Happy Father's Day Dads! Hopefully 2021's celebration of all the pops out there will be more lively than the pandemic celebration.
So what can we all do or buy to make sure this year is the best of the best? Dad's are so much easier and simultaneously more difficult than mother's.
They say you don't have to put in a crazy amount of effort, because they claim to not need much but they do tend to notice mom's diamond earrings from the month before when they unwrap your gift for them... a bottle opener.
So a little effort is definitely appreciated.
Redditor u/botl_91 wanted to know our best options when shopping for dads by asking:
What's the best Father's Day gift idea?
Do dad's like flowers? Will they accept jewelry? Or is alcohol and a barbeque all that is necessary? I wouldn't really know, having never had a dad, so I find this an interesting topic. Please elaborate...
Chill
Fathers Day Dad GIF by America's Funniest Home Videos
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"Just spending a relaxing day with my kids is a great gift. They're adults now living their lives but they make time to see their old dad."
Basics
"Idk if this is the best. But every year I detail clean my dad's car. And he loves it cuz he is older. And such a busy man, he never has the time to do it himself. So if you got the supplies try surprising him with a super clean car."
"Oh I'd love this! And top off the gas tank, absolute heaven."
That Good Day
"When I was little, my dad (a single dad at the time) would take me to our local theme park every year on Father's Day. It was our little life hack - there were never any lines because no dad wanted to be in a gross theme park on Father's Day but my dad did. We did this for about a decade. Every year he would half joking half serious say he was going to make me go on the bungee jump with him; one year we got close, we made it all the way to the harnesses and I chickened out."
"So, a fast forward about 10 years, when I was in my mid-20s, Its Father's Day and I told my dad I was taking him on a surprise outing. He had no idea. I take him to the theme park and walk him right up to the bungee jump and buy two tickets. We had SO. MUCH. FUN. He's just the best god damn dad in the world and he made my otherwise crappy childhood so wonderful. Nothing is as precious to me as those memories and now we have another one from when we were both adults."
- okwerq
Sent Gifts
"One year I couldn't go home for Christmas so I sent my dad five pack of super bright LED flashlights just because I knew he would shine them in my brothers' eyes throughout the entire day. This is the equivalent of buying your brother's kid a noisy toy."
Side Pocket
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"Best 'gift' I got my Dad was taking him out for a few drinks so we could talk and shoot some pool. It's an annual thing now."
Pool? You can play pool anytime, suddenly its a holiday celebration. Well to each their own. I know really it's about quality time. That's so... motherly. ;)
In his Image
Bobblehead GIF by Purdue Sports
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"I once made my dad a bobblehead of himself out of air-dry clay. It wasn't the best quality because I hadn't ever made a bobblehead before, but he LOVED it. He cried (a rare occurrence) and then showed everyone he knew."
Memories
"Spending time and making memories. My Dad just died last week somewhat unexpectedly. I was able to see him and spend time before he passed which I will treasure forever. My Dad and I would make a point of just hanging out together on Father's day and do stuff."
"We did train rides, boat rides, plane rides. Sometimes just driving around and having dinner. The point was just to enjoy each other's time. I don't remember any physical gifts I gave him. But those memories of spending the day and doing awesome stuff I will keep with me forever. Miss you Dad ♥️"
"Edit: Wow, I had no idea this would blow up like this. Thank you all for the kind words and awards. Reading all of your stories about your own Dad's brings so many good tears. I am so lucky to have had such a great Dad and even luckier to tell him that before he passed . For those of you who didn't have a good Dad or didn't have one at all, be that Dad. To your kids, to your nieces and nephews, to your friends kids. Hell even to the neighborhood kids. It matters."
A Beautiful Day
"Spend the day with him doing something he likes. The best Father's Day gift I got recently was a day at a streetcar museum with my three kids. I love museums, I love ice cream, and I love just spending the day with no pressure. I've been trying to get my daughter interested in golfing, with no success."
"The best gift I could get at this point would be for her to humor me for a bit and come with me to a driving range. Even if she never plays golf again, I would always remember that day like I will always remember the streetcar museum."
Blah Blah
"My stepdad is the most boring guy who channels the energy of Hank Hill's gang. Super hard to buy for. The only thing he would possibly want is expensive tools but he buys that stuff for himself. One year I got him a new trash can (he really likes emptying the garbage) filled with his favorite stuff--paper towels, Boraxo hand soap, peanuts, Top Ramen, hydrogen peroxide, rubbing alcohol. He loved it."
