Christmas Gift for Dad
 

OOT please help me pick an awesome Christmas gift for my dad, but he is really hard to buy for.

BACKGROUND: He is in his mid 50s, and I usually end up buying him some item of clothing. This year I want to be different and get him something really good, I'm willing to spend up to $400. The problem is the only things he really likes to spend his money on are nice cars, other than that he hates to be wasteful. He is not the type you can buy the latest gadget for, simply because he will see it as a waste of money(he is very frugal). I want to get him something useful that he will really enjoy, but the best thing I can up with so far is fresh tuna! He really likes tuna, but I don't think that makes a good Christmas gift.

Re: Christmas Gift for Dad
 

$400 gift card to gas station?

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i hate tuna but it seems like a fine xmas gift

Re: Christmas Gift for Dad
 

How adverse to gadgets is he?

Are we talking no digital camera or no PDA or ipod?

Re: Christmas Gift for Dad
 

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$400 gift card to gas station?

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I didn't really want to get him a gift card either. I know I am being pickey, but I really want to get him something special.

Re: Christmas Gift for Dad
 

if he has a first car thats really memorable or a dream car get him a model of it.

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I'd suggest tickets to a game, or something similar that he enjoys. You'd go with him of course.

Re: Christmas Gift for Dad
 

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How adverse to gadgets is he?

Are we talking no digital camera or no PDA or ipod?

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None of those would work.:(

The molel car is a great idea, but he really isn't in to that kind of stuff.

Re: Christmas Gift for Dad
 

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I'd suggest tickets to a game, or something similar that he enjoys. You'd go with him of course.

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My first choice were concert tickets, but there was nothing good in my area anytime soon.

Re: Christmas Gift for Dad
 

Where do you live? Take him on a guided hunting/fishing trip...

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I got my dad a hunting rifle that I think he will really like for $400. I usually get him a book or something. He lives in the woods though, so don't know if this helps you for your dad...

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stuff for his car? gps (assuming he doesn't have it yet), dvd player, intake/exhaust etc.

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My dad doesn't like to hunt anymore sadly, so that won't work either...

I live in southeast Missouri if that helps any.

He already has gps on his car, so that won't work. I looked in to upgrades, but the ones I know he would like are way out of my price range.

Re: Christmas Gift for Dad
 

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I got my dad a hunting rifle that I think he will really like for $400. I usually get him a book or something. He lives in the woods though, so don't know if this helps you for your dad...

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He'll shoot his eye out kid.

Re: Christmas Gift for Dad
 

We know how to shoot. Also it's pretty hard to shoot your eye out with a rifle unless you're really trying to.

Re: Christmas Gift for Dad
 

most dad's have all the "things" they need.
so give him an experiance, get him a hot air balloon ride.

Re: Christmas Gift for Dad
 

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most dad's have all the "things" they need.
so give him an experiance, get him a hot three-way

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Re: Christmas Gift for Dad
 

Re: Christmas Gift for Dad
 

Since you mentioned he really likes his cars, you could consider something like remote start ($200-$300), or possibly a navigation system (more expensive).

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He really likes tuna, but I don't think that makes a good Christmas gift.

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Tuna/fish cookbook?

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I got my Dad tickets to a UFC match for his birthday, and we had a blast. It was the first time we had gone to anything like that before and neither of us really knew much about it, but it was really fun.

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http://www.spirituosenworld.de/produ..._18_new_gr.jpg

that's what i get my dad for christmas (every year for 2 years now, he says it's his favorite gift ever)

that's only like $150 so you can probably get him something nicer. A lot of people on here know a lot more about scotch than I do.

Re: Christmas Gift for Dad
 

Sounds like my father, 62 yrs old, buys what he needs. Does your dad read a lot? I'm compiling my favorite essays, columns, and speeches from the year in news and sports, 2006.

