By MyLittleBird Staff
YIKES, FATHER’S DAY kind of sneaked up on us this year. Wasn’t it just Mother’s Day? The clock may be ticking but we haven’t forgotten our dear dads. We know it may be tricky to find something they really want (mainly because if they wanted it, they already bought it for themselves). However, we’ve unearthed a few things they may have overlooked. So, whether it’s your husband, brother, son or your own father, here are nine ways we’ve got you covered.
LEFT: If you don’t associate The New Yorker with crossword puzzles, you haven’t been paying attention (ahem). Since 2018, the weekly mag has been posting a Monday offering online and now has come up with a perfect Father’s Day gift for a puzzle-junkie dad. In fact, it’s a double puzzle: a jigsaw puzzle he has to put together before he can even tackle the crossword puzzle it will reveal. And he gets to solve said puzzle with an official New Yorker pencil, so there. The 500-piece NYer Crossword-Puzzle Puzzle is $35 at the magazine’s own online shop.
RIGHT: Your golfing dad probably has a set or three of golf-ball-shaped ice cube forms, but we bet he doesn’t have these. Unlike real ice cubes, these don’t melt. You put Uncommon Goods’s glass Golf Ball Whiskey Chillers ($30 for two) in the freezer for a few hours before pouring a shot of Scotch over them. Almost as good as a double eagle.
TOP LEFT: Combining computer technology with hand craftsmanship, the Brooklyn-based Locknesters design studio makes 3D puzzles that are a joy to look at and to handle (especially during boring conference calls). The Bus in particular is an object of youthful longing. Locknesters promises that each bus is computer-designed, then 3D-printed from American plastic (no toxic chemicals), hand-sanded, barrel-tumbled and hand-lacquered. The 8½-inch-long Bus is a five-piece puzzle and $60; the 6½-inch long Buddy Bus is $45 and breaks down to three pieces. Both sizes come in mint, orange or yellow.
BOTTOM LEFT: Janet’s dad used to take her brother and her to watch the airplanes take off at Kennedy Airport. They were not nearly as excited about the outing as he was. Today, he might have gotten some of the same thrill from showing them how deftly he could fly this Smartphone-Controlled Paper Airplane ($70, Uncommon Goods). Using one of the four included templates, you just fold the “paper” (crash-proof carbon fiber), attach the Bluetooth®-enabled device, download the app on your phone, and it’s off into the wild blue skies—for a 10-minute flight within a 230-foot range. You can ratchet up to the Flight Manual Bundle ($100), which includes 10 paper airplane templates with five different designs, two waterproof paper airplane templates and a detailed instruction guide.
RIGHT: Started in St. Tropez with a fun and colorful spirit, Vilebrequin is celebrating its 50th anniversary by bringing back a collection of 50 prints—one for each year from 1971 to 2021. These Swim Trunks ($290) are a 2014 Poulpes motif. Who wouldn’t want to pay almost 300 bucks to see their dad’s/husband’s legs crawling with octopuses and squid? To justify the expense: Your guy can team these long-cut swim shorts with a yellow polo shirt and be ready for cocktails sur la plage.
LEFT: Our friend Don has a well-stocked home bar, but when we asked him to make a French 75, he was stumped until he proudly pulled out his copy of Mr. Boston Official Bartender Guide ($52.88, hardback). The drink-mixing guide has been around since 1935. The up-to-date new edition—its 66th printing—includes more than 1,400 recipes, from classic cocktails to today’s trendiest drinks, along with advice on equipment and bar setup. Cheers, Dad.
RIGHT: Art Director Kathy Legg’s husband likes Tommy Bahama shirts. She likes them, too—on him—and recently bought him two. If you’re inclined to buy one of these beach-ready tops, one caveat: So people don’t think your dad is a fascist Boogaloo Boy, advise him to wear this tropical Mixer Camp Shirt ($118) or the Paradise Plumeria Island Zone Camp Shirt for $138 (not pictured) with a Pride pin.
LEFT: Dads on the go, whether from golf course to tennis court or from school pickup to soccer practice, will appreciate the Yeti Rambler 30-ounce Tumbler with Magslider Lid ($34.99) to get them through the day, from hot cup of joe in the morning to an icy drink in the afternoon. Stainless steel with double-wall vacuum insulation prevents heat or cold from escaping; the magnet lid helps keep liquids from spilling out. The tumbler is available in lots of bright hues, and oh, by the way, you can put it in the dishwasher.
RIGHT: The dog waits at the door for Dad to walk him. This cute little fella, on the other hand, sits at the door waiting to serve Dad. The oiled-beechwood hedgehog, made by hand in Germany by the family-run Redecker company, can prop the screen door open and let Dad scrape the dirt from mucky shoes with its bassine bristles (from sago-palm leaves). Or it can just sit there looking quite a bit like the dragon Ollie from early TV’s “Kukla, Fran and Ollie.” The 10-inch-long doorstop/bootscraper is $45 at John Derian.