In our house, we tend to celebrate occasions with shared experiences and time together rather than physical gifts.  Which is lucky, because with the end of school and beginning of summer hoopla, Father’s Day always seems to creep up on me.  

If you’re still looking for some meaningful gift ideas for dad or grandpa, here’s a list of some of my family's favorite gifts from past years - some physical and some experiential.  I’m including the cost for each and relevant links. All of these items can be procured this week (if you have Amazon Prime, of course), so you have plenty of time. Get going!  

 

STORYWORTH SUBSCRIPTION   (best for Grandpa)

Price: $79 for annual subscription (including 1 album)

Last year my father turned 70.  It occurred to me and my sister that there are so many life experiences he’s had that we probably don’t even know about and stories that we want to capture for our kids to know about him.  Ok, in all honesty, this was prompted by a Keeping Up with the Kardashians episode where the daughters filmed a ‘legacy video’ about their mom Kris’s life.  Important life lessons, people!

So we gifted my dad a StoryWorth subscription.  StoryWorth essentially helps him write a life memoir by sending him an email prompt about his life each week.  The questions are a mix of broad and specific, but all very reflective - things like “What do you admire most about your parents?” and “How did you get your first job?”.  His responses are emailed to all the subscribers (in our case - me, my mom and my sister) so we can follow his stories each week. We were able to tailor the question list, so for example, we added questions around my dad’s move from India to America in the 1970’s.  At the end of our year-long subscription, we can edit the stories, add photos and it all gets printed in a hardcover album for us to keep. We can each order a copy for our homes.

My dad is a great writer and he’s really embraced and enjoyed the weekly writing tasks.  We loved following along, and have learned so much about him that we didn’t know. And now I’ll have a book to keep for future generations to know him too!  

If you’d like $10 off a subscription, here is my personal referral link for their Father’s Day special.  

PHOTO FRAME FOR OFFICE DESK   (good for dad or grandpa)

Price: $10+

When I have ample time and foresight, I love making more involved photo gifts for my family.  Last year I made the beautiful desk calendar pictured above for Ashish and got one for myself as well.  Artifact Uprising’s products are my favorite for their clean and modern aesthetic.  But what do you do if you only have 1 week? You can still get a favorite photo printed the (semi) old-fashioned way - upload them to your local Walgreens or CVS online and pick them up within a day or two.  There are plenty of beautiful frames available for 2-day shipping on Amazon Prime and viola! you have the perfect frame for dad to take to his office.  Here and here are a couple of modern frames from Amazon Prime to get you started.  

 

EXPERIENCES  (great for dads & grandpas) 

Price: $80+

Since it’s summertime, shared experiences are such a fun way to spend Father’s Day. Sporting events, comedy shows and brunch buffets have been favorites in our family.

Ashish is a huge Yankees fan, so one year I surprised him with tickets to a Yankees game with Alekh a few years back.  Much fun was had.

We also loved doing the fancy brunch buffet at the Roxy Hotel one year, and every town has bottomless mimosa / bloody mary brunches that a drinky dad will love!   

Since my own dad is not local, we typically don’t celebrate with him in person.  But my sister and I are always looking for fun shows touring in his area and have treated him & my mom to dinner and a comedy show (Trevor Noah!) as a gift.

 

 

A DAY OF REST (great for dads) 

Price: $0

Perhaps I’m projecting my own feelings, but I think a Sunday morning of rest is a perfect gift for Father’s Day.  Let your husband sleep in while you wrangle the kids into making him a special breakfast for whenever he decides to emerge.  IF he decides to emerge. Truthfully, this is the gift that my husband and kids give me every Mother’s Day (pictured above) and it never gets old.  So yes, I’m projecting.

 

 

SPORTS LESSONS or EXERCISE EQUIPMENT  (great for dad or grandpa)

Price: $90+

I mean, it’s not like you’re saying he has a dad bod, buuuuut…

We all want to learn something new, but how many dads actually take the time to sign up for lessons?  Try booking a few sessions with a golf or tennis pro, depending on his interests...and remember that you have to watch the kids during that time too :)  I’ve always wanted to get Ashish sailing lessons with the Manhattan Sailing School, so that may be on the docket soon.  

OR if sports aren't his thing...everyone could use more exercise so we’ve gifted a home gym set, under desk elliptical and a stationary bike to various dads and grandpas in our family.  What’s a better gift than life longevity??

 

 

 

PRE-LOADED KINDLE or AUDIBLE SUBSCRIPTION

Price: $14.95 / month (Audible.com) or $90+ (Kindle)

Personalized book recommendations are some of the most thoughtful gifts.  One of my favorite gift ideas (for anyone) is a Kindle pre-loaded with a few books that he’d love recommended by different family members.  Alternatively, for the dad or grandpa that has a long commute, consider a subscription to Audible. 

 

Believe it or not, this post wasn't sponsored by Amazon :)