Hey, did you know Father’s Day is June 15? I had no idea. For some reason, I was thinking it was in September. Or maybe I was thinking, a whole holiday for FATHERS, why not just call it Hooray For Whining About Having to Change a Poopy Diaper Day and shower them with lumps of coal?
Ha ha, I’m just kidding. My own personal husband is an incredible father, very hands-on and loving and engaged, and if he maybe acts like kind of a wuss about a poop-filled diaper every now and then, well, at least he’s good at killing spiders.
I’ve got some gift ideas to share, even though the official day is a few weeks off. These are mostly from the “things you can purchase from online retailers” category, as opposed to “sentimental hand-crafted gifts from the heart”. Not that heart-gifts aren’t wonderful, DUH, but for the purposes of today’s entry we’ll stick to the Amazon-type merchandise.
Grill Alert Talking Remote Thermometer. We own this and it is AWESOME. Basically, you stick the metal thermometer in your meat entree while it’s cooking — whether on the grill or in the oven — and it communicates the internal temperature to a device that announces when you’ve reached optimal readiness. Very very handy, no more cutting into your steak to see how red it is on the inside.
St. John’s Bay Men’s Chamois Shirt. My husband has a few of these shirts and he LOVES them. They’re fantastic work shirts: super durable, super soft and comfortable, and good for layering in cool weather.
Flip Video Camcorder. This camcorder holds 60 minutes of video on 1GB of built-in memory, you just plug it into your computer via USB to download the footage. Easy to use, plays straight to TV, uses AA batteries, and it’s marketed at a pretty good price point ($106 on Amazon).
The Dangerous Book for Boys. A cool gift for the father of a boy, at least I thought so when I bought this for my husband last Father’s Day. Dad can brush up on how to tie knots, tan a skin, built go-karts, etc — or read it with his son when the kiddo’s old enough. See also: The Daring Book for Girls.
DVD box set of TV favorites. For when Daddy needs a little downtime: a complete season of whatever TV show he loves beyond all reason. If you’re looking for suggestions, I particularly recommend Firefly, Dexter, Battlestar Galactica, or Deadwood.
Leatherman Multi-Tool. This much-loved mult-tool functions as: needlenose pliers, regular pliers, wire cutters, clip-point knife, serrated knife, saw, scissors, wood/metal file, diamond-coated file, large bit driver, large screwdriver, ruler (8 inches), bottle/can opener, wire stripper, lanyard attachment, two double-ended bits. As my husband says, every guy needs one. DO NOT QUESTION THIS.
I am SO glad you posted this! I am all over the leatherman, that is a perfect gift. I completely forgot FD was coming up, so thanks for that too.
Ashley | May 24th, 2008 at 5:18 am
I am also all over the leatherman, how cool is that!! Maybe I’ll get one for myself, to carry in my purse.
You know what he really wants is some mandals and nerdy white socks
Eric's Mommy | May 24th, 2008 at 1:31 pm
Oh, thank goodness. My own dad is notoriously difficult to shop for, and not only do we have Father’s Day on the horizon but his birthday is a few weeks later. Perhaps he needs that remote grill thermometer!
fairydogmother | May 24th, 2008 at 2:11 pm
Oh, the grill thing is awesome. Perfect.
Nataly | May 25th, 2008 at 1:23 am
Do not question the Leatherman! My husband actually gave these away as groomsmen gifts, and uses his all the time… fantastic.
Lylah | May 25th, 2008 at 2:39 am
Dang it, I want that Flip Video Camcorder (ahem, I mean I want to get it for my husband for Father’s Day, of course) and they’re not sold in Canada! Grrr.
Shawna | May 25th, 2008 at 5:27 pm
The Flip Ultra camera is even better…it has 2 gigs of memory, a zoom function and a place to put it on a tripod. All for around $130. Trust me, the extra $25 is WORTH IT! (I got mine for Mother’s day
JMH | May 26th, 2008 at 6:10 pm
Ah damn, my husband already has four of the six options - that talking grill thingy might just be the ticket though! Too bad his birthday is in July and I’ll have to come up with yet another gift then. Crap.
MRW | May 28th, 2008 at 4:31 pm
We have 3 of the 6 options, so I’m half way there. Yay! I like that little USB camera. Very handy! (Even though we have a VERY expensive video camera that we’ve lost the software for! Oops, not immediately compatible with Macs. Oops, not easy to get a hold of new software.) Damn. Lovey’s getting the USB camera for father’s day. It’s decided.
clarabella | May 29th, 2008 at 5:03 am
[...] more great Father’s Day ideas, check out the gift suggestions from Linda and Kristen at Milk and Cookies! Like this blog? [...]
Great Gift Ideas: Classic "Speed Racer" on DVD - Affordable Luxuries - Work It, Mom! | June 5th, 2008 at 5:08 am
[...] looking for last-minute Father’s Day gift ideas? Don’t forget to take a look at Kristen and Linda’s suggestions over at Milk and Cookies, get inspired with some great craft ideas, or go over-the-top (in a good [...]
Kid Gear: Juice Box Holders - Affordable Luxuries - Work It, Mom! | June 13th, 2008 at 5:20 pm
I decided to use my blog to publish a story for my dad about what I learned from him about work. I would love to hear what other readers learned. Check out What did you learn about work from your father? on http://www.allbusiness.com; The HR Answer Blog.
Rebecca Mazin | June 13th, 2008 at 7:54 pm
We have the PERFECT gift for your dad. Our product is antique wood shaft golf clubs of which we have the largest collection in the world (17,000). Each of these beautiful antiques has been restored to museum quality and includes a Certificate of Provenance. Wood shaft clubs were used for hundreds of years, until the 1920’s when steel shafts started to replace them. The clubs we have for sale were made prior to 1934. While tens of thousands were made, only a fraction remains today (most in museums, displayed in offices, pro-shops or in the hands of collectors). This is the case for http://www.hickorysticks.net. An antique golf club is a perfect, meaningful, and creative gift for anyone who likes golf, who is hard to buy for, or anyone who wants a piece of rapidly disappearing golf history. If you’re interested check out our website at http://www.hickorysticks.net and our informational video at http://www.videosomething.com/LISTING.ASP?ID=77. We would really appreciate your business!!
Melissa | June 17th, 2008 at 4:26 am