Every year, I forget Mother’s Day until it’s too late.
Father’s Day I usually remember.
This evening I was driving my children to Little League and I said to my wife, “Is Father’s Day this Sunday?”
“Yep,” she said.
I forgot.
I’m sure there are people out there who are in the same boat as me. Back in the day, I’d be scrambling for a fishing lure or work shirt.
Today, though, I don’t need to go anywhere. I can buy my Dad a gift right here at the keyboard.
So, if you read this and find yourself in the same boat as me, you’re in luck, because I’m about to list off eight different gifts you can get your father for Father’s Day without leaving the keyboard.
Starting with something manly.
A Manly Book
I make bracelets with my son.
I know that doesn’t sound like a “manly” hobby, but it is.
We make them using parachute cord, or paracord. Take a length of paracord, depending on the size of your wrist, tie a few knots, and BOOM!
Not actually my wrist.
You can buy paracord in pretty much any color you want. You can buy buckles and use them, or you can buy flint and steel and make a firestarter survival bracelet.
Now that’s manly.
However, you can’t download the paracord.
You can’t download the buckles or the flint and steel.
But you can download the ebook Manly Crafts.
I know what you’re thinking.
“Manly Crafts?” That’s an oxymoron.
Well, here’s the first manly craft in the book.
Take this:
A manly chunk of wood.
And turn it into this:
A Viking wooden spoon, because Viking equals manly.
Using these:
Viking “crafting tools.” Do I really need to say it? That’s manly.
The best part, aside from the time you’ll spend with your dear old dad working on the project in this book, is that the book’s less than a dollar.
There are tons of cheap ebooks
Apps
Another quick and easy downloadable gift is an app.
With the drive to the bottom for prices in the app store, folks tend to shy away from an app that’s more than 99 cents. Maybe there’s one your dad wants, but won’t pull the trigger on because it’s $3.99.
Something like Scrabble.
Because everyone likes Scrabble.
Of course, this assumes your dad already has a smart phone or tablet. My dad doesn’t.
But he does have a laptop.
Downloadable Software
There’s no way my dad would ever play Call of Duty or anything like it.
Solitaire. That’s more his speed.
So, looking at the downloadable software at Amazon, I find this:
You deal.
If your dad is more of a gamer, there’s no shortage of downloadable software.
I’ve always wanted Civilization V.
Just saying…
Audible Audiobooks
I recently drove from Kansas City to Dallas.
Along the way, the guy I was riding with dropped a bomb on me.
He had Phil Robertson’s new book on his phone. He downloaded it for the drive.
While I’d never been one to listen to audio books, I was game. I mean, this was The Duck Commander.
This book made me happy, happy, happy on the road.
I found that I really enjoyed the audiobook.
Audible has audiobooks for almost everyone. For example, I’d love to sit and listen to Marvel: The Untold Story.
My dad? Since I know he’s become a fan of Justified, I’d get him a copy of Elmore Leonard’s Raylan.
And there’s more ear candy you can get for dad.
MP3s
Check this
That’s one hundred albums for five bucks each.
Including this classic:
Paul Revere’s my favorite.
If your dad’s an audiophile, give his collection a boost with a few downloads.
My dad doesn’t listen to a whole lot of music.
But he does have a really nice television.
All Four Seasons of Justified
Like I said before, my dad is a big fan of the FX show Justified
I gotta admit, my dad and I are of like minds on this one.
If I wanted, I could buy all four seasons of the show so he could sit in his recliner and watch them on his laptop. Or, since I bought him a Roku for Christmas, he could stream them on his television.
Of course, he wouldn’t need to buy the first three seasons if he had the next gift.
Amazon Prime
I am a fan.
At first, I was hesitant because most of the streaming videos on Amazon Prime were also on Netflix, and we had Netflix.
But the Instant Video wasn’t what kept me.
It was the free two-day shipping.
It was the Lending Library.
And yeah, it was the Instant Video too.
Why are they out of order? Who cares! They’re in HD and zero dollars extra!
A year of Amazon Prime
But maybe you still don’t have a gift idea.
There’s still one thing left.
eGift Card
Of course, if you have no idea what to get your father and reject all of my ideas, there’s still the old standby: the gift card.
With Amazon, you can get an eGift Card and email it to him. Then, he can buy whatever he wants.
He’ll probably get that tie he always wanted, but you never bought.
I’m sure there are other ideas for last-minute gifts you can download.
I’d love to read about them in the comments.
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