Christmas gifts for dad made easy

This Christmas, don't overthink it when it comes to dad's gifties: mom's might require careful deliberation and forethought, but pops can be taken care of using this simple guide, which determines the best three choices depending on his age group:

A degree of leeway is permitted in the details. For example, if dad fancies that he can tell the difference, upgrade to Lagavulin 16 and make do with Ryobi in the shop. If he's handy, splurge on Craftsman and rein the budget back in with Canadian Mist. If he has issues with the sauce, go wild on the other two: DeWalt and cashmere.

In any case, don't skimp. If it comes in a plastic bottle, smells of glue or has the words "Black and Decker" on the side, you haven't spent enough money. Finally, if he asks for a jigsaw puzzle, don't fight it. It's a natural part of the aging process and the best thing you can do is help him accept it with dignity and grace.

(If you insist on being clever about all this, don't miss our 2010 Gift Guide)

⟿ Follow Rob Beschizza on Twitter.

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Anonymous

I don’t know if you noticed but most of Hollywood is populated with trainheads, I scarcely see a movie without one train in it – so a video of 4449 (the most beautiful train in the world, and the most sonorous song ever) from Oregon to Michigan is the thing to beat ( http://www.highdeftrains.com/4449MichiganOdyssey.html). And no, I had nothing to do with it’s production, I just know men.

- Ethel
GirlLibrarian

Basing my gift purchases on stereotypes is the best idea ever! Thanks guys! I don’t know what I’d do without you.
bizzyb

Thanks for the suggestions urbanhick, mccrum & WaylonWillie. I’m checking out the hunting gear & cd’s now. Last year I went with The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly DVD, and a CASH set a couple of years ago, so those were right on track.
- mccrum
  
  Check out Once Upon a Time in the West or A Fistful of Dollars.
  
  If you really want to get into it, get A Fistful of Dollars and Akira Kurosawa’s Yojimbo. They’re basically the same movie with entirely different shooting styles. Who knows, you might send him off into a new genre of old samurai films (which are typically just Westerns with swords, but Kurosawa’s shooting is astonishing).
  - Anonymous
    
    If you like the Fistful and Yojimbo flicks, you owe it to yourself to track down “The Good, The Bad and the Weird” (2008), a story of three Korean outlaws in 1940′s Manchuria. Entirely derivative, entirely entertaining and entirely subtitled (as would be Yojimbo). I saw 5/6th of it on an Air Canada flight and had to track it down to see how it ended. Cowboys, sidecars, trains, double-crossing, evil badguys, trickster goodguys, hilarious gun battles, bordellos, Japanese armies, *sheesh* I want to go watch it again now…
    
    ‘Course, if your ‘paps is a survivor of the Korean war, he might not think it so funny.
JayConverse

All I want is a new pair of jeans and some cotton underwear. The ones I have are older than the kids, and they’re all in college.
mercator

Sending this to my sons….
DarthVain

So are the slippers there to hide his hand stumps after he finishes drinking scotch and plugs in his power tools?
parapi

Sweet. Because only males like alcohol, slippers, and power tools. What’s on the list for mom, guys? A new stove? Some pots and pans? An apron?
- Gloria
  
  Yep, agreed. I generally dislike any gift list based on who the person is, rather than the more useful metric of “what they’re interested in.” I peruse them anyway in case there’s something neat in there, but they’re less useful than, say, a list of just generally cool shit.
  
  My dad is a photography enthusiast and a great cook. For example, a while ago, he would not stop talking about his new copper saute pan.
  
  @Vasco: I think your suggestion would apply to a lot of people, especially people who’ve made it to the point where they have most of what they want or need. An extravagant gift for me, for example, would be a sign-up for metalworking or glassworking classes.
Anonymous

In the past ten years, I’ve taken up drinking Scotch, brewing and kegging beer, ice hockey and shooting. My wife asked if I was having some kind of mid life crisis. I replied that I simply trying to make things easier for her around the holidays.
Ernunnos

Hunters are easy! They’ll even appreciate a good pair of warm socks. A hat or trigger-finger mittens with charcoal scent-absorbing liner will go over well. Or if you want to go all out, there are knives at every price level.
traalfaz

I don’t drink, I have more tools than I use already, and I don’t need any clothes (in fact I’ve given half my wardrobe to charity this month, and all of that was stuff that was fine, fit me and I would wear it, I just have too much).