Never Alone
Lisa Simpson Hug GIF by The Simpsons
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"I see a lot of leave me alone. I don't want to be left alone. Probably the best would be for them to set up some sort of outdoors activity."
"Like a slip and slide or something. And I can just watch them play. Then they bbq, which they can't do, but I'll help them. Maybe watch a movie together that night. Low key. Restful day and we spend it together."
Sounds like every parent is really after the same things. Yes, they all enjoy quiet time, but being surrounded by love and good company is always the way to go.
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Money and debt are my two biggest issues. Debt just keeps building if you don't get on it. I'm too afraid to call the student loan people. I'll do it tomorrow. Whoops...
MOST IMPORTANT!!!
Think About It Reaction GIF by IdentityGiphy"Mental health. It took me years to realize how much I've dissociated. It became how I deal with everything. There are so many unhealthy ways to live your life by ignoring mental health."
Check the skies...
"Terminal velocity."
"Birds crap at up to 26,000 feet, or 14000% higher than the CN tower. When was the last time someone got killed by falling avian feces? But no, seriously. I used to work on tall buildings and radio towers. I'm also afraid of heights, so while I was up there I'd work out out how fast various things would hit the ground to distract myself."
"Air resistance is a real witch, and rotational effects make it even slower. Pennies dropped off the tallest building west of the Mississippi, the one I was on top of, would barely break 22mph. Harking a loogie over was no worse to pedestrians than pigeons."
"It was only once I got into the tools I was using that there would be an injury. A 9/16 wrench dropped 900 feet might actually kill someone, if it hit them in the head just right. The 1-inch would kill someone most of the time. Needless to say all my tools were on loops, and undroppable."
- technos
"participate"
"Disassociation. Your brain is an incredibly powerful force and it can start working against your best interests so quickly while telling you that everything is fine."
"Thank you for this. I looked up dissociation in Google from this thread. I realize I have been struggling with both derealization and depersonalization in teens, and even now to some extent. I too think physical activities and activities I am really passionate about are the ones I "participate." I can say I have been a spectator to many years of my life and not feel my own experience. It is really strange, how do we come out of it??"
I'm scared to be honest...
"Mental and emotional abuse. Damn, I'm 36 and still trying to undo the damage done my whole childhood. The pain of beatings doesn't compare to how mental and emotional abuse screws with me every day in so many ways. And even stupid stuff. I go into fight or flight mode if my boss wants to talk to me. I constantly think my friends and my husband are mad at me or sick of me. I'm scared to be honest about my feelings sometimes because I don't want to be ridiculed."
Need Zzzz...
Stressed Episode 19 GIF by The SimpsonsGiphy"A severe lack of sleep. I have no longer been able to sleep at night for some odd reason, so my brain causes me to essentially pass out during the day."
Open your mouth...
Richard Kiel Smile GIF by James Bond 007Giphy"Take care of your TEETH. Unless you want to end up with a molar shattering one day and having to get a quadruple root canal."
Dear Doctor,
"Just got gallbladder surgery! I had a pain under my right ribs off and on. Then at one point it wouldn't go away and kept getting worse. Had an ultrasound and emergency surgery like two days later. I had a huge gallstone blocking my bile duct, and it would have ruptured. Yeah pain can come and go, but if it gets to the point where it is there all the time, go to the doctor!"
Love your skin...
"Strange skin growths. One of my wife's uncles was at a family gathering that was also attended by my BIL, an ER doc. The uncle mentioned that he'd had this odd growth on his leg for some time but hadn't bothered to do anything about it. Showed it to my BIL who adamantly advised him to get seen immediately. Uncle still took his time—too many other things to do or whatever. A year on an the man is just riddled with cancer. I don't think there's much to be done other than making him as comfortable as possible at this point."
Messages...
"Email. My kid almost lost the financial aid award because it's summer; I don't have to check my email. It was an intense hustle to get everything squared away and not lose that spot at college."
- awill237
"At the beginning of all the grad school classes I TA'd for I always ended the first day by asking, "Who here has a smartphone? Who has an email app on their phone? Who has their student email account synced with the app?"
"It was always all hands raised, all hands, two or three hands. I would make them set it up before they left. Checking your email in the morning and evening takes maybe 5 minutes on average unless you are a very important person in some organization who should really be checking more often!"
the long list...
list GIFGiphy"Headaches, skin cancer, tooth pain, kids, UTI which can turn into kidney infection, wound infection, bowel disease, debt, bad relationship."
The list is endless. So just start chipping away. Stay on top of it. Teeth and mind first. Stay calm.
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