If you’re scrabbling around trying to buy a present for the old man and coming up stumped, we may be able to help with our tech-inspired gift ideas.
If there’s one sight more pitiable than a dad forlornly browsing the shelves at a petrol station looking for last-minute gifts on Christmas Eve, it’s their children doing the same just before Father’s Day. But with our gift ideas serving as inspiration, there’s no need for your pa to settle for second best.
Cameo
A Father’s Day card with a hand-scrawled platitude isn’t bad, but you can do one better with a personalised celebrity video message from Cameo. This website has a wide and eclectic range of celebrities to choose from, so there’s bound to be a B-lister to suit your budget and your dad’s taste in ‘slebs. Messages from Ricky Tomlinson or Robbie Fowler start at £48 and £120 respectively, while greetings from Sarah Palin or Robbie Coltrane can be had for £159 and £200 a pop.
Masterclass
If your dad would prefer to be tutored by big names rather than serenaded by them, a Masterclass subscription could be just the ticket. From just £14 a month, he could tap into everything from cookery lessons by Gordon Ramsay and Yotam Ottolenghi to a philosophy lecture from Cornel West.
Xbox Game Pass Ultimate
If your dad is a rapacious gamer, then this monthly subscription from Microsoft could well float his boat. The fee grants access to just over 100 games which, depending on the title, are playable on a Windows PC, Xbox or any device with a web browser. More games are added regularly, with cheaper versions of Game Pass also available for anyone who only has a PC or console.
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Eufy RoboVac 11S
If your old man fits the hoary stereotype of being hapless at household chores, then perhaps he could use a helping hand from a robot vacuum cleaner. Automated and hands-free, these make light work of grubby floors and carpets. Eufy’s RoboVac 11S can easily handle a couple of rooms and is clever enough to avoid falling down the stairs. More expensive models in Eufy’s range can handle bigger homes with more rooms and tougher jobs, such as pet fur, and can even mop floors.
Energizer Vision HD+ LED Head Torch Headlamp
A torch that you can strap to your head sounds like a strikingly dull gift. But whether your dad hikes until twilight, is a keen nighttime photographer, likes tinkering under the car bonnet on weekends or is just frequently called upon to fetch things dropped behind the fridge, a hands-free source of light can be invaluable. This model from Energizer is not only water-resistant, but has a handy red-light mode to avoid blinding one’s eyes at night in pitch black conditions.
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British Boxers
No-one likes to think about their dad’s underwear, including dads themselves. The easiest way to ensure that they’ve got a constant supply of clean and comfortable under-schmutter is British Boxers’ monthly subscription of 100% cotton undies.
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Curve Bike tracker
If your dad has taken up cycling, but you’re worried about him while he’s out on two wheels, Vodafone’s Curve bike tracker can help provide peace of mind. It not only has an automatic brake light and impact detection, but features designed to deter would-be thieves such as a piercingly loud alarm and location tracking.
Withings Wi-Fi Smart Scales
Staying healthy isn’t easy, especially as one gets older, and there’s no shame in admitting that. This set of app-connected scales from Withings can help your dad by automatically recording his weight and tracking it against goals he sets – no tedious manual record keeping required.
Neal’s Yard cheese subscription
One of the better consequences of lockdown is the ability to subscribe to regular deliveries of delicious foods from around the country at the click of a mouse. While craft beer and meat hampers are popular choices, a more unorthodox option is this monthly selection of cheeses from renowned cheesemonger Neal’s Yard. If the minimum three-month term is too much of a commitment, one-off gift boxes are also available.
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