Finding gifts for the Dads in your life can be a challenge. Few men wear ties or use cloth handkerchiefs anymore and let’s face it — even jazzy socks are a pretty boring and impersonal gift. Furthermore, most family budgets cannot be stretched to pay for big ticket guy things like fast cars, motorcycles or a spring training road trip.

But there are lots of things you can do on a shoestring that Dad will appreciate. Here are a few of my favourites:

1. Save for the dream: You may not be able to afford the latest tech toy or an exotic trip right now, but you can start a bank account or even a piggy bank with the goal of accumulating the necessary funds within a specified time.
2. Golf: If your husband or father is a golfer, finding the time to golf may be as much of a problem as paying hefty greens fees. Block out a few “golf days” for him on the calendar and get a gift certificate to a local course. The kids might enjoy decorating customized golf balls using indelible markers. Or you can plan a family mini-golf outing.
3. Car wash: Most family chariots are pretty grubby after a long winter. Instead of paying for an expensive detailing job, put the kids to work washing and vacuuming the car. After all, he is their father and not yours!
4. Send him on a course: My husband’s hobby is woodworking. Lee Valley Tools offers one day mini-courses on everything from wood turning to sharpening tools. He has received several as gifts and says he learned a great deal. Whatever your husband or father is interested in, chances are some organization in the community offers a “how-to-class.”
5. Senior Dads: If your Dad is a senior and living alone, make him several weeks’ worth of yummy frozen dinners he can microwave. Better still, invite him over to share meals with your family. If he lives in a different city, see if you can manage an unexpected weekend visit.
6. Game tickets: Tickets to big league football, hockey or baseball can cost hundreds of dollars. However there are many local little league and even semi pro teams that provide great entertainment and would welcome your support.
7. Framed pictures: Because photos are digital now, we tend to print very few of them. Instead they are stored on our phones, on Facebook or online. Print and frame a lovely family picture for Dad’s desk or the wall in his office.
8. Make a video: Every smart phone now has a video camera. As a rainy day project, get the kids to put a script together and devise costume from items in your closet. Each one can end with a monologue about why they love their Dad and what they plan to do to make his day special.
9. Phone apps: Is your teenager geeky but his father is not? Have your son or daughter research and find phone apps that will make Dad’s life easier and teach him how to use them. This could include anything from games, to an app that allows easy recording of business expenses to a program that converts foreign currency to Canadian dollars.
10. Gifts that give back: There are many worthwhile charities in your local community or farther afield that operate on a shoe string. You may have already donated your time or money to one or more of these organizations. Make a special donation in honour of Dad for Father’s Day.

Written by Sheryl Smolkin
	Sheryl Smolkin LLB., LLM is a retired pension lawyer and President of Sheryl Smolkin & Associates Ltd. For over a decade, she has enjoyed a successful encore career as a freelance writer specializing in retirement, employee benefits and workplace issues. Sheryl and her husband Joel are empty-nesters, residing in Toronto with their cockapoo Rufus.