Every bday fathers day and Xmas depended on my creativity and imagination.
First off hes a huge fan of Cookies! Oatmeal raisin and chocolate chips so there was always a basket of them for him. He bought scratch tickets alot so a couple of those. Duncan donuts gift card, a big winner and my dad was a contractor, retired but he always had a project going so a home depot gift card. Those things he Had to pick out for himself.
I once bought him 2 coffee table books one was of Boston architecture, some buildings he actually built or restored, so that was cool.
Another coffee table book of the big dig since it was a Mass project that went on for ever. It was a great book to give a builder.
He was so hard to buy for. But fun to try and come up with something new and that would interest him.
If your Dad is a hunter, The Bass Pro shop is the coolest place. Its a great shopping trip so much fun so maybe a gift card to the Bass pro shop the trip alone to the store is fun. My dad loved it there when we went last year.

If you are more internet savvy than him, there may be some items that have become available, that he is unaware of. I'm thinking primarily items, articles, books, movies or other memorabilia having to do with his past, the armed services, high school, college, organizations, professional sports, places he grew up in, lived in, etc. Someone recently gave me a book about a place I partially grew up in. It brought back great memories.

I am searching for a gift for the man that has everything, wants for nothing, and will give me no clue to help me make a decision about what to get him for Christmas. It is my father and he is absolutely the hardest man to buy for. His interests are guns, baseball, and dirty jokes...lol. I have bought him ever dirty joke book I can find (he has about a 1/2 of a bookcase full. He is in his 60's and he is one of those guys that whenever he finds something he wants, he buys it.

I need help please. Throw your ideas at me. I appreciate any help at all.

Think I might get this for my Dad, He is a man's man too.

My father was like that.

Had everything he wanted and bought everything he needed, so he was hard to please.

He had a passion for his favorite baseball team and couple players, so every birthday & xmas I got him some expensive memorabilia - and he loved it, proudly displaying on his business office walls for everyone to see (my mom didn't let him have all that at home).

He would glow when visitors too a close look and said - oh an original and real picture signed by *** or that's the ball used on 1965 game between *** and ***? ohhhh and signed by ***? - he would said out loud - yep! my daughter gave it to me!

My dad died few years ago but we still have his collection - now displayed in our home, in his memory.

My advice, give him something special about his favorite baseball team and player, there are tons of collectible sites selling awesome stuff online. Expensive, but worth to make dad happy!

I don’t know what part of the country you’re in or how difficult it is to purchase firearms where you live.   But, if he is a gun enthusiast and you can afford it… buy him a nice gun.  You can spend anything you want to on a firearm.  Without knowing your budget, it’s difficult to make a recommendation.  In the rifle arena, AR-15s are popular.  There are many manufacturers.  Some are gas-piston guns and  in some the bolt carrier is powered by direct gas impingement.   Ask your gun dealer to explain the pros and cons, but either are good.   Generally, direct gas impingement systems require more cleaning and are a bit more accurate.  Gas piston guns require less maintenance, but suffer slightly in accuracy.  You can put all kinds of gadgets on ARs and really customize them over time.  He might love that.   For a really nice pistol, consider Les Baer and Wilson Combat.   There are many good pistols in various price categories but one of those will really get his attention.    Hope this helps.

Dear Ashlyn:
I was wondering if he would be interested in some type of portable power appliances so maybe when he goes on a hunting trip of some kind he can watch TV while he is stalking his prey with his guns. Also he could use his shaver and it also would come with a inflation feature for his tires. He always will have a use for it and it will be handy for years to come.

your suggestions. You have helped. xoxoxo

first, and most important, you are soooooooooooooooooo hot. damn.

ok, second - baseball is my thing, so that's what I'll talk about. The Ken Burns books and dvds mentioned earlier are crucial parts of any collection. If he likes to read about baseball, there are a number of good books out there besides the basic jock tell-alls (sparky lyle, greg nettles, of course jim bouton, etc). Some good reads:

"Hoopla" (Harry Stein) great novel about the 1919 black sox
"Strike Zone" (Jim Bouton) surprisingly good fiction and good baseball story
"For Love of the Game" (Michael Shaara) book is better than the Kevin Costner movie
"The Universal Baseball Association" (Robert Coover) 1968 - predates today's fantasy baseball obsessions, this is a great drama about baseball obsessions
"The Red-Headed Outfield" (Zane Gray) yup, Zane Gray took a break from writing westerns This is a great collection of short fiction about the early days of professional and semi-pro baseball.

There are different kinds of baseball fans - some love the history, some love the stats; some are in love with certain teams or players, and others just like to be at the ballpark.

If he's the type that likes the ballpark, obviously tickets to a game are good, but even better is finding a high level minor league team that offers the opportunity to hang out with the players before or after the game... I don't know where you are located or what kind of money you are going to spend, but an invitation to a camp, a meet-and-greet, or just an informal bullshit session with players or managers would be a huge gift for that kind of fan.

good luck.

