your head held high, under the guise that you’re simply buying it because you’re an architecture lover. BINGO!
9. LEGO Storage Bricks (£18+)
Another big winner in our household, these have allowed me to fill our living room with LEGO under the guise of wanting more storage for my children’s tool – with the added advantage that they look REALLY cool, especially when stacked together in a big pile…
10. Isotoner SmarTouch Gloves (£15)
Amazingly, I had no idea these existed until yesterday – and indeed I suspect a lot of others are just as clueless, as I heard Chris Evans lamenting a lack of them just the other day. Simply put, they allow you to use your iPhone or Smart Phone, even if you want to keep your hands warm. Simple, yet effective.
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