He may say that he doesn’t want anything for Father’s Day, but every dad loves to receive a sweet gift from his children. So here’s a collection of thoughtful Father’s Day gift ideas for just about every kind of dad, from the music lover to the craft beer enthusiast to the avid boater to the part-time Lyft driver.
1. Fossil Explorist 4th Gen HR Smartwatch
Smartwatches have quickly become stately timepieces that not only serve as an easy way for your kids to let you know when it’s time to pick them up from school, but also to tell everyone you meet at work or while traveling that you’ve got style for days! Rapid charging, swimproof, Google Pay enabled, customizable watch faces and a touch screen are of course what you’d expect from any modern smartwatch, but add in a subtly elegant design in this 4th generation of the Fossil Explorist and you have the perfect Father’s Day gift for dad.
2. USA Beer Cap Map
A must for every traveling dad who loves his craft beers (or, like me, his local craft root beers!), this glorious 2-foot birch wood map of the United States has space for 77 beer caps as he tastes his way around the country. For wine-loving dads, wooden state cork maps, such as this awesome California cork map, are also available.
3. Skechers Relaxed Fit Soven-Lorado Sneakers
World traveler tested and world traveler approved, these dad sneakers are fashionable and affordable—and they look and feel great with or without socks! Whether he’s kicking back on the deck of a fab rental vacation home, walking around a national park with his kids, or trekking all over some fantastic city on foot, these cool Skechers sneakers will serve him well at home and abroad for a very long time.
Related Article: National Parks Vacation Ideas for Families
4. LoopRope
This revolutionary bungee cord fastening system will help dad secure his boat to the dock, mattress to a truck bed, camping gear to his ATV, and anything else that needs to stay in place securely and safely while traveling. This cool tie down bungee is safer and more clever than any traditional bungee cord because the LoopRope delivers the proper amount of tension and length required for every job, and never ever snaps back.
5. NixPlay Seed WiFi Digital Frame
Sometimes dad has to travel alone and sometimes, as dad gets older, he isn’t able to partake in each and every family vacation adventure. But thankfully the NixPlay Seed WiFi Digital Frame lets family members instantly share memories with those unable to join in the fun. This incredible digital frame lets you send photos to the frame from wherever you are in the world with a Wi-Fi connection, to make your loved ones feel closer to you even if you are so very far away.
6. Audio-Technica Bluetooth Turntable
Whether it’s the Hamilton Broadway Original Cast Recording he still can’t stop spinning, Jason Isbell’s magnificent The Nashville Sound, or a hilarious John Mulaney comedy special that cracks him up every time, getting dad a fresh piece of wax for Father’s Day is always a great idea. Of course, if he needs a turntable first, you cannot go wrong with Audio-Technica’s fully automatic Bluetooth beauty. Best of all, vinyl albums these days come with a download code so dad can keep listening to his new tunes while traveling with the family!
7. Bluetooth Headphones
Whether dad is an avid gamer or a finicky audiophile, there’s a new pair of headphones perfect for him this Father’s Day. These high-end, noise canceling headphones from Bose QuietComfort 35 ups the ante thanks to fully integrated Amazon Alexa service built-in; the Bose Connect app, which allows dad to adjust the level of noise cancellation; enable music sharing; manage Bluetooth connections; and easily access software updates. Phew, that’s a lot of premium features that dad would love! Bose is the longterm leader in headphones, but if your price point is a bit lower, we still have dad covered with our extensive roundup of the best wired and wireless headphones.
8. Kindle
Everyone agrees we are in golden age of television, but we’d say the same is true of literature, too! There are so many brilliant books out there to be flipping through, swiped, or listened to. Buy dad a Kindle or an Audible.com subscription so he can catch up on his reading whether he’s commuting to work or unwinding on the beach.
9. The Life of Dad Book
To go along with dad’s new reading device, how about a new book, too? We recommend Am I Alone Here?, Peter Orner’s unique memoir told cleverly through passages of classic literature, or Life of Dad. Bite-sized chunks of fatherhood wisdom from famous dads like comedian Jim Gaffigan and NBA Hall of Fame big man Shaquille O’Neal are served up from the team behind the wildly popular social media and podcast juggernaut. This brand-new volume of fatherhood thoughts, advice and humor is the ideal read for any dad, whether he has only time for one chapter while enjoying the peaceful solitude of the bathroom or unwinding on a flight without Wi-Fi connectivity.
And if the guy in your life sits in the intersection of a New Dad/Soccer Fan Venn Diagram, this beautifully illustrated newly released alphabet book, G is for Golazo: The Ultimate Soccer Alphabet, is the perfect Father’s Day gift for him to read to his baby on their way to the next match! We adore that Brazilian superstar Marta and USWNT legends Mia Hamm and Abby Wambach are featured alongside famous fellas like Messi, Ronaldo and Neymar.
10. NINJA Personal Smoothie Blender and Protein Shake Maker
The best personal smoothie and protein shake maker for dad this Father’s Day comes complete with a pair of 16oz cups with spout lids for easy drinking with or without his favorite reusable straw. Best of all, there is absolutely no mess and little cleanup because the shakes and smoothies are blended directly into the cup by pressing down to pulse. No buttons, no spills, no confusing technology—just fresh juices and protein shakes in seconds for dad to run out the door to work or for a summer road trip.
11. Crate 61 Bar Soap Box Set
Okay, hear me out. This may seem totally left field, in a stereotypical sense, for a Father’s Day gift, but we’re here to tell you that bar soap, really great smelling (lavender, coconut, lemongrass, grapefruit!) handmade bar soap is one of the coolest, most thoughtful gifts a modern dad can get. In an effort to reduce the amount of plastic we buy and recycle, we’ve switched back to bars from body washes. Last year my tween bought me two great bars of soap and they lasted almost four months with showering daily! Try getting that value out of a bottle of body wash.
12. Home Monitor Security Camera
Check on your pets and your belongings, and record surveillance security footage onto a memory card and/or have it uploaded to a cloud based storage solution with this discreet, affordable home monitor camera. Get the comfort of knowing you can peek into your home, with full motion control of the camera directly from the app, at any time, from anywhere. You can even communicate with family members or your pets through the KAMTRON HD WiFi security camera! Leaving home has never been so worry-free.
13. ThisWorkx Car Vacuum
No matter if dad is driving for Lyft on weekends (raises hand!) or just wants to keep the backseat free of Goldfish crumbs and sandbox sand this summer (raises both hands!), the affordable ThisWorkx car vacuum is a neat and tidy gem of a product that uses the car’s power, has a long enough cord to reach from front to back of most family vehicles, comes with three handy nozzles for any messy situation, and stores away nicely in the truck.
Jeff Bogle lives in the suburbs of Philadelphia with his wife, two daughters, and three cats. He is an award-winning photographer and respected travel journalist with bylines on Reader’s Digest, Good Housekeeping, PBS, Esquire and more. Jeff (probably) spends too much time in England watching football and far too many hours plotting his family’s future travel adventures. Find Jeff on his own site, Out With the Kids.
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