Your family is on the precipitous of a very special Father’s Day this year because he’s inevitably been around more often than not (due to Covid). Here are some ideas to guarantee you don’t screw up his gift.
Put… down… that… tie!
The quintessential Father’s Day gift that was the go-to present for 11 decades is officially off-limits. Even bankers, who in many cases are required to wear ties would rather not.
Dads deserve an upgrade! And, excluding essential workers who had to work, most dads have spent the last three months in lockdown bonding with their families. This is the upside of the pandemic, so let’s embrace it by upgrading the gifts we buy for dads!
I humbly suggest moms, their kids, and everyone else who needs to buy a Father’s Day gift consider what I call the ‘Boomerang’ present. This is a gift that gives back to the family with a shared experience, the opportunity to learn something new, and perhaps it will bring the family even closer together.
Are we close enough yet? A good question… I’m sure moms or dads who are tasked with homeschooling are ready for a weekend getaway in Cabo without the kids… but flying on a plane right now is on par with swimming laps in a cesspool. So, we’ll all have to trudge along.
Here are The Father Apprentice’s suggested ‘Boomerang’ gifts:
Master Class: Dad may be a grill master, but perhaps his pan cooking skills result in demi-glazed rubber meat. Maybe he’s mentioned a desire to write a book but he has no idea where to start. For $15 a month, why not gift dad a subscription to MasterClass?
Stimulate your father’s mind, and if he takes cooking classes, the payoff may result in dad stimulating your taste buds!
Rear Child Bike Seat: Dad needs to get his heart pumping if he ever wants to get rid of those love handles. Placing twenty to fifty extra pounds on his bike will do the trick. This well-rated kid’s bike seat from Hamax provides the means to do so. And the real benefactor, if we’re being honest, is Mom! Get your husband AND the kid out of the house, then relax.
Kids like myself who rode on the parents’ bike have wonderful memories of doing so. This is the perfect ‘Boomerang’ gift.
Fishing Trip: Another great way to gift yourself, while gifting your husband, is to send your husband and the kids off on a fishing trip. If you live by the shore, one can charter a boat for half a day and it will provide a truckload of great memories. To make this more economic, you can also consider party boats.
For $50-$85 per person, one can board the Big Mohawk Party Boat, which sails out of Belmar, New Jersey. Pricing for kids/availability TBD. You will need a heavy dose of laundry deodorizer for their clothing afterward but most trips are a half-day long.
Glider Rides: My wife gifted me this for one of my birthdays a few years back and it was amazing. For $130 bucks, you can send Daddy soaring into the air! (Jersey Ridge Soaring)
I’ll end with one other piece of advice – the perfect Father’s Day gift is one that represents a shared experience. If it is unique, and it catches Dad by surprise, well done! If it is exclusively for him, that’s fine too.
But please, don’t give him a tie… or earbuds, or garbage technology. And if you give your husband/dad a gym membership, you might as well right “YOUR FAT” with a black permanent marker on the wall beside his bed. So, don’t do that.
The Rookie Father 
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