Hey guys! This is a repost from a couple of years ago, but I’ve had several people asking me for last minute Father’s Day gift ideas, and this is still one of my favorite kinds of gifts to give my husband since I can easily customize it to his current tastes and interests. Hope this helps you out if you’re stumped for a Dad’s Day gift idea.

I am well aware that there are comprehensive lists floating around blog-world that provide oodles of inventive, just-right gift ideas for Father’s Day. Some of them are even broken down into categories—sporty dad! nerdy dad! likesnothingbetterthansittingonthecouchwatchinggolf dad!

So, I’d hardly be adding anything new if I made my own.

I did, however, want to share an idea that I came up with for Shaun for our anniversary, which was such a hit that I’ll be reprising it again for his Father’s Day present (and, yes, he has been warned to stay away from this post until next Monday, upon pain of no home-cooked dinner for the rest of eternity).

I’m calling it a “Favorite Things Basket”—a concept which you can probably grasp from the title alone.

Let’s face it: men are hard to buy for. Which means that I always struggle to come up with bigger items that will appeal to Shaun that he hasn’t actually bought for himself already. (Grrr…)

The smaller stuff, though, that’s much easier—which is why I decided to combine a bunch of different small things that I know he loves into one big basket:

. daddybasket

Thar she blows—a basket full of goodies for the father of my children.

Now, obviously, you can adapt this idea for your father or grandfather too, but as I said before, this basket was actually an anniversary present, so I just reworked some of the items and snapped a few photos to help get your creative juices flowing.

So, what did I include?

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FOOD: strawberry fruit leather, dulce de leche Haagen Dazs ice cream, Koop’s horseradish mustard (the man is obsessed with both mustard and horseradish, so it seemed like a no-brainer), onion-cheese dip, milk chocolate Hershey nuggets with almonds and toffee, and maple almond granola.

*I just realized that I forgot to add his drink (his faves are root beer and cream soda, of which there is an abundance of specialty varieties).

FUN: two different “man” magazines—one with a handy man theme and the other with a work shop theme, shooting range passes (one for him and one for a friend…because he might never go if I only bought them for him), Superman ball cap (he’ll be a little mortified since wearing logos, especially the kind that make a big deal out of him, is totally not his thing, but I’ll just tell him he can wear it around the house because we all know he’s Superman), Klipsch ear buds (he’s an audio-book junkie; I actually gave him these last year, but I took a picture of them in the basket to give you more ideas)

PERSONAL: I made him a little chalkboard sign that says, “You are my favorite thing; here are some of yours.” (Obviously, you might need to reword this if you’re making the basket for your dad, or your husband might get offended :)).

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I also made him an “I Love You Because…” mug using various colored Sharpies. Then I baked it in the oven for 30 minutes (there are tons of tutorials for this on Pinterest; it’s super-easy) to set the ink.

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Note to self: wait to write the word “hot” until the kids aren’t watching.

I thought Ezra and Simon would never stop asking me: “Mama, why did you write, ‘hot?’ What do you mean, Daddy’s ‘hot?’”

The last thing I did was to add a playful little nod to the hackneyed classic “Father’s Day Tie” gift tradition.

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It’s just a bow-tie made from some scrap fabric and a little hot glue, but I thought it was a nice finishing touch. Besides, what’s manlier than orange lumberjack flannel, right?

Here’s another round of close-ups of the whole kit and caboodle.

daddybasketcollage

When I gave him his anniversary version, Shaun was a huge fan and seemed really touched that I had gone to the trouble to track down so many different things that I knew he loved. And, even though he’s already seen a version of it, I bet he’ll be just as thrilled this time around.

The best part is that most of these items are regularly available at your local grocery store or Walmart. Plus, you can take it as far as your imagination leads you. I can already picture all kinds of fun, themed versions for movie enthusiasts, NASCAR-lovers, bookworms, and so many more!

So, what about you guys?

Do you have your Father’s Day gifts all lined out yet?

And is it just me, or are men really that much harder to buy for than women?

0 Comments

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  3. you are orrect about men being more difficult to buy for. –If they want something they go buy it. so, we are left with what ???

  4. I ordered Instagram canvasses of our girls- a lot of sites are having specials for Father’s Day. Maybe we should do a basket too!

I love hearing from you guys!