Birthday Present for Dad

Finding a good birthday present for Dad can be a tough prospect, especially if Dad is the sort of guy who tends to buy himself basically whatever his heart desires.  Dad is quite a bit tougher to shop for than Mom, since birthday presents for Mom can often be something sentimental and they’ll get you by, whereas birthday presents for Dad usually won’t get a lot of recognition or praise for being “cutsie.”  This is too bad, since cutsie items are usually pretty easy to come by if you go to the right places.

So where are the right places to get a birthday present for Dad?  Sears or Menards are usually pretty good bets.  Tools are pretty standard birthday presents for the men in lots of families, but if you decide to go the tool route don’t grab the first hammer you see and assume that it’ll be a perfect birthday present for Dad.  Walk out to his shop and take a look around.  What sorts of tools does he have already?  Does he have a lot of big power tools, or mainly smaller hand tools?  Does he have small sets of anything like wrenches or drill bits?  If you want to be a particularly good present-buyer, take notes on what your Dad has in his shop.  Then go to a friendly employee at Sears or a similar retailer and get some advice on what Dad has and what he needs.  Most likely the flashiest new gadget won’t be too much help to him, but a full set of sharp drill bits or a table saw could last him for years and years.

If Dad isn’t much of a tool guy or if he has all of the tools he’ll ever need, there are a few other standard present-buying routes to take.  One of the best birthday present for Dad is a present which pampers him.  Though he probably doesn’t like to admit it, Dad likes to be pampered, though probably not in the same way that Mom likes to be pampered.  If he’s anything like my dad, he probably won’t appreciate a full body treatment at a day spa very much.  However, a wide selection of imported beers if he’s a beer guy or a wine cooler if he’s a wine guy will most likely go over very well.  Spirits can also win Dad over, especially if they’re a little tougher to find like Jack Daniels Single Barrel or some of the rarer scotches.  If you’re lucky, maybe he’ll even share.

Dads sometimes end up with socks for their birthday but it doesn't have to be that way. There's lots of imaginative items for a birthday present for Dad. If he has a hobby or sport,  it's a good place to start. Golf gives a range of possibilities from a box of fluorescent golf balls to a golf computer game featuring great courses of the world. If he's a fisherman, how about a new fishing basket or a keep net. Followers of a certain soccer or baseball team like to have the mugs, replica shirts and other memorabilia.

Most Dads like gadgets, for the home or the office. A stick on basketball net or a miniature air hockey table would be a good birthday present for Dad. There are smaller gadgets too, like a card shuffler or a combination bottle opener and lighter. Men never quite grow out of penknives or model aero planes. A scale model of the starship Enterprise would keep him out of mischief for a while. You can always get him something that you can challenge him with, such as a shoot 'em up computer game.

Gardeners always need something for the garden, a new trowel or seed planter perhaps. A gardening gift would be a practical birthday present for Dad, especially if it was appropriate for the time of year. For example, you could get him some packets of seeds or some bedding plants. That will give him good exercise too.

Dads deserve to relax too, and they may appreciate a home brewing kit for beer. Another birthday present for Dad could be a year's supply of different wines around the world, delivered in installments each month. You may be able to arrange a visit to a local winery or whiskey distillery.

When Dad puts his feet up, he may like to watch some DVDs. There are plenty box sets in the shops with themed films such as war, westerns or spy movies that would make a good birthday present for Dad. Some of them feature one actor, very often a veteran like John Wayne or James Stewart. There are plenty DVDs of great sporting events too and ones that tell the history of sports like boxing and baseball. If he's a real film buff, he may appreciate a membership in a DVD club.

A lot of Dads are handy around the home and like to keep up to date with their equipment. A more expensive birthday present for Dad would be a power tool or work bench. You could buy a home improvement book with projects in.