When it comes to buying Father’s Day gifts, sometimes the more traditional items – like wine or beer-of-the-month-club memberships – just won’t cut it. Especially if the dads in your life like to spend their free time in the great outdoors, being a bit more active.
Both my own dad and Daddy-man really enjoy bicycling.
My father used to go on crazy long-distance bicycle journeys. He’d do 100-miles-in-a-day cross-country races and once (maybe twice, actually), he bicycled across Idaho and part of Oregon for an annual event where a group of cyclists relayed across the US for charity.
He still goes out on his bike pretty regularly, although he doesn’t tend to cover those big distances anymore – he needs to save his energy for life on the farm!
Before Pumpkin was but a twinkle in our eyes, Daddy-man and I used to go on regular bike rides as well – although nothing as arduous as my father’s journeys. Daddy-man also used to cycle to work every day when we lived closer to London.
He still enjoys a trip out on his bike when he can muster it, but for the most part, he’s swapped his pedal-power for walking and takes Pumpkin on long strolls in the pram most Saturday mornings.
With all this in mind, I’ve realised that I need to focus my gift-buying on non-traditional items for Father’s Day. After all, my own dad already has all of the power tools in existence and Daddy-man never wears ties. Ever.
Here are some of the ideas that I’ve come up with:
Scooters
You can’t always take your bicycle with you. They’re a bit big for keeping in the back of the car all the time and the Tube staff don’t allow anything other than folding bicycles on the underground.
A new little scooter, on the other hand, doesn’t take up much space and can be great fun when you get to where you’re going.
I like to imagine taking one with us on our next trip to Scotland and riding it along the beachside path, or bringing it with us on a trip to the park for a zippy little ride on the pavements there.
New helmets
Nothing says: “I love you, Dad, so please don’t crack your head open,” better than a shiny new helmet.
These pieces of safety equipment are supposed to be replaced every few years (exactly how often varies depending on who you speak to) or after any impact (even a drop from a relatively low height could render a bicycle helmet ineffective).
So, even though they may not be the most exciting gift out there, helmets are certainly a good way to show you care.
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Go-Pro cameras
These rugged little cameras are great for anyone who enjoys outdoor activities, as well as more adrenaline-fuelled pursuits. They can be strapped to a helmet or the front of a bike and the resulting images and video can be fun to watch and share.
Sunglasses
Whether they’re out on their bikes, baling hay or walking through the streets of London, the dads in my life need to protect their eyes from the sunshine – and they can look good doing it too.I know Daddy-man would never turn down a new pair of Oakleys!
Headphones
It’s nice to have a soundtrack to your world. Some people listen to music, some like podcasts.
Daddy-man for some reason is currently obsessed with listening to recordings of the US Supreme Court.
I know.
Anyway, a good pair of headphones means he can listen in comfort – and it saves the rest of us from having to listen to it at all!
So, what do you plan to get for the dads in your life this Father’s Day? I’d love to hear your ideas – tell me about them in the comments below!
Disclosure: This post was written in collaboration with Skatehut.co.uk.
Photos courtesy of Skatehut.co.uk.
This is fantastic. My husband is also not the traditional dad gift receiver and loves to cycle and listen to podcasts. We have most of this stuff but I never thought about replacing his helmet. He loves to grow vegetables in his square foot gardens so the kids will actually put together a basket of gardening tools this year and make stones with their handprints for the garden. Funny how this is a traditional gift for moms but with the gender roles changing in the household it seems something like this should be gender neutral. I most likely will find something off his amazon wishlist or get him a gift certificate to his favorite cycling store since he has most of the traveling safety items such as an air pump that attaches to your frame for flat tires as well as extra tubing in the small bag I bought him one year for under his seat. We also have tickets to see Brad Paisley this weekend so that is part of the gift. Thanks for the article. I thoroughly enjoyed reading it. Great ideas! Mostly I love that my husband isn’t the only one hard to shop for this season considering most of what you find are neckties and beer.