Our Favourites: Father’s Day Gift Guide

When it comes to celebrating the ones we love, it’s easy to end up spending a huge amount of money on gifts that you’ve bought in a panic. Especially if you’re like me and completely awful at getting organised in time. We can’t be the only household that have a small pile of ex-gifts hidden in drawers or tucked away in cupboards because they’re not really us. What a waste! That’s why this Father’s Day, I’m determined not to add to the pile of unworn ‘Dad’ socks and instead spend my hard-earned pennies on something I know he’ll really like. Even if I have left it to the last minute. Let’s take a look…

A Personalised Diary

If your dad needs a little more organising, why not remove all his excuses and get him a diary? TOAD Diaries hand make all of their diaries and notebooks here in the UK. My favourite has to be the new ‘Touch’ diary with it’s soft touch cover and a copper or blind embossing on the front. Completely customisable, you can select your cover, start date, duration, size, layout… the list goes on so play to your heart’s content with their personalisation tool.. Each one is hard-backed and wirobound finishing it off wonderfully so you know it’ll last all year.

Available from £17.60 at TOAD Diaries.

The Sugru Rebel Tech Kit

Fixing things is a real dad job in our household, 9/10 times he can fix it. Make that job a little easier (and a little more fun) with a Sugru Rebel Tech Kit; a collection of 14 tech ideas and hacks with step by step instructions. Each idea uses Sugru mouldable glue which is included in the kit for you to put those hacks into practice. I know my Dad is itching to get his hands on Sugru so this is the perfect present for him and at £10 it’s not going to break the bank. Plus, it’ll win me some brownie points for the next time I want something fixed.

Available for £10 at Sugru.com

A Personalised Watch

I was looking for watches that I could get a message engraved on the back of when I stumbled across the GiftsOnline4U website. If you’re looking to give Dad some personalised Father’s Day gifts this year, then this is the site for you. There’s lots of choice from sporting related gifts to his favourite tipple but my preference has to be the personalised watches. There’s a selection to suit every pocket and taste, each available with a level of personalisation such as an engraved back.

None caught my eye as much as the personalised photo watch – I’ve not seen anything like it elsewhere. Using the customisation tool, you’re able to upload a photo of your choosing either from your computer or directly from your Instagram or Facebook albums. Choose how to display it on the screen before perhaps adding some text over it as well. I went for this ridiculously cute sleeping baby shot and let the photo do the talking but the choice is yours! Outside of adding an image of your choice, you can also choose the colour of the strap and the metal and a message to write for Dad above and below your photo. If that wasn’t enough personalisation, there’s also room on the rear to get that all important engraving for Dad to treasure. It truly does mean you can create a gift that he’ll love and, as an added bonus, he should never be late again!

Available from £59.99 at GiftsOnline4U.

Itty Bittys

If you’ve not heard of Itty Bittys then prepare yourself for a new addiction; they’re great! Available in a range of different designs, these miniature plush toys are based on various themes; from Star Wars to superheroes, so you can either get dad his favourite or tell him what a hero he is to you. My favourites are these Wizard of Oz themed ones, we’ll be using them for a bit of father/son bonding as they act out the story together. Well, that’s going to make the bedtime story far more exciting!

Available for £6.93 per figure at Hallmark.

A Sense Of Adventure

Okay so you might not be able to afford the trip itself but why not furnish Dad with this ‘Adventure is waiting..’ notebook. With a leather feel cover and 200 lined pages, it’s perfect for encouraging Dad to take the trip of a lifetime! The notebook has a magnetic lock which keeps everything together and perforations on each page to allow for easy removal of notes. It’s not just for adventure, it’s a chance for Dad to organise his thoughts and get planning… just pop it on the bedside table for those middle of the night thoughts! Doodle supply these directly from India which means they’re very affordable and great quality.

Available from Doodle for £9.80.

A Heartfelt Card

Father’s Day doesn’t have to be about the big splashy gifts, you can make Dad just as happy with a well chosen card! Since our son isn’t old enough to write just yet, I’ll be carrying on our tradition of putting his hand print in the card on an additional bit of paper… it’s so cute and then allows us to treasure the card as he grows up *sob*.

Cards available from Hallmark Cards.