Dad Blogs - Useful Parenting Tips for Dads » Gifts for dads

Treat your wife like your boss? Excerpt from Parking Lot Rules

Paul Banas — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 22:31:50 +0000

TREAT HER LIKE YOUR BOSS No matter how tired or fed up you are with how things are going at the office or store or school, or wherever you might work, if the person who signs your paycheck walks in, somehow there is a little reserve of goodwill saved up, just for him or her. ... This is the source to which you might consider turning when you are completely fed up with your daughter, when she has found your last nerve and is standing on it, when you realize you have memorized the phone number of the private military academy over in the next county. But instead of raising your voice to her, instead of saying some things you may regret later, instead of reminding her that you brought her into this world, instead of embarrassing her in front of the entire family, even though that is precisely what she deserves, just imagine . . .

New green gift ideas for Father’s Day

Paul Banas — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 23:43:54 +0000

For some dads, of course, a home improvement gift is a bit like getting a mixer for mom's day, but, just like a primo Kitchen Aid mixer is a great gift for a baking mom, these gifts can be killer choices for dads who love to tinker and save. ... Just let the worms do their work in their Worm Farm inside or outside and at the bottom you'll get worm tea, perfect for enriching the soil of your garden and create super-growing plants. ... Use discount code "sustain" in the keycode section of the checkout form for a 20% discount off everything (the discount will be confirmed in an email after the order is processed.)

Five free gifts to celebrate Father’s Day

Paul Banas — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 00:39:45 +0000

Father's Day, or any holiday doesn't need to be another reason to spend a lot of money shopping for stuff just so you have a package to wrap. In fact, most dads just want to feel appreciated on Father's Day and that doesn't even mean a $3 Hallmark card. ... What dad doesn't want to be told that it would be great if he got out of the house to play some golf, knowing that a barbecue will be set up and nice cold beer waiting when he gets back.

Gifts for Traveling Dads

Paul Banas — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 00:24:09 +0000

The Tray Bien is a black sleeve that fits over the tray table creating your own set of pockets including a bottle holder This may seem like a goofy idea, but after I left an ipod in the front seat pocket on my last flight of the day, I see the value. ... It is another thing to carry, but I always bring mine along now, especially when I'm with the kids since that's when it's easiest to get distracted and lose your brand new ipod because someone needs to go to the bathroom RIGHT NOW (grumble, grumble). ... Bialetti espresso pot -Okay, he's not going to get this into his carry-on, but if your dad needs an espresso to get going and lug the full-size Astra to your weekend getaway, this updated version of the classic espresso maker might be the next best thing.

Five Fathers Day gifts for geeky dads (and who isn’t geeky these days?)

Paul Banas — Sat, 06 Jun 2009 05:37:15 +0000

If you have a dad who has an iPod and can't get enough music, an iTunes gift card is a nice touch. ... If your dad uses the computer a lot, a perfect gift is an extra computer monitor so he can look like one of those stock traders you see while scanning past the Bloomberg channel. ... I know there are state of the art monitors (everyone loves the "24 Apple at $900), but I really like my ViewSonic "22 inch ViewDock monitor because it comes with an iPod dock (not iPhone unfortunately), stereo speakers, a headphone jack and mic input, and three powered USB ports. $449 on Amazon.

Woe is us! Fathers Day spending down in 2009.

Paul Banas — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 18:01:19 +0000

However, note this: while moms "get" more on Mom's Day per capita, spending on moms in 2009 was expected to be down 10% while spending for dads only will dip about 5%. Americans are expected to spend an average of $90.89 on gifts for dad, down slightly from $94.54 last year. ... Highlights from NRF’s 2009 Father’s Day Consumer Intentions and Actions Survey include: Consumers will spend the most ($1.9 billion) on a special outing such as a dinner or even a sporting event. ... Discount stores and department stores will be going head to head this Father’s Day as 33.9 percent of Americans plan on shopping at discounters and 33.7 percent will shop at department stores.

Parking Lot Rules – new parenting book by Tom Sturges

Paul Banas — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 23:10:56 +0000

While some of the tips are just plain practical (4 times to wash hands) and seem a little out of place compared to the more emotional issues he faces, such as how to communicate your love to a sixteen year old boy without embarrassing him. Other advice, such as the importance of thank you notes, also seems like filler though I can tell from other parts of the book that social conventions are important to the author. I tend to share his views on the importance of teaching basic social habits like saying "please" and "thank you," but you might be surprised to see this advice sandwiched in between other more sentimental issues.

Two great Father’s Day gifts for Divorced Dads

Paul Banas — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 22:55:15 +0000

We have plenty of other gift ideas for dads in general, but here are two good gifts for divorced dads, probably from friends or family interested in supporting dads' relationships with kids who may not even be in the same city. ... Vidtel, using broadband (cable or DSL) connections, finally makes good on that promise. Because it's broadband, rather than POTS (plain old telephone service), the picture quality and voice are as good as any online connection using Skype or one of the many online video chat services. ... The ease of use of the Vidtel system also makes this a good choice for older grandparents who may not be able to use computer videoconferencing. The second is the etendi BRIDGE,, available at etendi.com.

New Dadlabs book out in time for Fathers Day

Paul Banas — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 22:04:38 +0000

Our friends at DadLabs.com are at it again with a new book that tries to put in prose what they do so well in video. ... It has many practical tips on subjects like picking a baby name and how to change a diaper, just as you will find on DadLabs TV, but much of the value of this book is the ability to laugh at the early stages of parenthood, just as your pregnant partner is taking it so seriously. There is a time for soulful feelings about incipient fatherhood, but also a time for having a beer and making some crude jokes using all the new vocabulary you've just learned in Childbirth class.

Five top point and click cameras for Fathers Day 2009

Paul Banas — Thu, 28 May 2009 18:26:18 +0000

$400 Most portable: Sony DSC-T700 Cyber-shot - Tiny and flat with 4GB of internal memory but only a 4X zoom. $400 Most brand conscious: Leica C-LUX 3 - It's a Leica, and very good, but the price shows it. ... That will determine the quality of the photo since all cameras are now made so you can blow up photos to larger sizes.