Dad's birthday - what to get?

[chubbyfatazn]

The last thread was about wives and rubies, and now I need some suggestions about what to get for my dad (not hookers and blow).

He's got a nice TV and 7TB of hard drive space for movies and crap. He's got two computers, a W500 and an X61 tablet I gave him. The house is in good shape. Nothing needs fixing. Cars are in great condition. Not really much in the music or sports department, all he does is run in the gym.

Anything I can get him to improve his little man cave? I thought about getting him a new set of speakers, but then I realized he never uses them anyway. I could build him an HTPC with the core components in my sig right now, but he already has a media player connected to the TV for that purpose.

 

[xSauronx]

good booze? does he have another hobby that you could get something for?

 

[rudeguy]

what about a nice stereo bluetooth headset?

Or if he is that well off, why not donate to a charity in his name?

 

[erikistired]

a gun!

 

[manimal]

if hes a jogger get him some kind of portable tunes upgrade.

Not beats.

 

[chubbyfatazn]

good booze? does he have another hobby that you could get something for?

He's never been that heavy into drinking. Ever since I entered my "healthy phase" he did the same thing, and severely cut back on the booze. I was thinking of some nice Glenfidditch or Macallan, but he wouldn't drink it.

He was in the aviation industry for awhile, an interest he passed down to me. I was thinking of getting him a model of his home country's airline, for nostalgia's sake.

what about a nice stereo bluetooth headset?

Or if he is that well off, why not donate to a charity in his name?

He has a wireless headset that he uses to watch movies with. He's no audiophile, he couldn't tell the difference between stock ipod earbuds and a TF10... nothing in his house is BT equipped anyway.

Charity is a good idea. Need to find one that hits home with him though.

if hes a jogger get him some kind of portable tunes upgrade.

Not beats.

I got him a pair of cheap MElectronics IEMs to see if he liked the idea of sticking something into his ear, and he's been happy with those since. I have an extra pair of better IEMs, a Soundmagic PL50, that I already gave to him.

 

[CallMeJoe]

...
I was thinking of getting him a model of his home country's airline, for nostalgia's sake...

Knowing his "home country" might help for suggestions.

 

[chubbyfatazn]

Knowing his "home country" might help for suggestions.

OK, not home country. Home city, if you will. Hong Kong, Cathay Pacific.

For those of you familiar with this topic, I've gotten him a 707 in the old green cheatline livery. Would get him a 747 in those colours if I were to go ahead with this.

 

[xSauronx]

he married? maybe dinner for two at a health-oriented place if there is one in the area?

amazon prime membership? amazon prime is fucking awesome.

magazine subscription? my sis got me national geographic for a few years and i always enjoyed that...

 

[highland145]

Hang with him.

I'm 48, today. I got cheese crackers and brownies, home made. I don't need anything and if I don't have it already, I sure don't want the wife putting it on my visa. The boy and I played basketball and rode our bikes. We'll get a movie later. Good times.

 

[chubbyfatazn]

he married? maybe dinner for two at a health-oriented place if there is one in the area?

amazon prime membership? amazon prime is fucking awesome.

magazine subscription? my sis got me national geographic for a few years and i always enjoyed that...

Yeah, he's married. I could do that, but I'm going back home and I can only be there for one night, so I'd want to eat dinner with him. Besides, my birthday is the day after his (talk about bad timing), so I figure a family dinner is in order.

I have Prime, he just asks me to order for him. He doesn't buy much online anyway.

NatGeo is a good idea, he's into that kind of nature-y stuff. Thanks!

 

[nageov3t]

I stopped trying to get thoughtful gifts for my dad years ago... no matter what I'd get for him, it would just end up sitting unopened in the box in his study.

now he just gets gift cards to the places where he goes to for lunch at work (Subway, Burger King) and a box of his favorite candy (dark chocolate nonpareils)

 

[BurnItDwn]

Bring Cigars for dad.

 

[dbailey]

Yeah, he's married. I could do that, but I'm going back home and I can only be there for one night, so I'd want to eat dinner with him. Besides, my birthday is the day after his (talk about bad timing), so I figure a family dinner is in order.

I have Prime, he just asks me to order for him. He doesn't buy much online anyway.

NatGeo is a good idea, he's into that kind of nature-y stuff. Thanks!

You can give up to 4 family members Prime accounts with yours. Not suggesting as the gift, but if you haven't given them out yet, I would suggest doing so.

 

[waggy]

i found the best thing is just to get a case of beer and some bait and go sit on the lake with im for the day. we always have such a good time and he always enjoys it.

My kids also make him cards/pictures. And last year they took him out for dinner (saved allowance to do it!).