The Best Gifts for Dads Who Want Nothing

We’ve all been there. Dad wants nothing for Christmas. Dad wants nothing for his birthday. Dad buys a pinball machine for the basement without saying anything about it. Dad forgets Father’s Day. Finding gifts for men and older men in particular can be a pain in the ass. Love is not enough. The card will be a discard. Tribute is required.

“I find most of the men in my life incredibly hard to shop for because they give no hints at what they want, so I opt for upgrading a thing they are interested in,” says interior designer Ashley Hosmer. “For my dad, that means a waterproof, wireless speaker he can take on fishing boats to blast classic rock. For my husband, that means custom t-shirts.”

And that’s the key. Develop a hypothesis about the man’s desires. Test the hypothesis. When confronted by the vastness of the unknown, turn to the scientific method. Looking to someone’s natural interests is a great way to find gifts for anyone, not just the ones who tell you they don’t want anything. But even if dad likes to fish, don’t buy a rod. The key is to get the extra thing – the bonus thing – not the necessity. He’ll handle that part.

two glasses of margaritas with watermelon, hot peppers, and juice on a wood board

If dad really says he doesn’t want anything, he probably still wants to spend time with you. And that’s fun for you both. “My dad is one of those people who, if they want something, will go ahead and buy it on Amazon, so he’s really hard to shop for,” says writer Drew Millard. “He started taking cooking lessons, though, and his culinary journey unlocked a whole new category of stuff that he wanted, thereby creating the conditions for him not having everything and needing some things. The lesson, here, is that if someone in your life seems to have everything, then give them the gift of developing a new interest.”

Alice’s Table is one way to give that kind of gift. The site offers cocktail and charcuterie courses (and also flower arranging if that’s his bag), and since you take the classes via Zoom, you and your dad don’t even have to be in the same location to say, learn how to make tequila cocktails together like you will in this course. You only have minimal prep to do, too. Alice’s Table will ship you all the mixers, bitters, and syrups required. You just have to provide the tequila.

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