Johannesburg - To celebrate Father's Day this Sunday, here are some great suggestions to really spoil dad with. From helping him do chores to playing TV games, try these memorable gift ideas that will make sure your gift continues to spoil him long after the day has passed.
The personal touch
A touching way to tell dad how much he means to the family is to get a personalised book made up to show him how special he is. Characterful is a company that will create a unique book for you in which you get to tell dad all your favourite things about him. For younger kids, they’ll create a superhero book in which dad is featured as the superhero, with them as sidekicks along on an adventure to save the world.
Fun experiences online
If your dad doesn’t have much free time, give him fun online experiences he can dip into. Airbnb offers a wide variety of exciting Online Experiences, with tours, classes, and interactions with experts from around the world. There’s a host of options to suit all tastes, such as a virtual wander around the Taj Mahal with a local guide in India, meeting a real-life shark scientist, getting a guitar lesson from a world-touring artist, or doing a full-body workout with a Taekwondo champion. It’s affordable and fun, and new experiences are added on all the time.
A swanky cocktail collection
Concocting delicious cocktails is a fun, creative process and a show-stopper item at dinner parties, so why not get dad started with one or two items for his own swanky home bar? Start with a capsule collection of a few key spirits to make the most popular drinks, like tequila for margaritas, white rum for daiquiris and mojitos, bourbon for old-fashioneds, gin for martinis, and vodka for Cosmopolitans.
“Add a few more versatile ingredients like vermouth, an orange liqueur, and bitters, and you’ll be able to make a wide range of cocktails,” says Melrick Harrison at the Radisson Blu Hotel Waterfront. If your dad already has these items at home, consider exotic liqueurs and craft gins, or add panache to his home bar by gifting him with a stylish glass decanter.
Set his music free
If your dad’s music collection consists of scratched CDs and chipped plastic covers, give him the gift of musical freedom with a Spotify subscription. With more than 82 million tracks available on the streaming service, he’ll be able to access anything from 70s rock anthems to smoky jazz numbers and smooth R&B, and expand his musical horizons as new artists are suggested to him every week. The platform also offers more than 3.6 million podcast titles, so whatever his interests are, he’ll easily be able to find hundreds of shows he’ll love.
The gift of gaming
If your dad loves playing video games, a gaming console would be a great gift. Studies from Stanford University School of Medicine show that men’s brains actually react differently while playing and indicate that the area in the brain that generates rewarding feelings is activated more in men than in women, although that’s not to say that mom might not want to get in on the action!
Gaming is a pastime for people of all ages, but consoles can be expensive to buy outright, so consider renting one from Teljoy, which offers rent-to-own Xbox and Sony PlayStations on a month-to-month contract with the option to take ownership after a predetermined time. Maintenance and risk cover is included, and you can choose to upgrade, downgrade or cancel at any time. Now all that’s needed is some friendly competition as you challenge your dad to a game!
Allow dad to chill
Give your dad the gift of time off by gifting him a handyman to attend to household chores. SweepSouth’s Connect app has a list of professionals who can come around to fix leaking taps, replace broken windows, patch cracks in walls, or any of the endless list of tasks dads have to do at home. They also have outdoor services that will rake up leaves, mow lawns and clean the pool. Give your dad the satisfaction of walking around the house on Father’s Day, making a list of items needing to be fixed, knowing that he doesn’t have to do it!
Deliver treats
If you’re miles away from dad, consider booking him a home delivery of foodie treats. It can be anything from wine to whiskey or chocolate, but even a simple brunch selection of orange juice, muffins, yoghurt, eggs and bacon (set for an early delivery slot at his house on the day through a retailer like Checkers Sixty60), will be a huge treat.