Unique gift Ideas for dads Archives

Shopping for the men in your life can be a challenge. Our starting point was the hard-to-buy-for men in our own life. Our goal was simple: find unique gifts they probably wouldn’t buy for themselves, and that have an excellent chance at still being in use next year this time and not quietly tucked away in the closet or the garage.

Here is our list of some of the best and unique gift ideas for your dad, father-in-law, husband, brother, and all the men you love. Prices range from under $15 to $300+. Let’s get shopping!

MasterClass

Access to MasterClass, $15 per month

Gift dad with a year-long experience of learning and discovery. MasterClass offers streaming classes from the greatest masters in their field. Cooking lessons from Chef Gordon Ramsey, mastering BBQ under the direction of the greatest pit masters, or enjoy lectures and instruction in the subjects of science, technology, business, politics, photography, entertainment, sports and more.

MasterClass is the streaming platform that makes it possible for anyone to watch or listen to hundreds of video lessons taught by 80+ of literally the world’s best.

Access to all classes for $15 per month billed annually>>

Video lessons are available anytime, anywhere on your smartphone, personal computer, Apple TV and FireTV streaming media players. This is a gift of experience that will last a lifetime!

VIEW MASTERCLASS

A Gift for Men Who Love Pizza

Pizza Oven Insert for Weber Grills to create wood-fired Grilled Pizza

Weber Grill Pizza Over Insert

Fire Grilled Pizza Insert. Turn Your Grill Into a Pizza Oven - Gift for Dad

Gas Grill Pizza Over Insert

Weber Grill Insert at Amazon

Gas Grill Insert

By my estimation, a dedicated pizza oven would cost about 5000 pizza deliveries. But here’s an affordable solution. It turns out you can make a proper Wood-Fired pizza right on your backyard grill.

Enter the Kettle Pizza stainless steel inserts, which are beautifully designed, simple to use, and so brilliant. They will turn your outdoor charcoal or gas grill into a pizza oven capable of reaching 750 degrees. Magnifico! As seen on America’s Test Kitchen, The Today Show, and the Steve Harvey Show, this is the gift that will transform your grill into a pizza oven with results worth bragging about.

Kettle Fire Grilled Pizza Inserts for Weber Grills or Kettle Fire Grilled Pizza inserts for Gas Grills

Buy Now on Amazon

A Gift for Men Who Love Deli-Style Meats

Best Box of Chocolate on Amazon, Godiva Assorted Chocolate in a Gold Box

A Deli-Meat Slicer Makes a Unique and Unexpected Gift for Dads

If you know a guy who really cares that their deli ham is sliced tissue thin, and that their roast beef for sandwiches is sliced “just so” we found the KWS Premium Commercial grade meat slicer. In fact one of the reviewers actually posted a picture of ham he was able to slice into tissue thin slices—like translucent thin. What is it with these ham fanatics? At least there’s a meat slicer that finally fits the bill.

Buy Now on Amazon

A Gift for Men Who Love Quality Tools

An Award-Winning 8-inch Chef’s Knife for Under $40

If, like everyone else, your guy is spending more time in the kitchen, he has grown to appreciate the utility of a well-made, sharp knife. If he wonders what the pros are using, we found it. For more than a decade the Victorinox Swiss Army Fibrox Pro 8” Chef’s Knife has been America’s Text Kitchen’s chef’s top choice for all the slicing, dicing, mincing, and carving their professional work demands. Not only has this knife withstood the test of demanding chefs, it’s the #1 best-selling Chef’s Knife on Amazon, and it’s truly affordable.

Buy Now on Amazon

A Gift for Men Who Love a Good Burger

Father's Day Gift Idea: Shack Shack Burger Kit for 8

Complete Shake Shack Burger Grilling Kit for 8 (you supply the tomato and lettuce)

Do you remember being a kid, and spending a whole summer day swimming at the community pool. At about 5 o’clock, your eyes red with chlorine, you nearly scalded your feet as you ran across a hot parking lot to tumble into the backseat of the family car. If you were really lucky, on the ride home you stopped for drive-through burgers. As the smell of your bag of warm burgers and tangy ketchup filled the car, you knew then life could not get better than a day like this.

Shake Shake knows the joy of those summer afternoons. Even their name unreservedly harkens back to a simpler time. They have distinguished themselves with a signature burger blend of 100% Angus beef, hormone and antibiotic-free devised by Pat LaFrieda. And since Father’s Day falls the day after the first day of summer, maybe a burger kit for 8 from Shake Shack is the perfect ode to days gone by. The kit supplies everything but the lettuce and tomato.

