Smarty Guide to Father’s Day Gifts

In my house, finding the perfect gift for my husband is always difficult. He happens to be very particular about most things – clothes, electronics, sports equiptment, even cooking gadgets. I often refer to him as the “returner/upgrader,” since most of my gifts get swapped out for the higher-end model. His intentions are not to hurt my feelings, but I used to take this very personally. Now I just laugh about it. And I have to say that after six years of gift-giving to my spouse, I finally acheived my goal this past Christmas. Not only did nothing get returned, he actually wore one of the gifts on Christmas day! I probably can’t really take any credit for this, since during a recession there isn’t much upgrading going on.

But now with Father’s day right around the corner, I plan to beat the returner/upgrader again with some well-planned and thoughtful gifts.

Here are some ideas:

I could always do the old standbys, anything for the grill, new tools, grill baskets, or a meat thermometer. Anything for the ipod/iphone – a new case, gift certificate to itunes, or speaker docking station for his office. I think golf lessons would be appreciated.

Camping equiptment is also fun. My husband used to love to go camping, but I haven’t embraced this activity. I think Zoe would get a real kick out of going camping with her dad. It could be fun tradition that they do together.

Another thought was beer of the month clubs or a microbrewery brew kit. I found both of these on www.findgift.com. When you get to the site, you select who are looking for, their age and it serves up options. I didn’t see many gifts that would pass my returner/upgrader’s pickiness, so I looked under wine and spirits and found these too options.

Homemade gifts are always a great option if you plan ahead (which I never do). A video of the kids with great music is the perfect gift, just ask Randy and see Jen P’s post on her Smarty Daddy Gift Idea with a great list of song selections. Here are some new suggestions for Father’s Day:

Beautiful Boy – Ben Harper
Father & Son and Cats in the Cradle – Cat Stevens
Cats in the Cradle – Harry Chapin
Like Father Like Son – Lenny Kravitz
Throught The Years – Kenny Rogers
Time in a Bottle – Jim Croce
Butterfly Kisses – Bob Carlisle

Another fun idea is a custom book from your kids. At www.iseemyface.com, you can send in a picture of dad and it is turned into a caricature in this colorfully illustrated board book. The book shows Daddy and child on every page doing fun, everyday activities together like playing sports, swinging at the park, and reading stories. How smarty.

I also found some great homemade gift ideas for your kids to make. On familyfun.com they give you details on how to make an interactive book out of a cereal box and paper. There are some other fun crafts as well.

And finally, for the want-to-be well-groomed daddy, you can always go for a gift certificate to Emerson Joseph. See Dana’s post on this daddy-pampering place, Smarty Daddy Gift Idea #2.

I am thinking about a custom father’s day book from the girls and maybe the gift certifcate for Emerson Joseph from me – you can’t upgrade a gift card – can you?

Hope this helps for those of you still brainstorming on gifts for dad. And let us know of other smarty gift ideas you may have in mind.