What to get the father?

Well, tell us a little bit more about him. How old is he, what hobbies does he enjoy, what line of work, etc?

My parents are easy. He collects beer steins and my mom collects music boxes. Biggest thing is to coordinate with my sister so we don’t send the same ones.

@Kayak8 ; hmm, alright. He is in his early 50’s, and for hobbies…. well, he doesn’t really go out much; usually he just watches some dramas with my mom, or movies, etc. I guess he does like to spend time with his children as well.

He likes coffee. His job doesn’t relate to what he likes, I’m sure.

He likes junk, and sweets, and fast food.. He’s not a very fat man, but he sure does have a pot belly type of thing going on. He’s actually a very tiny man compared to others. He’s about my height, which is around 5’4 or 5“5, and he’s kind of bald on the top of his head. I’m not sure if physical features is helping to pick a gift. haha..

My dad doesn’t drink, or smoke or anything.

And I plan to split the gift with another sibling of mine, so I’m hoping for either a large present, or multiple ones that aren’t too expensive.

I’m willing to spend up to $100.

If he does not already have a favorite brand of coffee, there are some cool ways to do a coffee gift basket (travel mug, bags of beans, etc). You could also add a netflix gift certificate here so he could get more movies. A gift certificate to a favorite restaurant for both of your parents might be nice (date night).

I always loved getting a basket with individually wrapped gifts in the basket. A pocket knife or leatherman-type multi-tool can be nice. A money clip with his initials monogrammed on it (could slip a gift card into the money clip).

@Kayak8; ooh, okay, thank you for your suggestions! I’ll have to write some of this down. ;)

Here’s a neat coffee cup that he may like. It looks like a Starbucks-style paper cup, but it’s actually made of ceramic. I got one, in red, for my sister in law at Cost Plus Imports for $7.99 You can see an example here then you can also wrap up with it (in red clear cellophane that you get at the 99 cent only store) a package of some type of Xmas blend coffee from Starbucks or Peets.

Does your Dad like gadgets? My Dad absolutely loves flashlights. They have some nice new LED style flashlights that come in handy for keeping in the car or the junk drawer or other places that you might need one in a hurry. You can get a nice big sturdy maglite like this or a package of small ones that come in different colors like these

You said that your dad has a bit of a pot belly. He might need to start a walking regimen. In that case, you could get him a pedometer like this one from Target and a stainless steel water bottle like this

Do you have any idea what music your Dad likes (and doesn’t already have)? Last year I got my Dad Willie Nelson’s Xmas album. This year I got him Josh Groban’s new album. Your mom probably knows what he likes.

Or maybe you could find out (from mom, again) what old movie from many years ago did your dad love? Could be something like Young Frankenstein or Blazing Saddles or It’s a Mad Mad World (3 of my dad’s favorites) that you could find on a DVD.

Although most dad’s don’t like to cook, most do enjoy barbecuing. Maybe a good barbecue recipe book like this or some barbecuing accessories like tongs, oven mitt, hat and apron.

My dad is really difficult to shop for too. It’s especially difficult because his birthday is less than two weeks before Christmas. :(

I don’t try to guess what my dad wants anymore. I just flat-out ask him for suggestions. He’ll tell me some specific things he wants and I’ll choose something from that list. Sometimes I get an idea all on my own, but it’s usually based on something else I know he likes.

The things he seemed to like the most: Season 1 of Dexter, a series on Showtime. He liked it so much, he now gets each season as it is released. One reason he’s hard to buy for: he just gets what he wants when he wants it. Once I realized my dad had no pictures of me and my brother as kids. My mom took all the photo albums when she moved out. I collected family pictures from other family members and made a scrapbook with photos from our baby years all the way up through high school and college. He seemed to really like that. My dad was forced into early retirement this year and doesn’t have the extra money he used to for things like eating out and going on vacations. Instead of getting something for him and something else for his wife, I sent them a gift certificate to a really nice restaurant they love. I don’t think they’d splurge on that place now, but with a gift card they’ll be able to have a meal there again.

Good luck!

Home Depot has all kinds of interesting tools(and gadgets for those that don’t need tools per se) And they are ridiculously cheap right now. I’d drive by (since you are doing holiday shopping anyway) and just check the stuff up front by the registers out.

your dad sounds like me! I like books and CDs and gadgets from REI. and stuff related to what I was interested in years ago BK ( before kids). Like hiking stuff, or if you can afford it, a hand held GPS. and music is always good, a modern band that sounds like a classic favorite.

Consumables = good.

Go to a nice coffee roasting company and get him a pound of fresh roast in his favorite blend, dark or light or exotic or whatever, or sample their primo blend and see if you think he would like it. And wrap it up good and tight in a layer of plastic wrap before you put the wrapping paper on, to keep it fresh and also keep him from smelling it before he opens it.

My brother got my dad a long shoe-horn. My dad had a bad back, and had trouble bending down to put on a shoe properly. It became the example no one could match.

I just got my dad a new Camelbak water bottle and filled it with goodies: candy, a flash drive, hand warmers. There are always new gadgets that neither have you have heard of! Go to a hardware store or something and look for things you don’t recognize.

Just saw the best gift—adopt an olive tree: you send them money, they put your name on the tree and then give you the olive oil that comes from that tree. Cool.

@skfinkel Do you have a link for the olive tree? My mom would LOVE that!

A flashlight with a stand or one with a strap for your head!

Father is what you have allready gotten.