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What are the best Father’s Day gifts?

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Beyond the classic staples of booze, aftershave and socks, what else is there to buy in the shops for Father’s Day? And how much should you spend on it?

Consumers in the UK are predicted to spend just shy of £800m on Father’s day this year, up nearly £100m on 2017. It’s still only half of what we spend on Mother’s Day, but clearly a lot of stuff is being bought for some lucky dads.

A poll surveying Father’s Day shoppers found that 45 per cent of people said they’d be spending more on gifts and food and drink than they did last year.

Shoppers in the north of the UK are, according to the poll, more likely to get involved in Father’s Day than their southern counterparts, while consumers aged 35-44 are most likely to participate, followed by those aged 18-24.

But the survey also found 70 per cent of people are bored of the Father’s Day products available in shops – and 58 per cent of people said they’d spend more if better gifts were on offer.

It seems it may be a case of people wanting to spend more, but not finding the enough variety in what’s on offer…

Thinking outside the box

But there are plenty of unusual ideas for Father’s Day gifts out there, you just have to look for them. How about a ‘flamethrower’!?

Ok, maybe not. But something really practical could be an option?

Free gifts

Who wouldn’t want to receive a toilet seat for Father’s Day? But maybe the best gift’s can’t be bought, as some have pointed out:

A sentiment shared by many:

I may sound like a bit of a Scrooge here, but I usually just send my Dad a card for Father’s Day (though in reality this often translates into a text message…) but perhaps I’m in the minority?

Are you celebrating Father’s Day? What did you buy your dad, if anything? Or what did you receive from your children?

Comments
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Beryl says:
17 June 2018

As most Dads notoriously are more inclined to care for their 4 wheeled second home parked on their driveway than they do of their own body/health, a years free car wash subscription, or for the cash strapped maybe a pact to actually carry out the deed free of charge on a weekly basis would be greatly appreciated as a Fathers Day pressie?

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DerekP says:
17 June 2018

“or for the cash strapped maybe a pact to actually carry out the deed free of charge on a weekly basis would be greatly appreciated” – yes indeed (I can always dream…) 😀

Really though, why do we feel compelled to spend(/waste?) money on tacky cards and gifts on all these “Persons’ Days”? Aren’t there better things we could be doing with our time and money? And, in most cases, don’t us dads already have enough stuff?

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John Ward says:
17 June 2018

In my experience, by the time the offspring are able to afford to buy their father a decent gift they have forgotten they’ve got one. It’s over twenty years since I had to buy a father’s day gift but he always liked a good book and usually got one.

Every year around mother’s day and father’s day I get a little irritated by the constant marketing hype attached to these occasions. My parents were already in their mid-thirties when I was born and I only had the second – and declining – half of their lives with them. Neither reached old age. The commercial images of parents and grand-parents seem out of kilter with reality for many of us.

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VynorHill says:
17 June 2018

Call me a cynic. “You’re a cynic!” O.K., but Mother’s day, Father’s day, Black Friday, Bank Holiday Bargains et al are really good marketing ploys to extract cash. Do we really need a special day for parents, or should we thank them for all they have done for us on a more regular basis? I am, of course, taking a certain view point on parentage and on those of us lucky enough to have had brilliant parents. I never gave my parents any special day cards or gifts – outside birthdays and Christmas -, but I loved them just the same, and they knew that. We spent money on each other when ever we felt like it and a bunch of flowers always had a vase to accept them.

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User 66219 says:
17 June 2018

This comment was removed at the request of the user

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Sophie Gilbert says:
21 June 2018

What about “Men Can Do It! The real reason dads don’t do childcare”? https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17403905-men-can-do-it Sounds like a good read, thoughtful and interesting, even if Dad is already fabulous. 🙂

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