Honestly, I couldn’t think of a single thing to get myself.
- mccrum
  
  Jigsaw puzzles don’t take up much space. It sounds like you’re ready to move to the next level. :)
DarthVain

As a booze alternative…

My Dad drinks Port. Stronger than wine, yet not quite hard liquor. He drinks scotch every now and again, but I can’t get him scotch every year!
Anonymous

I would hate any of those gifts. All I want for every Xmas as a dad is a nice dinner somewhere nice with my family.
Clifton

Caroline:
If your dad is that much of an old-school geek, for a free gift that will keep him amused a long time, get him a Frotz and Glulx interpreter for his platform of choice, and an assortment of downloads of high-rated text adventures from the IFDB (Interactive Fiction Database.) (Oh, and if he doesn’t have a smartphone, you could get him an Android or iPhone to play them on.)
Teller

Agree that B & D low rent. DeWalt’s good. Makita’s good. Bosch xlnt. Porter Cable most badass.
Anonymous

I’d recommend an Aberlour A’bunadh instead of the Lagavulin. Cheaper, and less of an acquired taste.
philipb

Now if the Scotch is a Macallan 25 & the Bosch is their Wormdrive 7-1/4″ I’d be pleased. As for slippers – meh.
Anonymous

Scotsman speaking, and personally I refuse to drink any whisky that doesn’t smell of glue..
DoctorDevice

nothing wrong with Black & Decker tools. they’re just DeWalts for people who don’t want to pay extra for yellow plastic, but aren’t so cheap that they’ll settle for Porter Cable.
- flosofl
  
  I have both Black and Decker *and* DeWalt, and I can say that the DeWalt is by far the superior tool. I’ve rarely had a Black and Decker power tool (both AC and battery powered) last for more than a couple years before suffering some sort of defect or damage that made it unusable. All of my DeWalt tools are still kicking after years and years of use (occasionally having to replace the battery pack on the cordless ones).
  
  And why the hate on Porter Cable? I have a plunge router I inherited from my dad. The thing is almost as old as I am and is an incredible tool. I use it all the time.
lecti

Teenage Dad….maybe not.
- BookGuy
  
  For teenage dad, substitute vodka and Red Bull for the Scotch, substitute a “racing” body kit for a 1998 Honda Civic for the power tool, and substitute an Ed Hardy T-shirt for the slippers.
  
  (I watched multiple episodes of “16 and Pregnant” while cleaning my house yesterday, and judging by what I saw, I’m pretty confident in those selections.)
urbanhick

Go for the Trifecta:

1. A bottle of Macallan 1926 (only $38,000)

2. Any tool made by Felder (preferably one of their giant all-in-one workstations)

3. Vicuna wool slippers.
V

Funny, the gifts I abhored as a kid are the ones I want now: socks and shirts.

With respect to the suggested gifts above: Honey, if you’re reading this, the Laphroaig Quarter Cask I had at the tasting was elegant, I have a circular saw, but a drill press would be nice, and for the non-power tools, remember that you are getting me a pulaski to wreak havoc in the backyard. Slippers? Nah… Smartwool socks.

And remember you still owe me a Santoku…
Anonymous

IS YOUR FATHER A MAN?!?! GET HIM MAN THINGS. Masculinity isn’t in crisis! Scotch, power tools and manslippers!
Maggie Koerth-Baker

What if your Dad is more of a bourbon and comic books kind of guy?
- TombKing
  
  That is also a very winning choice and they work well together unlike the booze+powertools combination.
TombKing

Speaking as a middle aged dad one can never go wrong with decent Scotch.
artaxerxes

While I empathize with others’ calls of ageism and sexism (“Fair!”, I say), I want to stand up and say that I have no problem with the assumptions of generation and character. My father was literally raised by a Victorian grandmother (b. 1886), so he’s comfortable with the old school. Rather, the old-school soothes him.

