father's day

Father’s Day Gift Guide Under £20

Father’s Day in the UK in 2018 is Sunday 17th June. I say the UK because I’m never sure if Father’s Day is like Mother’s day, where it is at different times of the year in different countries. Anyway, here’s my slightly quirky (you’ll see) gift guide but keeping individual items under £20.

I feel it’s important to remember that Father’s Day isn’t about how much money is spent on a Dad or Step-Dad or Grandad. The day, for me anyway, is about appreciating your Dad and that’s far more important than material items.

So check out the list below for something a little more interesting than socks and pants this Father’s Day.

#SwapSocksForSelfies

soft cover photo book

It’s no secret that I love photos and photography. Despite the fact that photo printing is in decline, as most of us use mobile phones and albums confined to the digital world, there’s something about a printed photograph. I love a framed photo or a product with a photo on – the mug being a classic of the genre. But the range of products that can now carry our favourite images is quite astonishing.

TRUPRINTTake a look here at the Truprint personalised gifts list – all these are under £20 (though they do have others with higher price tags). Even in this price range, there are some great gifts for Dad’s.

My particular favourites are the 7×5″ framed print (from £9) and the softcover 20-page book (from £16.99). I LOVE a nice framed print on my desk at work. I know not every Dad works at a desk but for those that do, ditch the computer desktop photos and go old-school. The photobook is a fantastic memory piece. Photobooks are a sublime upgrade on a photo album and you have the ability to get creative with layouts too.

Truprint is running a campaign this year to #SwapSocksForSelfies as they encourage people to move away from the good old mundane socks present to something a little more photogenic. So, will you be swapping socks for selfies?

Aftershave

Tommy HilfigerYou can’t go wrong with aftershave or eau de toilette. While there are many designer fragrances out there that will set you back far more than £20, there are also plenty under this price limit too. Check out the PerfurneShop.com for some great men’s fragrances less than £20.

One of my all-time favourites is Tommy by Tommy Hilfiger. I love it!

Mobile Phone Case

This is a more practical item, I’ll grant you. But maybe this is the modern alternative to buying your Dad a new wallet. Check out Amazon for some great cases for men.

A T-Shirt (Or Two)

I love t-shirts myself and especially motif ones. I’m always fond of the range in Mountain Warehouse as I pretend to be an outdoors kind of guy. My favourite at the moment is this one pictured (hint to my girls, hint hint!).

Mountain Warehouse t-shirt
Mountain Warehouse

 

A Book (Or Rather A Book Voucher)

Not enough of us read, as adults, myself included. But, I have been addressing that lately by trying to read at least one book per week. This is still way short of my lovely wife’s reading habit that sees her get through from 3-5 books a week! (Yes really!). I have a particular penchant for adventure travelogues (I’m currently, as I write, reading Sean Conway’s account of his length of Britain run) so if someone bought me a book it would have to be in a genre I’m likely to read. I always read using my Kindle (Fire) so preferable an Amazon voucher would be a great thing to buy me. Yes, I could use it to purchase something more mundane such a new pack of biros, but I promise to try to use it for a book or two.

I’m not adverse to a physical book though. Helen once got me a great gift, it was a personalised signed copy of Mark Beaumont’s’ book from his Africa Solo bike ride. You can’t get signed eBooks so for that added extra speciality a signed copy of a book is great.

A Smelly Set

I know it’s pretty standard, predictable even, but don’t underestimate us Dads. We love a nice smelly set. Personally, I am remarkably bad and ensuring I have a constant supply of personal hygiene items such as shower gel and deodorant. With Christmas, my birthday and Father’s Day I could be set up for most of the year with a good set on each occasion. Go predictable, get smelly set!

On a side note; one Christmas before children I was really stuck as what to buy Helen (I usually am). In the end, I panic bought 5 different smelly sets on Christmas Eve (yes five!). Needless to day it went down as one of my “not so great” Christmas present years as she thought that I thought she had a BO problem!

A Hammock

hammockOkay, I know this is a bit off the wall but I would love a hammock. Or rather, I like the idea of having a hammock! Actually, I’m not sure I have anywhere to put one up? We do have a tree in the garden but lack that crucial second tree, or anything solid, for a second anchor point. But, I would still love a hammock, and thanks to

Amazon (again) this one comes in at under £20. It’s not you usual Father’s Day gift and would certainly raise a smile!

 
 
Personalised Hammer

 

personalised hammer
notonthehightstreet.com

If you thought my hammock suggestion was a bit off the wall then how about this. It seems you can get anything personalised these days and notonthehighstreet.com do a personalised hammer for £20. Not every Dad is a DIY God, but even the most anti-DIY man out there could not argue with having his own personalised hammer, could he?

 

 
 
 
Enter Him Into A Challenge

If the Dad of the moment is a sports-mad outdoors type like me (haha) then why not entering him into a race. Even better, if he just a runner, cyclist or swimmer then enter him into a triathlon and set him a challenge! Personally, I would love this as a present and would give me something to aim for and look forward to. You can use a site such as findarace.com to locate all sorts of events.

Don’t Forget Charity Shops

charity shops

While my links above take you to brand new items it’s worth noting that hunting in charity shops can turn up some great gifts. Given that I buy 90% of my clothes from charity shops it’s not something that I would sniff at if a gift came from one. A gift doesn’t have to be a brand new item, and it really is the thought that counts.

One thought on “Father’s Day Gift Guide Under £20”

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.