When we were younger, Mother’s Day and Father’s Day were basically the easiest holidays to prep for. All you had to do was scribble out a sloppy card (that they obviously will cherish forever and never throw out) and your art teacher always made sure to add something to the curriculum so that you could give your parent a prime example of your artistic prowess and save a trip to the mall for the other parent. This should come as no surprise but growing up, it kinda sucks. Sure, it’s nice to drink legally and not have to spend hours in a classroom learning about algebra or some other crap you’ll never need to use. But things like filing your taxes (which like, what are those?), paying rent and preparing for holidays get a whole lot harder.
You see where I’m going with this. Father’s Day is basically here and not all of us still have the luxury of living at home with mom and dad. Furthermore, not all of us are incredibly organized and thoughtful individuals who got our card/gift in the mail weeks ago as per our more responsible sister’s advice. Sigh. Well, your status as your dad’s favorite child is not completely done-for yet. Lucky for you, I’ve got six gift ideas for your out-of-state Papa that will make him think you’ve been thinking about this day for weeks. Lucky for me, my dad’s coming to visit this weekend so I can take him out to dinner and pretend that was my plan all along.
6. Venmo His Spouse (whether that’s your mom, stepmom, dad, stepdad, whatever idgaf) And Ask Them to Get Him Something Nice on Your Dime
Hopefully, they’re a good secret-keeper and won’t make it obvious that you called the night before and they had to buy his gift for you.
5. Call His Favorite Local Lunch Spot and Get Them To Deliver To His House (Just Make Sure You Pay by Credit Card Over the Phone)
Call him before the fact so that you a) can wish him a happy father’s day and tell him how much you love him and b) double-check that he’s home so the delivery boy doesn’t show up to an empty house.
4. Get Him a Subscription to a Monthly Delivery Box
These things are all the rage right now. Mention in your e-card that it’s the latest trend and all cool-dad-aspirers will be honored. Plus, this can be good for all price-ranges. A BirchBox Man subscription has options from $60 – $220. If he’s got some fun facial hair, the Dollar Beard Club starts at — well, a dollar. And if he’s got a BFF that he loves taking care of (and I mean, obviously, a dog) BarkBox ranges from $35 – 240. There’s a subscription box for basically every type of person so do some digging, plug in your credit card number and voila — it’s actually a pretty sweet gift. Calling it a “monthly subscription box” also takes the pressure away from him expecting it on Father’s Day itself.
3. Take Him to The Movies
Since you shouldn’t be talking during the actual movie itself anyways, buy him the movie ticket on Fandango, send him the PDF (with a sweet message, duh) and have him print it out. Then, go see the movie at the same time! Be sure to call him once it’s over so you can discuss. (All dads are different, but personally I’d be taking my dear-old-dad to see Wonder Woman or Lost in Paris).
2. Plan a Trip To See Him
Whether it’s by bus, car or plane — figure out when you can go spend some one-on-one time together. He’ll appreciate the gift, even if it means waiting a little bit.
1. Buy whatever you would have gotten him online, ship it and then when Sunday rolls around and he says he hasn’t recieved it yet be like, “Oh my god, that’s soooo annoying! I bought it like 10 days ago!” Then blame the postal service.
A girl’s gotta do what a girl’s gotta do. #NoShame
No matter what you do, be sure to call him first thing in the morning… that way even if your siblings actually thought ahead and did something in advance, you’re clearly the one who cares the most.
Tell us your favorite (or least favorite!) thing about Father’s Day in the comments below!