Reading was a wonderful gift before the long-term untreated symptoms of his TIA caused him to develop Vascular Dementia. Now he can’t remember enough stuff short-term to read a book, even an exciting one. Last year I decided to give him some of the Horatio Hornblower books by Forrester, but too late! My father no longer has the short term memory to remember what’s going on in the plot. Since this is all silently communicated (no direct talk about his progression except what I can wrangle out of him when my mom’s not around. Sad. But they’re okay people.) I had to figure that out.

So this year’s traditional suggestions on BoingBoing turn out to be perfect. He likes to drink scotch. He’s way too old to handle power tools, but he is always cold, So I can address 2 out of 3 needs and make the Macallan a gift to him and my (also elderly) mother.

Thus, I’ll get him a bottle of the Macallan this season because, my parents, having come from a very poor background. will not allow themselves to buy any Scotch that doesn’t come in plastic bottles. BUT. I happen to know that while my mom can’t taste the difference, my dad can, and so I’l let him taste something nice and lie about the price so they don’t decide to “put it out in the shed” because it’s too “fancy” to drink. (Every time a friend gives them a gift of nice wine, they stick it out in the shed. I have found some awesome vintages out there and looking them up on the internet, found that they were ready to drink. 15+ year old, etc.) I’ll be happy that they’re enjoying something they could never buy for themselves. Not because of money, but because of upbringing.

Slippersâ€¦Â I bought those. My pops is also at the age at which he’s always cold: sweater over shirt over undershirt in 80Â°Â weather. Poor fellow. So I hit him up with the wool Kangol caps and LL Bean sheepskin lined warm slippers a couple of years ago. Also bought him a scarf. He’s lived his life in California, so he didn’t really appreciate the power of a lambs’ wool scarf until he got one.

What I haven’t bought him, and maybe this will help some of you all out there who have parents in a similar stage of life: cashmere socks. They’re not that expensive. And they are Warm and Soft with no allergenic reactions that I’ve heard of. That’s what’s being given with the Macallan this year.

If your folks were raised and grew up poor, and have a psychological aversion to using anything that’s “above their station*” just tell them the socks are acrylic but encourage Woollite washing to keep them from pilling up. Woollite washing is a nothing chore and it’s worth it for a smooth, fluffy pair of socks (acrylic or cashmere). They’re like a warm fire next to your feet and older folks who are cold all the time really need that. A cashmere scarf could also make a great gift. You can find them cheap on the internet: they’re soft, warm, don’t aggravate the skin and are easy to care for.

So that’s my addition to the (Older/Senior) Dads’ Gift Guide. I fully understand the comments from people who have creative, more lively, still with-it dads, but some of us have the dads who have passed that stage. So with the triad of gifts above in mind, I just thought I’d add some suggestions with those very worthy Dads in mind.

* So sad to type, but very much true. Hate to even have to add it, but it is true for some people.
Alan

I’m a middle aged dad. I don’t like Scotch whisky and prefer beer, but there’s a lot to choose from there, with a variety of price points. I like power tools, but am lazy and don’t use them much; stuff for my DSLR camera would be nicer. Slippers? Not until I’m the same age as Granpa Simpson, when they will be my footwear of choice. I could use some new socks, though.
Crashproof

As a geek, I’ll accept 40 year old Dalmore, a 3D printer, and vorpal bunny slippers. An Amazon gift certificate is fine too.
razen cain

Nothing says “I think you have too many fingers, Dad” like the combination of liquor and power tools.
- DarthVain
  
  Damn you made me laugh loudly at work…
- lecti
  
  I lol’d.
Caroline

“Dad” gift lists are always a problem for me. My dad doesn’t drink alcohol. He also doesn’t play golf, doesn’t wear a tie to work, and already owns all the power tools he cares to own (and I can’t afford really high-end power tools anyway). He is also not a rabid fan of any sports team or any television show.

He would probably like the slippers, but that’s about it.

