Father's Day: What to give the man, your dad, who has everything

Sadly my Father passed away when I was only seventeen. Oh how I would love to be able to treat him on Father's Day. Treasure your Dad and make sure that he has a special day. Apart from giving you life he will hopefully have been your guardian, rock, tower of strength, support, provider and so much more.

If your Dad is rather mature, shall we say, and life has been kind to him, he may appear to have everything. If that's the case you will probably be stumped as to what gift you can buy him.

Even if your Dad is fairly young it may be that there seems to be nothing which he wants. The fact is that, many people these days have the money to be able to buy what they want, when they want it.

This can make it very difficult though when celebrations such as Birthdays, Christmas and Father's Day come around. Use your imagination, and your knowledge of, and relationship, with, your Dad to inspire you.

First things first then.

What's your Father like? Does he have a wealth of hobbies and interests or is he a couch potato? Is money always tight for him or is money no object in his life?

What I am really saying is that, in order to buy your Dad the perfect Father's Day gift, you need to know him well. You may or may not. This is why a little planning ahead and forethought will pay dividends.

Try asking leading questions in the month before Father's Day to make sure you are still in touch with Dad's hobbies, hopes and dreams.

Stay away from boring gifts such as socks and smellies. Instead aim to be adventurous as long as you know Dad will like the result.

It is no good you thinking that the gift is brilliant if Dad hates it.

Try googling unusual Father's Day gifts for the Dad who has everything and you may find a great selection of weird, wacky and bizarre gifts, such as:

• A scale replica of Dad's favourite sports stadium. This can make a great conversation piece and help Dad reminisce about his favourite team..
• A Garage Parking Wizard could be perfect for a Dad who struggles parking in the garage. This device is small and unobtrusive and mounts on the front wall of the garage. It can then be programmed so that it ensures the car is far enough in the garage for the door to close.
• Personalised Newspapers can be fun. You can create newspaper headlines that puts your Dad in the limelight and highlights just why you love him so much.
• Does your Dad yearn for the board games of his childhood? Would he enjoy creating his own personal board game? Make Your Own Opoly could be the perfect gift then. The game can be personalized with Dad's childhood neighborhood, family memories and so much more.
• Would your Dad like some ITunes or Kindle downloads?
• He may actually yearn to own a Kindle. Perhaps you could all share the cost. If his sight is not as good as it used to be this could be a great idea. Many older people live in smaller accommodation where space is at a premium.
• Membership to local sport's facilities could be just what Dad wants

Of course many Dad's would just enjoy some time with their children. Organising a special family Father's Day lunch might fit the bill but how about a family weekend away.

It could be to a heath spa, sport's event or to include a theatre visit. The theatre could be showing Dad's favourite play or you could book such a weekend to include a special music event.

Many people these days are researching their roots and so a gift based around Genealogy might be appreciated. Up to date software which includes the wherewithal to make a family tree, store information and link to registry offices could be fun.

Perhaps you would like Dad to start and record some of his own life. There are some great journals around these days. It is fine storing such information on a computer but this means that the info can be easily lost. Hand writing journals or family trees can be relaxing and make a valuable family history for future generations.

Of course, if you want Dad to neatly record his life, or his family, a decent pen will be the order of the day. For the man who has everything a gold or gold plated fountain pen may be just the thing. If he does not usually use such a pen then there will be an assortment of accessories needed also. If there are a few children you could share the gifts between you all.

Have a rummage through the old family photo. You could put together a very personal and poignant photo album just for Dad.

Better still assemble a collage of photo's of Dad and you. When this has been assembled have them mounted on card and framed.

Are there old family movies rotting away in the cupboards? Whether these are on film or video it is possible these days to have them updated and transferred to DVD. Imagine playing Dad a recording of the day you went to the beach 40 years ago, for example.

Personalised gifts may be treasured for years to come. These could items of clothing such as bath robes, jewellery such as silver tag bracelets, sweatshirts and more.

Never discount any items related to Dad's Hobbies. For example, he may have fished for years but this year be struggling to buy a fishing licence. There again he may badly need a new fishing reel but will never bet around to buying one.

Don't forget to ask Mum what Dad may like. Make sure that she can keep a secret first though so that your Father's Day gift will bring the most delight.