I had meant for this post to go "live" before Father's Day, but I wasn't satisfied with the gifts I had chosen for my dad. Luckily enough, I was able to buy some aviation souvenirs that doubled as a Father's Day present from the National Air and Space Museum, which was a unique and special treat for my dad, an aviation enthusiast. However, his birthday is another story. My mother, my sister, and I always have trouble getting my dad gifts. Well, that's not exactly true, my sister and I always had trouble getting my dad gifts. My mom's got the art of gift giving down.
Whereas my mother and I are eerily similar and oft butt heads, my dad has always been the strong, hardworking, dad that always has his needs taken cared of. Sort of the the mysterious, albeit a bit distant, father. He is never in want of anything, but when he is in want he just goes out and buys it for himself. He's also incredibly frugal when it comes to gifts, so often instead of a good "eyes-wide open, mouth dropping in joy" reaction we get more of a "Why did you waste your money on this?"
Let's be honest here, when you give a gift...you want that sort of reaction, right? To varying degrees of course. As much as I gripe about my mother being a difficult buy, my father is even worse. For the man who has everything, the constant, dependable stoic provider of our family, these are the ideas I thought of. Even though these ideas are tailored specifically to my dad, maybe you can find some inspiration here! This post is not sponsored nor a contest entry, like my previous Mother's Day entry, so I didn't have any restrictions as to what I could put up.
Alcohol Enthusiast
My dad is someone that enjoys a nightly glass of whiskey or some glasses of red wine before dinner. As someone who enjoys his nightly "vice" and the spirit of utilitarianism, I kept that in mind as I picked two gifts that would make his nightcaps more enjoyable.
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| Image From Think Geek |
Whiskey stones! This gadget is something fun and, often times, something not many people have in their alcohol arsenal. The concept behind whiskey stones is that they replace ice cubes to cool down your whiskey, but where ice melts and dilutes your whiskey, the stones just stay as they are allowing the whiskey to maintain it's strength and flavor until you reach the end of the glass. Even better, if your dad is lazy, he doesn't have to refill the ice tray! You can just recycle the whiskey stones over and over again.
Purchase Link:
Whiskey Stones | $19.99 - $29.99
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| Image Taken from Amazon |
If you're an oenophile like my dad, I think it's an absolute necessity to have a good wine opener. Recently our resident corkscrew broke, after ten years of remarkable service, so its an easy gift to give that fills out both categories of necessity and utility. The wine opener brand that we've stuck with for the longest time is Le Creuset and their range of Screw Pull Levers. The model shown above is called their Le Creuset Lever and Foilcutter Gift Set in black, I know it's a super mouthful, but multiple Amazon reviews , Consumer Reports, and my own family's experience with this rate that this is best Lever wine puller on the market! It also comes with a 10 year warranty. =)
Purchase Link:
La Creuset LM 250 Giftset | $70.67
Purchase Link:
La Creuset LM 250 Giftset | $70.67
Cooking Expert
My dad loves to flex his chops in the kitchen and on most nights in our family, my mom and dad often make dinner together. I thought it was only appropriate to give him some fun kitchen gadgets as well.
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| Image From Think Geek |
After becoming obsessed with the restaurant elBulli and the idea of molecular gastronomy, I think this starter kit will be right up his alley. Flavor foams, spherification, and jelly-fying ingredients and additives all come in this little kit for you to try at home and enjoy. Also, so you're not flying by the seat of your pants all the time, there's an instructional DVD included with 50 demonstrations of how you can properly utilize all the components you've just received. =)
Purchase Link:
Molecular Cuisine Starter Kit | $58.95
According to my coffee aficionado friend, the Aeropress changed his coffee drinking life. My dad has three french presses at home, he's the only one in the house that drinks coffee, so I think this might be a cool addition to his coffee routine. The aeropress uses air pressure to press hot water through the coffee grounds cutting the brewing time down to 20 seconds and, supposedly, reduces the bitterness of the coffee through the shorter brew time.