He is a software engineer and enjoys cooking. I already gave him the binary clock from ThinkGeek — that was probably the biggest hit of any gift I’ve ever given him. He keeps it on his desk at work and quizzes new hires on what it is. (I wrapped it in paper that purported to say “wrapping paper” in binary. After I told him that, he spent the rest of Christmas afternoon with pencil and paper and the wrapping paper spread out in front of him. He also asked if it was in EBCDIC. I told him it was almost certainly ASCII.)

I also already gave him On Food and Cooking, the best book for any geek who likes cooking.

I would have given him a slide rule this year, but he found his college slide rule in a box in the attic, and is full of slide-rule glee.

What I really need is another old-school geek thing….
- mccrum
  
  Check out books from Alton Brown as well. As good a tome McGee is, it’s not really a very good cookbook. Cook’s Illustrated also makes a good gift, I’ve found Chris Kimball to be the right amount of food geek and the recipe science is great.
  
  If he really enjoyed the afternoon spent with wrapping paper and pencil, it sounds like he could use a subscription to Games magazine.
Scurra

Not entirely happy with the unwarranted jigsaw puzzle abuse but the gag was great.

Also, should it not either be “moms” & “pops” or “mom’s” & “pop’s”, rather than one of each? Also there seem to be a superfluity of commas in that opening sentence…
Anonymous

About the time I became a dad, I got tired of “stuff.” All the miscellaneous presents and junk you get at Christmas. I tell everyone just to have a good meal and enjoy each others’ company.

Oh, and my sons want Technics Lego sets.
Anonymous

i’m pretty sure black Decker owns dewalt
bizzyb

Anyone have any suggestions for my dad? He’s 60+, enjoys hunting (but no major sports), doesn’t work with power tools, can’t have many food gifts due to diabetes, not a reader or a drinker, and doesn’t travel much. He likes older country music, but is not a fan of most of the newer stuff. He likes westerns, so I have a DVD of Jeremiah Johnson that I picked up for him. Slippers as a stand-alone gift just kind of seem too “old man”, but what else?

Help a daughter out, please!
- urbanhick
  
  For the senior hunter: Depending on where you live (a cold climate?) perhaps a pair of battery-operated handwarming mitts or one of those butt-warming cushions. They’re the kind of things that are actually really nice to have (especially as one gets older), but no “real” self-respecting hunter would think of buying them for themself – they’d prefer to freeze their ass off! Try the Cabelas catalog or website. And what the hell? If he doesn’t like it, he can always trade it for more ammo!
- mccrum
  
  If you don’t have any Sergio Leone DVDs on your list for this man I think you should add some. And Johnny Cash has some new box sets, can’t go wrong with Cash.
  
  I’m also a fan of just hanging out with your dad for the holidays as well, but then my family pretty much mutually decided on this sort of thing a few years back after all our houses were too full of crap already. But take him out to a nice dinner, spend some time at a shooting range or at a Willie Nelson concert, I’d certainly prefer any of those to some slippers.
- bodenski
  
  CASH is always a good gift.
  Johnny that is. You might like listening to “American Recordings” too.
- WaylonWillie
  
  bizzyb: how about some of the recordings of hank williams (sr) that have surfaced lately? there is a group of radio shows that your dad would certainly like, search for “mother’s best”…. that would keep him busy…. if you don’t want to spring for the giant box, there is a smaller set called “unreleased recordings”
- Not a Doktor
  
  For a hunter I’d get some anti-scent toiletries; it’s soap yet it’s manly on the concept alone. Also getting like a small bottle of raccoon urine is atleast good for a laugh (and can keep squirrels away from bird feeders).
  
  For country music go record hunting at a thrift store if he still has a turntable (an all in one set might be good too).
  
  And for photographers, if you get them a holga or other film camera get them a gift certificate to a nice pro-film development lab.
  
  *unless of course they’ve been in it so long that they have an entire personal lab, then a certificate to freestylephoto.biz would be better.
Anonymous

@Caroline:

Might I suggest this for your father?:

http://www.thinkgeek.com/homeoffice/kitchen/c2b1/
Anonymous

“If he’s handy, splurge on Craftsman”

Craftsman hasn’t been a “splurge” brand for a number of years, now. Their quality has gone down the tube in the last decade.
- Donald Petersen
  
  Craftsman hasn’t been a “splurge” brand for a number of years, now. Their quality has gone down the tube in the last decade.
  
