For those of you that haven’t yet finished your Christmas shopping – and hopefully that’s quite a few of you, or I’m going to feel vastly unprepared here – I thought I’d attempt to do dads everywhere a favour and make a few suggestions for presents you can get the dad in your life this year.
In this first post, I’ve picked a present from each price band (the ones commonly used on most websites anyway!) so you can pick something that fits your budget. Naturally these are recommendations based on my own preferences, but I’ve tried to put my “everyman” dad hat on, thinking of stuff that would appeal to as wide a demographic as possible.
Here goes…
Origami Note Pad, ~£5
Available from IWantOneOfThose and others
I only discovered these today while researching this list, but by god do I want some! Not only do I frequently have need for notepads and sticky notes on my desk at work, but I’m also a total fiddler. If I’m talking to a colleague, sitting in a meeting, carrying out a brainstorm or just talking on the phone, I ALWAYS fiddle with *something* on my desk – so I suspect these notes would be utterly brilliant for dads like me. Now can somebody tell whoever picks me for Secret Santa to get me some of these, please?
Scratch-off world map, ~£20
Available from Not on the High Street
If the dad in your life likes to travel (and let’s face it, who doesn’t?) this map can be a great fun way of recording his travels – either his student-years round the world jaunts, his holidays with the family or his post-retirement cruises. As a big fan of maps myself, I’ve been dying to get one of these maps for ages – not only to record my travels to date, but to help inspire me to do a lot more traveling in future. Heck, if you still live with the dad you’re buying this for, it might even result in a bit more travelling for you by proxy. Double win!
Pint / Half-pint T-shirts, ~£30
Available from various retailers
Somebody got some of these for Robert and I when he was very small, and several of my friends have been seen sporting them on Facebook lately – so I know for a fact that these go down well with most dads. After all, when else in life can you wear matching outfits with somebody else in your family without looking like a total weirdo? Yep – never. So make the most of it while they’re small and get some cute photos, ideally as you tour the pubs and bars of Great Britain with your offspring…
Portable Stage Laser Lights, ~£45
I’ve got one of these myself, thanks to the excellent people at Paramount Zone, so I can tell you with some certainty that it would make an excellent gift for most dads. I was pretty much sold the moment it mentioned lasers, but basically it’s a laser light show that could fit in your pocket. Pop it up on the little tripod supplied and point it at virtually any surface for an amazing, ever-changing display of lights which would make any party (or hallowe’en, I’m reliably told) twice as jazzy.
An experience day, £75+
Available from many retailers and specialists
I’ve been on a couple of these, and actually have a token for another which I haven’t got round to taking yet – but I can promise you that they make a great (and easy to post!) present for dads of all kinds. Whether it’s a romantic meal on the Thames, a day racing Formula 1 racing cars, a Segway Rally for 2 or wine-tasting at a vineyard, you can find an experience to fit virtually every taste, type and location – and they’re not all expensive either, with some starting from around £50.
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