Ashlyn - Ken Burns has co-authored a number of different baseball-related books - they are ALL head-and-shoulders above any others I've read. Do a search on amazon - pick any one of them - your dad will not be disappointed!

on his favorite type of firearm.  Rifle, shotgun, pistol, or hunting.  

...can be difficult. Whether it's baseball, guns or wine, the main source of gratification for any enthusiast comes from the hunt and the anticipation of the event itself (sounds familiar, eh?).

As one who has spent 22+ years in the gun biz and a few in the wine biz as well, I find that the best way to find something that they will enjoy is to give them a gift of an accessory to their endeavor (scope, rifle case, ammo, fancy new techno-gadget for opening wine bottles, etc.) and not the main objective of their pursuit (the gun or the trophy bottle of wine). Since most of what they derive from their interest is the pursuit of the object (tracking down just the right vintage or the perfect caliber), chances are you won't get the correct combination of elements in a "big gift."

Quite often, they won't make that final crucial decision until they have it in their hands and it "speaks to them." It's almost impossible for you to replicate the *chemistry* of the thing for them. By giving them a gift that is "in their wheelhouse," you acknowledge the validity of their interests without trying to make the decision for them.

And also speaking as a father of two great kids, it doesn't truly matter what they gift is -- as long as they put some thought and effort into it, I will love whatever gift I receive from my children. You can never go wrong in showing appreciation to your Dad.

The absolute best gift , if you can, is to spend some time with him. That is the one thing we can't buy for ourselves. We can amuse ourselves for an hour or two with a lovely or by getting a new gun or whatever but when it really comes down to it most of us just want to see you guys, to look at you, to get to know you a little better or to maybe...maybe explain what we did and why we did it that maybe we disagrred about when you were young. We miss you guys, most of us anyway. Buy two tickets to something in advance, a ballgame...whatever then take him to it. The gift will last from when you give him the tickets to well past when you guys go to the event. He will look foward to the day, tell all his friends what a great girl you are and then get to tell them all about the cool event his loving girl took him to. Don't buy more stuff, give some time. You may find it as much of a gift as he does.

Just an old,fat fuck with an opinion.

a gift card for watering hole near the stadium.  For example, if he is in Boston, get him a pair of tickets to a Yankees / Red Sox game and a gift card to either the Cask N Flaggen or the Boston Beer Works.

As a boy, my dad took be to Tigers Stadium in Detroit.
I have many fond memories of the place.
Well they tore it down and a very good friend found cufflinks made from the old Stadium.

Now I do not really use cufflinks anymore, but that little box of the cufflinks sit on a mantle in my bedroom.
I can see them every day and they bring on a smile each time.

So find something like that for your dad.

Balboa

If he already has a lot of dirty jokes, maybe you can get him a Gun or Hunting magazine subscription. He'll surely read that !

and your suggestions. xoxox

I'm pretty much in the same position as your father.  The one thing I would love from my daughter more than anything would be a profession photo shoot with just the two of us.

If thats not possible go through your favorite pictures concentrating on the two of you.  Put together a book with them (doesn't have to be big), and then sit down with him and explain why those photos have special meaning to you.

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-- Modified on 12/6/2010 8:26:31 PM

Being a similar type of guy in some respects (not into guns etc.) why not think:
He has everything he wants.  He probably wants to unload some stuff.  He may not really need or want any more stuff.
Make him a card with a nice photo of you, his little girl.  Tell him you love him and admire him.
I cannot imagine he would be disappointed with that.  I know I wouldn't be.

A framed picture of you.  He will treasure it forever.

He just likes to target practice. He's an amazing shot. Says he learned that in the military. If he did go hunting that would be an awesome gift. Thanks for the idea. Your idea set my mind off in a different direction. xoxox

Now if I could just talk him into that. We have no pics of us together. Thank you!

I gave him a bunch of shells and bullets and then had a plaque made for him telling him how he has influenced my life over the years. It made him cry. I have only seen my dad cry 3 times in my life.

Stogiemandu You hit it out of the park with what you said. I'm in complete agreement. More than anything else time with our kids is the best. I speak from experience. I can recall some experiences that match exactly with what you described.  Excellent advice.

so.............what I do for my father is give him things (gift certificates that I make up where we take a trip to see something or visit someone)..where we can spend more time together.   As we get older and busier, it is the time we spend with family that matters......not the material things........

How about spending some real quality time with him! Going for a day or a weekend somewhere meaningful to both of you.

He does not need anything but you.  Those Daddy and Me books or his favorite thing book. My daughter and wife put together a my favorite recipe book acouple years ago.  Or just pictures and memories books will hit home and make him cry for the fourth time .  Take him to the range and let him shoot with you then hit the titty bar and set him up, or not just let him know you are there for him as he has been for you. .  Of course you have to do some homework. Time with you is the greatest gift.

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