  Yeah, but I still like their hand tools just fine. I don’t need to be Mr Bigshot with the spendy shininess bought off the Matco or Snap-On truck. I’ve broken exactly one Craftsman socket in my life: a 12-point 1/2″ socket inherited from my Dad that he’d bought back in 1955 or so. I took it to Sears, they took it back with what I could swear was a loving “welcome home” and a fond smile, and handed me a brand new one which I use to this day.
  
  But other than a plunge router and a biscuit joiner which I’ve owned for less than a year (so it’s too early to tell), I’ve never really been a fan of their power tools. I used to like Makitas about 20 years ago, but the Makita screwgun I bought around 1999 only lasted a couple years of fairly light usage before the clutch burned out and the batteries’ lifespan shortened by two thirds.
  
  And Ryobi? I have a Ryobi angle grinder that worked exactly once before it crapped out. I hear great things about Milwaukee, but I’ve been a DeWalt guy for the last 10 years, and every piece of DeWalt equipment I’ve owned in those 10 years still functions like new.
  
  Funny thing, how brand loyalty manifests in men when it comes to tools and guitars… sometimes more than for cars. And even after brands get acquired by different companies and quality standards change, that loyalty can last long beyond the point of logic.
  
  Motor oil, for instance. My dad always used Valvoline after a bad experience with Pennzoil back in the late 60s. For several years I used Valvoline simply because It Was Good Enough For The Old Man. When I bought my first new vehicle, a 1994 Toyota standard pickup with the ol’ 22R-E four-banger engine, I decided to make a real test of the long-term qualities of the oil, and so I only ever used Valvoline Durablend semi-synthetic oil in it, changed every 4,000 to 5,000 miles.
  
  After some 120,000 miles or so, I’d neglected to check the coolant level for a few weeks and while in a Burger King drive-thru, I noticed the engine was running hot. I let it cool down, topped up the coolant, and everything seemed fine, but the following weekend I removed the cylinder head to make sure I hadn’t warped it. While the head was off, I measured the cylinder taper, and was amazed at how little wear there was.
  
  I eventually gave the truck to my niece. She drove it for a few years, and finally sold it this summer. With 250,000 miles on the original rings and bearings and valves and cam, it still runs great, with uniformly high compression in all four cylinders.
  
  Win for Toyota, win for Valvoline. Of course, the recently publicized woes of Toyota’s 21st century vehicles has given me pause; a good example of how brand loyalty should always be re-examined since a company’s practices often evolve, and not always for the better.
  
  But I still use Valvoline for motor oil, and nothing else.
Susan Oliver

What’s with the “underwritten by Gillette” ad? I don’t think we’ve seen an entire post underwritten by somebody before. Does this mean that the items pictured are owned by Gillette’s parent company?
- BookGuy
  
  If Gillette now makes Scotch, presumably with four or more razor blades in it, they might need to reevaluate their product development team.
Anonymous

I am looking for a really nice pair of slippers for myself and hoped based on the picture I’d find recommendations here, but it appears not to be. Anything that looks like the stock photo you used appears to be $50 and up, and that seems steep to me.

As for whisky, Lagavulin or a good Macallen suits me, and my power tools are mostly Ryobi because there’s a Home Depot near by. I guess that means I’m willing to spend more on ephemeral pleasures than lasting material goods.
haineux

If your dad is a BOURBON guy: Eagle Rare, or Bookers. These are pretty much “no miss” answers, and both are less than $75. If, on the other hand, you have a fancy liquor store nearby, and they have a $100 bottle of a brand you’ve never heard of, that’s probably an excellent choice, also.

If your dad is is a CHEAPSKATE and a bourbon guy who hates power tools, Woodford Reserve. This stuff has a very pronounced oak flavor. This makes mixed drinks mighty tasty, but if you spend all day in sawdust, you probably don’t want to taste it in your glass.