It's 52 pages long and includes the following:

-A Rick Reilly column
-An Andrew Sullivan piece on the conservative case against torture
-A George Will column on what the country should learn from the elections
-A Sam Harris column on why we don't need religion to do "moral" deeds
-A profile on two emerging presidential candidates, Obama and Romney
-A Christopher Hitchens piece on the pernicious effect of banning words (following the Michael Richards blowup)

These are all works that he would probably read on his own time, so I've compiled them into a word document and dressed it up with a title and notes about the year. It's about as original and pertinent as I can get when it comes to holiday gifts for my father.

Re: Christmas Gift for Dad
 

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Sounds like my father, 62 yrs old, buys what he needs. Does your dad read a lot? I'm compiling my favorite essays, columns, and speeches from the year in news and sports, 2006.

It's 52 pages long

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That's a good idea. When I opened the thread, I thought a heartfelt letter would mean a lot more to your dad than anything else, that's what I'm doing for my dad for Hanukkah.

Re: Christmas Gift for Dad
 

Im getting my parents a nice DVD Recorder with a hard drive for xmas.
If your dad is anything like mine I'm sure he likes a few shows on TV but doesn't have the schedule to watch all of them when he wants.
Entry level DVD recorders with a 80gig HD start at a little over $200 and they can range up to and over $350 (depending on their awesomeness).

I got one 2 months ago and love it, so I figure its a gift both my dad AND my mom will enjoy.

Re: Christmas Gift for Dad
 

DVD recoders are a great idea, even without the hard drive. I bought one for my dad last year and he loves it. He even bought a second one and has spent all year converting over his VHS collection.

If that won't work and you're dad lives anywhere near you in SE Missouri, then he's probably a Cardinals fan. You can pick up two tickets to opening day where they'll award the World Series rings at StubHub for around $400. Take him and it'll be a moment neither one of you ever forgets. And it'll be unique, as it only took 24 years for this to happen.

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I really like the idea of a dvd recorder with a hard drive, but I might also get him tickets to see Greg Allman.

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Some good cigars or whiskey or cognac.

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http://warhistorian.org/wordpress/im...y-leg-lamp.jpg

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i just started looking at stuff for my parents. i got my sister an N64 plus a ton of games(for some reason, she really wanted this and has mentioned it a lot), got my girlfriend a present i cant reveal because she will read this post, and my dads birthday is 2 days before christmas, so i usually buy him 2 things. I was thinking about getting my parents tickets to BB King, but then i didnt know how thrilled my mom would be, and vice versa for van morrison. but those are the only concerts i think they might want to see. i got my dad a day at a dayspa for his bday last year and i might do the same thing again. massages are [censored] rad.

rj

Re: Christmas Gift for Dad
 

What kind of car(s) . If hes a real nut then get him a Gift Cert to JEGs or a place like that ( my defacto gift for my self when someone doesn't know what to get me) . It sounds like a cop out but getting him a car part (say a shifter or a tech or something like that ) Generally is a bad idea unless you know he wants a certain one.

If he likes to work on the car alot too then you can get him a creeper
and a set of work gloves. As well as nice set of jack stands and hydraulic jack.

Lastly you can go to the local autobody shop and buy him a full out detail (usually ~300 )

Re: Christmas Gift for Dad
 

I can't buy him any car matince or accessory stuff, because he already has all the stuff he really wants.

I've pretty much narrowed it down to a dvd recorder, and maybe concert tickets.

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Not to brag on my suggestion, but I think the dvd recorder will be something more along the lines of what he would like (your dad being the frugal type and all). It all adds up...

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Buy him a nice pair of speakers. Check out Axiom or Ascend Acoustics.

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Go to your local Bevmo or liquor store and make him a nice assortment of different beers from around the world that he could try. Then throw in some tuna and crackers so he can decide which of the beers he likes drinking while eating tuna.

Re: Christmas Gift for Dad
 

One year for my Dad's birthday, I got him a Life magazine from the week he was born. He loved it. Only about $25.