Upgrade Your Gifting Game This Father's Day

I am not a father, but I have had a father since before I was born, so I come to this topic with some authority. Dads, we owe you an apology. Not for shouting out “Mom” every time a television camera is aimed in our vicinity, not for taking you for granted every time you picked us up or dropped us off, and certainly not for rolling our eyes through your jokes. We’re sorry for the absolute trash gifts you’ve received every Father’s Day. 

You sat idly by as we presented Mom with construction paper flowers made under the supervision of our elementary school teachers, the supermarket flowers we bought her after hitting you up for money in our teens, and the real flowers we had delivered the Friday before the Mother’s Day brunch we reserved at least two weeks in advance. There were also the years of robes, spa days, candles, cookies, handbags, slippers, perfumes, bubble bath, and even jewelry.

You may not have been keeping score, but the National Retail Foundation says 84 percent of us celebrated Mother’s Day this year, spending on average $274.02. That’s about $100 more than the average spend on dads in 2022, when 76 percent of U.S. adults celebrated his day.

“I’m not surprised that the difference is $100 because in general, fathers are kind of harder,” says Julie Kenney, a veteran of celebrity gifting. She now runs giftingexperts.com and doesn’t believe men are inherently more difficult to shop for. “Moms put out a lot more hints of what they want; dads are much more simple and like, ‘I don’t need anything.’”

So you smiled genuinely for Mom every May and graciously every June through all the years of goofy greeting cards, drugstore grill tool sets, novelty mugs, and those truly awful ties. You waved us away saying, “Save your money.” We made reservations for Mom but requested that you fire up the grill in celebration of Father’s Day.

We see the errors of our past and would like to right the present.

So Father’s Day shoppers, nothing says “I apologize” like a thoughtfully selected, joyfully presented gift that shows your dad you’ve been paying attention and you truly care. Some of these gifts may seem a little outside the box, but that’s a good thing. If you want different results, you gotta try some different things. So yes, there are objects that may push the boundaries, in a good way. Take a swing, and surprise your old man and yourself in the process. Your dad is worth the effort.

Pro tip: All year long, Kenney keeps a running list on her phone’s notes app of things that her husband and dad mention liking. When Father’s Day approaches, she fights the “I need nothing” messages by consulting the list. “Gift-giving is not hard as long as you just put a little bit of time and effort into it,” she says. You can also check out these great gift ideas for Father’s Day.

Below you’ll find six expert-approved upgrades to Father’s Day gifts past their prime.