Purchase Links:
Aerobie Aeropress (Through Amazon) | $26.19
Aeropress Coffee Maker (Through Think Geek) | $25.99
Purchase Link:
Molecular Cuisine Starter Kit | $58.95
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| Image taken from Amazon |
According to my coffee aficionado friend, the Aeropress changed his coffee drinking life. My dad has three french presses at home, he's the only one in the house that drinks coffee, so I think this might be a cool addition to his coffee routine. The aeropress uses air pressure to press hot water through the coffee grounds cutting the brewing time down to 20 seconds and, supposedly, reduces the bitterness of the coffee through the shorter brew time.
Purchase Links:
Aerobie Aeropress (Through Amazon) | $26.19
Aeropress Coffee Maker (Through Think Geek) | $25.99
Technology Gifts
Everybody loves tech stuff!
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| Image Taken From Think Geek |
So my dad is a technology buff as well as a neat freak. I think this gift is the perfect solution in answering both of those problems. Given that my dad has so many gadgets: an iPad, cell phone, laptop, and a whole other menagerie of devices that need charging, you might as well make them look nice right? With the "futon of charging docks" you can charge at least four devices on here, with all the power wires and ugly stuff going out the back. Although according to the picture it seems if you have an iPad it only has room for two items...anyway. For my dad, who wants everything neat and put away, I think this will have his desires quenched.
Purchase Links:
Converge USB Charging Hub | $47.99
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| Image taken from Think Geek |
Going along the vein "constantly needing to charge things", what better than a portable battery? A MODULAR portable battery! This gift was actually inspired by a recent gadget that my dad gave to me. It was a small portable battery for my cell phone and I've found it to be immensely useful, especially since my cell phone battery never lasted until the end of the day. With the Exovolt Plus Stackable Battery back you can adjust your charge and battery as needed by adding on more bricks and each brick can store about 5,200mAh through a lithium polymer battery. It has a usb and a micro-usb port so I'm pretty sure that makes it just about "everything compatible" even though it was originally created for Apple products. Now when you're traveling, you don't have to constantly look for outlets! You can just pull out a stack of these and you're set =)
Purchase Link:
Exovolt Plus Stackable Battery Pack | On Sale for $71.89 (July 25, 2013)
Pocket Sized Gifts
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| Image Taken from Think Geek |
Something about gadgets that can fit in your pocket appeal to my dad. I think it's his fascination with James Bond and the whole mystique of a "prepared spy." A common problem people face is the need to cut something on the go, whether it's electronic twisty ties, a forgotten clothing tag, or even cutting through some fresh fruit...sometimes you just have to cut something. Swiss army knives are a bit of a burden to carry around, so the Cardsharp 2 Credit Knife takes all the bulk out of carrying around a useful tool. The blade snaps into place when you're using it, is machine washable, and is the size of a credit card! It's a cool, streamlined gadget, that'll make any utilitarian happy.
Here's a Vat19 Video Demonstration:
Purchase Links:
CardSharp Knife (Through Vat19) | $19.99
CardSharp Knife (Through Think Geek) | $17.99
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| Image Taken from Think Geek |
From the photo can you tell what this is? A credit card holder? You're right! My dad likes to carry his wallet and his credit cards separately, don't ask me why, so this modern, minimalist card case seemed like a good gift idea. In addition to being sleek, streamlined, and having the ability to hold 6 credit cards, it also protects against RFID identity theft. I was alerted to RFID Identity Theft through CSI: New York, I know a very realistic show (sarcasm), but regardless it's still a real problem. Any hacker with the right tools can simply get close to you to steal valuable information. This sleek case protects against that. Cool right?
Purchase Links:
Secrid Aluminum Card Protector | $39.99
So that wraps it up for my dad's birthday/father's day gift guide! As you can see from my choices my dad loves gadgets and gizmos, so my gift choices reflect quite heavily on his personal preferences. Even though these items are tailored to my dad, I hope you can find some cool inspiration here for items for your dad or any significant others in your life.
Once again, I just want to say even though I draw heavily from Think Geek, Vat19, and Amazon, I'm not being sponsored in any way, shape, or form from these sites. I just enjoy their products. =) If you don't like the items that I've chosen here I encourage you to peruse their sites on your own and pick out the perfect gift for your dad/loved ones!
I've purchased, and am eagerly awaiting on, two items from this list! I'll make sure to take photos of them when they arrive and give you the lowdown on how they were received.
I love you dad! I hope you enjoy your gifts!
