Greg's Corner

Off Topic Friday: What is the right Father’s Day gift?

With Father’s day being this Sunday I’m sure some of you still haven’t picked out a gift for the man you call Dad. The cliché is you can just get him a tie or some cologne and be done with it. That’s what I gave my dad when I was young. However, after becoming a father myself I learned that the right gift can make all the difference in the world.

If you’re still looking for a gift for Dad this weekend I have one bit of advice for you, think it out. A thoughtful gift can often be better than an expensive gift. A gift that has a lot of thought put into it can show just how much you appreciate your Dad rather than saying “I picked up the first thing I saw” or “I spent a lot of money on this so you better appreciate this.”

In my case there are two Father’s Days that stuck out in my mind. The first one was the time I got a t-shirt from a TV show I watched for one season with my wife. This was obvious that my wife got it for me at the last-minute because the kids forgot. No harm no foul because it happens to the best of us sometimes. The other one that sticks out in my mind was the year that my adult children only got me a card. It wasn’t just any card though. It was a card that was not only funny but mentioned something that was an inside joke between me and the kids that I hadn’t thought about in a long time but something that obviously stuck with them through the years. It was the greatest Father’s Day present I could have ever received.

So if you find yourself hitting the stores this weekend remember, it doesn’t have to be lavish, it doesn’t have to be practical, and it sure doesn’t have to be a tie. As long as you put some real thought into it, Dad will probably be more than happy.