If he’s a woodworker: a bottle of Bulleit bourbon and the rest on a gift card to Lee Valley Tools. An exceptional inexpensive bourbon, and some of the nicest tools (and tool people) around.
legionabstract

Speaking as a father myself, I don’t want any of the three things listed above. Well, actually, I could use some slippers. But I don’t want them. What I want is books and comic books and DVDs and cool stuff.

My own father is something of a better fit for these gifts but not by much.
Anonymous

Dewalt and Porter Cable were both recently aquired by Black and Decker (which used to be a quality tool maker back in the day). 5 years ago I would have rated Porter Cable 1st, then Dewalt in terms of quality, accuracy, and durability. The new Porter Cable tools have been garbage for the last year or two and it looks like Dewalt is in the race for last place as well.
Anonymous

as long as dad doesn’t end up using all three simultaneously.
gellfex

The pictured Bosch is arguably the best of all the makes referenced, modern Craftsman power tools are junk, and Dewalt is a decent value but not spectacular. I have a 27 year old Bosch Jigsaw going strong, 2nd tool I ever bought after a Milwaukee corded Holeshooter drill.

If you REALLY want to show dad the love, look at Festool products, that saw will set you back half a grand!

For me it’d be a French brandy or Cognac, and skip the slippers.
- Anonymous
  
  You’re right about the Bosch, but I gotta share this with you:
  
  ***************Left mounted blades**************
  
  You’ll have to use it for a while before you will master the subtle issues introduced by the difference in rotation, but once you get past the learning curve you’ll never go back.
  
  I love my lightweight Porter-Cable lefty sidewinder even better than the nail-eating Ridgid worm drive; I can see my cutline without contorting my spine into a sideways S!
  
  Right-mounted blades, as on 99% of all hand-held circular saws, are a vicious, sinister conspiracy by left-handed product design engineer who still haven’t forgiven the rest of us for the whole scissors thing.
Rob Beschizza

Susan, it’s an ad that gets included occasionally on single posts. The advertiser has no involvement other than choosing the category of post to advertise against.The last Gillette mini ad for example appeared on a post about Back to the Future sneakers.
Grey Devil

I know it’s a joke, but it doesn’t apply. My dad doesn’t drink, use power tools, and he likes walking about barefoot most of the time.
gwailo_joe

Wow: this thread has everything I like! Sergio Leone, Johnny Cash, Kurosawa, Macallen, power tools?! Freaking Awesome!

(I’m wearing a comfy wool lined pair of moccasin slippers right now!) And I was just listening to ‘Rock Island Line’ by Cash in my truck this morning! etc etc (!)

But none of these ideas would work for my Dad: he don’t drink, he’s not handy. . .and he already has a fine pair of LL Bean slippers. For him it would have to be something camera related, a new pipe, some esoteric classical recording or the new volume of Walking Dead. . .(Actually I think I’m gonna get him Jon Stewarts new book)

For the Western aficionado I recommend The Outlaw Josey Wales. It lacks the sparse poetry of Leone and the ethereal earthiness of Morricone’s soundtracks: but Clint directing Clint in an early effort is pretty entertaining. . .

And of course the obvious Sergio/Akira double set: The Magnificent Seven and the Seven Samurai.
All kinds of Yay there. . .

Power tools: PorterCable was great, these days I don’t know: I heard a rumor they were bought by B&D? Milwaukee makes excellent drills and sawzalls. . .but these days I love my Makita cordless combo set. Soooo much more convenient than the old tangle with umpteen cords; tripping over, unplugging, cutting through with Skil saw etc. . .
Vasco

As a middle-aged husband and dad myself, I must say that the best presents I have received have happened since we transitioned from physical objects to “experiences” as gifts a few years ago. Massages, cooking classes, hot-air balloon rides, concert tickets, etc have all been far better presents than any object bound to languish unused on a shelf or closet.
- Ambiguity
  
  As a middle-aged husband and dad myself, I must say that the best presents I have received have happened since we transitioned from physical objects to “experiences” as gifts a few years ago.
  
  I agree, and consumable gifts are good too. I mean, I’m not a drinker (so a bottle of ethanol wouldn’t make sense), but consumable gifts are experienced and then basically go away.
  
  At some point it your life, you have all the “stuff” you want or need.