Start Thinking About Dad!
By David B. Bohl | June 6, 2007 | 2 Responses
Father’s Day is 11 days away from today, June the 6th. Is 11 days long enough to find the perfect gift? Many fathers say that they are unhappy with their gift, along with 53% of fathers saying that they have never once received a gift that they actually liked. This is contradictory to the 67% of people who thought that their dad was always pleased with his gift. Some helpful hints to think of when shopping for the perfect present: avoid boring presents, use your emotions, and look for deals.
Father’s Day is only 11 days from today. Is that enough time to find that perfect gift for your Father? Is your Dad easy to please?
According to an on-line ShopLocal.com survey returned by 3,632 email respondents, a majority of Dads are unhappy with their Father’s Day gifts.
Here’s the most amazing finding of the survey: 53% of Fathers reported that they have never received a good gift. This statistic is perplexing in that 67% of those purchasing gifts for Fathers believe that their Dad is generally pleased with his gifts.
What could explain this disparity? Maybe it’s the fact that 40% of gift-givers admit to waiting until the last minute to shop for their fathers. In addition, 64% said that Dad is difficult to buy for (only 36% said that Mothers are hard to find items for).
ShopLocal suggests the following when shopping for Dad:
- Avoid the mundane
- Shop with emotion
- Look for special offers.
Being a Father myself, I have my own short list:
- Take an interest in Dad. Know about his personal and work life. You’ll be sure to strike a chord.
- Buy your Father something he wouldn’t buy for himself.
- Give him a piece of you - he’ll value your time more than anything else.
The list of “Dont’s” is implied in the above list, but here’s one that you’d think would be obvious (but isn’t):
DO NOT call him collect on Father’s Day.
Mother’s Day may be the busiest Holiday of the year for phone calls, but Father’s Day is the busiest day of the entire year for collect calls.
Looking for some inspiration? Have a look at the Family and Fatherhood section in June’s BestLife Magazine.
Copyright 2008 David Bohl and SlowDownFast.com. All rights reserved.
About the Author:
Husband, father, friend, Life Coach and Lifestyle Designer David B. Bohl is the creator of Slow Down FAST at www.slowdownfast.com.
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Categories: Relationships, What Do You Want?, Women, Family, Partners, Mothers, Couples, Families, Fathers, Men, Children
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2 Responses to “Start Thinking About Dad!”
Comments
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June 6th, 2007 at 8:17 pm
Hi David, your post made me think of what I saw in a store today. “We have just what Dad needs.” Fact is, they just wanted to make a sale.
Your advice is right on the money! Maybe at other times of the year we need to note what Dad enjoys most and buy him something that fits his hobbies and if we aren’t sure, gift certificates are in order.
June 6th, 2007 at 8:36 pm
Robyn,
Thanks for your comments and for taking the time.
I cannot speak for other Dads, but I’d much rather receive a gift certificate from Amazon, for example, (because my kids know I love to read, but don’t know which tack my interests have taken this week) than something an aggressive merchant has pushed on them.