Dear Lee | Father's Day & A Gift Guide

  Dear Lee,

Father's Day is coming up and I have no idea what to get my father, who already has everything he needs, or he gets it himself.  Do you have any helpful ideas?

Thank you,

Holly

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Dear Holly,

Thank you for writing!  Father's Day can be difficult since men aren't always the most loquacious, in general and when it comes to gifts.  In fact, my husband loves receiving practical gifts, and it sort of annoys me to no end but I keep that in mind when getting him things.  This year I bought my husband several pairs of his favorite pajama pants from J. Crew, and a large order of fun flavors of Jeni's ice cream, so practical, and fun (and perfect for long weekends we used to have binge-watching shows from start to finish before we had our son).  So really the best type of gift depends on the type of person your father is.  I'm going to make a little gift guide in hopes that it helps you in any way.  In future, make a little note any time your father mentions liking something.  I mention this because this is how I came up with this year's gift for my husband.  I tend to favor these shops when shopping for the gentlemen in my life (<--- this makes it sound like I have a slew of lovers...I do not. I have one husband, and then a father-in-law) and they are: J. Crew, Brooks Brothers, Best Made Co., Tuckernuck, Brook Farm General Store, and L.L. Bean.

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Magazine Subscription —  I love giving magazine subscriptions; it's the gift that keeps on giving.  Maybe your father loves gadgets,  so a Wired subscription would be great for him.  Or he loves The New Yorker cartoons, so either a subscription to The New Yorker or a compilation of their best cartoons.  Other great magazines I think are great for this gift: Scientific American, Vanity Fair, or National Geographic.  Whatever you think your father would like based on his interests.

Shaving Accessories — Do your father a favor and upgrade his routine here, if he shaves.  My grandfather and father were both in the Navy, and they had these really lovely Navy, and I believe military-issued, mugs they used for their shaving soap, and they had a beautiful brush and razor set.  I always think of them, and how nice their routine was whenever I see those weird cheap plastic razors.  Insert a little luxury into an every day routine.

Notebooks — I'm always writing down little notes, my husband too.  I think it's nice to keep a stack of pretty notebooks on hand at all times, you never know when inspiration will strike.  This set is lovely enough to keep out anywhere.

Ball Cap — Grab a baseball cap of your father's favorite team.  Ebbets makes the nicest ones, trust me.

Weekender — The perfect bag.  Get it monogrammed with your father's initials, and he'll be reminded of you and your thoughtfulness every time he pulls it out of his closet to pack for a little trip.

Bottle Opener — And some of his favorite bottle-topped beverage.  My father was a Pepsi devotee but only in a glass bottle.  So find something special, maybe it's a favorite root beer and you two can make root beer floats that evening together.  It's a small little gift but I find it pretty adorable.  My in-laws are partial to a Brown Cow, which a root beer float with chocolate ice cream instead of vanilla.

Bose Sound Link System — My father-in-law is obsessed with his, and when we moved in to our place here in D.C. it was one of the first things he went out to buy for our place.  It's pretty great to have, and I'm sure your father would love to listen to his music on one.  Maybe you even help set up his phone with some of his favorite music, and make a playlist for him.

Office Sign — A small touch for his home office, if he has one.  Gifts don't need to be expensive to be nice.  You could simply install this one day above his office door, and drop off a set of his favorite pens, or sharp pencils in a cup (my husband's favorite).  It's the little things.

Key Chain — Again, I like upgrading things people already have.  A leather key chain is always a great option.

And, as always, spend time with your father.  Whatever you two enjoy doing together.  My father and I loved watching old movies together on TCM, and going book and shoe shopping (yes, he was amazing).  So, take it from me, time is precious and enjoy the time you have together.

I hope this helps! Wishing all the fathers out there a very Happy Father's Day!