When was the last time you spent some real time with your dad?

We live in a rushed world. Everything has to be done by yesterday. There is never enough time. We are never stopped.

That’s ok, but there are times when this all gets in the way of things that may matter more than rushing off to the latest thing.

And it’s the same for our kids isn’t it? There’s the football training, or the piano lessons, or the ballet class, or the ……… You know what I mean there too, I’m sure. It’s exactly the same with me. I’m married with a family and we have all those to do and more. And I suppose that’s the basis of a fine upbringing for kids. Sometimes

And when it comes to gift giving a gift can be a simple way of opting out of something more meaningful because we don’t have enough time.

When was the last time you, or the kids, spent real time with your dad, or they with theirs? Real time. Like all day without an interruption?

It’s so easy to grab a gift, give it and the jobs done. Fathers day is satisfied, obligation over.

What would be much harder to give sometimes would be a gift of yourself. For you to say to yourself, and to your dad, “you’re more important to me today, so I’m dedicating all of today to you. Lets do whatever you want to do – with me. All day. Telephone off.”

Or the kids do that with dad. Just a day for dad and the kids together, no interruptions.

Or maybe you’re 40s or 50s and dad is in a retirement home. Take a whole day off and take him out somewhere he’d love to go. Just the two of you.

There’s nothing wrong with giving a gift, make that a part of the day. But don’t assume that fathers day is satisfied just because you’ve given a gift. It takes more than that. It takes some of you to make it a real fathers day for him, a fathers day that he’ll remember.

And he’s much more likely to remember what you two did together than the gift he got. Read more

Fathers day is coming, and if you want to buy him a friendship stone you can do so less 15%.

Just a short one.

I’ve written about the Friendship Stone before. I like it as a gift for a man or a woman that’s quite unique. Very different indeed.

Well it seems that the Friendship Stone is on special for fathers day. It’s a nice idea that’s a little bit different for dads.

So if you’re interested in finding out a little bit more about the Friendship Stone read my article about it here.

And if the idea takes you as a good idea for a fathers day gift for dad then you can buy them at 15% off.

To do so go to the Friendship Stone website. Read more

Does he love swimming and playing with the kids in the pool?

If you’re lucky enough to have a pool, and you’ve got kids, then you’ve probably noticed that dads love playing in the pool with the kids. Lets face it, men are just big kids at heart anyway.

And if he loves playing in the pool with the kids then a gift for, say, his birthday or fathers day that increases the fun in the pool just has to be a great gift for a father who loves getting wet with the kids.

How about a motorized bumper boat?

In other words a boat that goes under it’s own power, that’s fun to use like a bumper car, but in the water.

Sounds like something that both dads and the kids would love.

Battery powered, it moves at around 3 mph, so he’s not going water skiing with it, (but who water skis in the pool anyway?) But it’s fully steerable with it’s own steering wheel and is made of tough PVC so it can withstand some rough and tumble with the kids.

It comes with it’s own air pump so he can pump it up and then let it down for easy storage. 4 hours use from the batteries, it’s a heap of fun for a family man who loves the water and the kids.

Of course the kids will want one too so you need to buy 2. But it’s cheaper than I expected, only $99.95, so maybe you could afford 2!

Either way it’s a great gift for a dad with a love of water.

Get to Hammacher Schlemmer to get it. When you get to their site just search “bumper boat” in their search bar at the top and there it is.

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Here’s a lovely idea for a gift for a dad. Fathers day, birthday or Christmas, or maybe it’s just a good day to give dad a gift for no reason at all!

It’s called Coupons For Dad. It’s a gift book of coupons that he can redeem when he wants. A gift that allows him to determine what sort of day he’s going to have, and when he has it.

Coupons include a coupon for a peaceful car ride, a long bath, your bedroom cleaned, breakfast in bed, a phone call without being interrupted, an hour’s worth of peace and quiet, no arguing for an afternoon, setting the table and quiet and sleeping late.

So if he’s had a really bad day at the office he can settle in and use his coupon for an hours worth of peace and quiet and have some time out from the kids, or the whatever it is that he needs a break from.

I like it because it displays a little initiative in it’s conception and design. It’s a good gift for a father when you’re really stuck for ideas on what to buy for him. Better than a simple gift certificate for him.

I found it in the Tonic Gifts blog. Apparently it made it to page 3 of the local Sun/Herald fathers day gifts guide. As I noted on this site recently, it was fathers day a couple of weekends ago in Australia. Tonic Gifts is an Australian site.

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It’s fathers day in Australia soon. This weekend in fact. So if you’re one of my Australian visitors and you’re looking for an idea or 2 for great fathers day gifts for him, here’s an idea or 2 for you:

How about a USB powered coffee warmer? Sits right there on your desk and keeps your – or his – coffee warm all day.

Or perhaps a motorized golf ball massager? For the dad who works too hard.

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Men are like kids. Yes I know you women know that already, and I’m just confirming it. But it’s true. We love to play. But then doesn’t everybody.

Here’s a great gift for a father. A perfect excuse for him to play, and do it with his kids. Ideal for a man who’s science oriented and who can spend hours with his kids getting some quality time together. And playing in water, and I know from having kids how much fun it is playing in water with them.

It’s called the Hydrodynamic Building Set and it requires some serious building efforts. He needs to build the set from the ground up, well at least from the water tank up. The object is to make the water go up to the top. But it’s not easy. The instruction manual, deliberately, doesn’t give step by step instructions.

And one of my pet hates with things for dad to build with the kids is a kit that can only be built one way. Once it’s done it’s useless because it’s no fun doing it again. Not so with the Hydrodynamic Building Set. Do it differently over and over.

So he, and the kids, have to figure it out a lot by themselves. It’s a serious challenge. And possibly a wet one as well. A perfect gift for a dad.

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