Dads don’t need gifts. Just ask the dad in your life and he’ll tell you the same. However, as we all know you should gift him something anyway. I am not only a dad and a gear reviewer, but also someone with a specific philosophy about what makes a good gift for middle-aged men like me.
The best gifts for a dad are things that not only are relevant to his interests but also can be fairly described as “overkill.” Dads tend to like things that are overbuilt but useful. You can rarely go wrong by giving an expensive but excellent version of a thing we use anyway.
Alternately, you can just buy him anything with the logo of his favorite sports team on it. Oh, a set of Cleveland Browns corn-on-the-cob holders! Better buy some sweet corn and fire up the grill!
Below you’ll find gifts that I as a dad have personally used and enjoyed. This is the final gift guide to debut this Christmas season, which is appropriate as no one shops for dads early.
Updated December 2024: We’ve refreshed this guide with tons of new picks, including slippers, a Golden Tee arcade machine, and a leather belt.
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