Order via Goldbelly

A Gift for Men Who Love a Moment

A Comprehensive Selection of Beer, Wine & Spirits Delivered by Drizly

A well-made cocktail is special. Drizly, your online liquor store for beer, wine and liquor has knows this. They offer a comprehensive selections of spirits for delivery. Yes, we can vouch for them. Drizly has been our go-to for gift giving during the lockdown. To date we’ve had Cincoro Reposado Tequila by Michael Jordan and Four Roses Bourbon delivered as gifts. Yes, we’re still getting thanked.

Shop Now on Drizly

Gifts for the Steak-Loving Dad

Chicago Steak Company Steak Gifts

If you are ordering steak as a gift, you want it to be higher quality than what is available at the grocery store. To do that focus on two things: 1. The grade of beef, and 2. The aging process, and whether it is wet aged or, preferably, dry aged.

We go into the finer details about beef grades and aging on our steaks gift page, but for now we’ll list the online merchants whose quality of steaks we trust:

Chicago Steak Company has the largest dry aging facility in the world, with master butchers who have generations of experience selecting and hand cutting beef. Their online selection is comprehensive. Choose your favorite cuts among the wet aged, dry aged, Wagyu and Angus selections.

Chicago Steak Company: Use promo code FREEGIFTS to receive FREE Shipping on orders of $99+ and 3 Free Gifts.

Family-owned Snake River Farms, Idaho, 100% natural, no added hormones, wet-aged steaks, and the pricier 45+ days dry-aged steaks. The website often runs good promotions with discounts or free shipping

Want more options from New York to California? Check out our Best Steaks Gift Guide.

A Gift For Men Who Like All Things Spicy

Under $40

Included in Oprah’s Favorite Things, The Good Hurt Fuego: A sampler pack of 7 different hot sauces inspired by exotic flavors and peppers from around the world is for the hot sauce loving dad on your gift list. The heat level in this collection ranges from mild to blazing hot. Your gift arrives cleverly packaged as sticks of dynamite. Garlic Herb is mild enough for those who just want a little kick, while Ghost pepper is a challenge for even the bravest hot sauce lovers. Each bottle is 3 ounces of fire from smoldering to five alarm. Flavors include Cayenne, Garlic, Garlic Herb, Ghost Pepper, Chipotle Pepper, Smokey Bourbon, and Whiskey Habanero. We can think of plenty of men on our list who would love this gift.

Buy Now on Amazon

Murray’s Cheese, New York, New York

Snacks for Cocktail Hour

A Murray’s Cheese Signature Gift Box includes:

Maple Leaf Pepper Jack

Murray’s Boerenkaas Gouda

Murray’s French Double Crème Brie

Murray’s Genoa Salami

Prosciutto San Daniele

Quicos de Chocolate

Z Crackers Sea Salt And Olive Oil Crackers

Shop Now at Murray's Cheese

A Gift for Men Who Are Always Prepared

From $30 and Up

Have you noticed we seem to be in a mini Yeti-mania? Yeti coolers are built for the serious outdoor enthusiast rather than for the mass-discount retailers. They are built to take the abuse whether you’re a serious hunter or camper, a serious tailgater or a serious cold-drinks-in-the-backyard enthusiast (that’s me).

Why are they so popular? Beyond the high quality construction, and food-safe interiors, we think it’s the modern, streamlined design, and the promise of super durability. The Yeti line includes hard coolers, soft coolers, and drinkware that will keep your drinks as cold (or hot) as science allows. With 18/8 stainless steel construction, double-wall vacuum insulation, No Sweat™ Design and dishwasher safe (which is really important). If you’re looking for a gift that will still be used and appreciated years from now, a Yeti product may be the way to go. The stainless steel vaccuum insulated Drinkware starts at $24. Hard and soft-sided coolers come in some really nice colors but are a bit of an investment.

Shop Yeti

Chocolate Gifts for Men with a Serious Sweet Tooth

Fran’s Chocolates, Seattle

Under $30

Praised by Bobby Flay and Martha Stewart, Fran’s chocolates are the reason we are never at a loss wondering what gift to send. A gift from Fran’s is always perfect. The packaging and presentation say luxury, and the chocolates are perfection. Do not skip their famous salted caramels. Amazing.

Recchiuti Chocolates, San Francisco

Made by hand, Recchiuti Confections still sources local California farmers’ markets for bundles of fresh herbs like lavender and lemon verbena to create their signature gourmet truffle infusions. Single-origin chocolates are blended together to create complex tasting experiences.

Consider the Red Wine Pairing Collection, $26 or the Whiskey Pairing Collection, $26 as an ideal gift.

Red Truck Bakery, Virginia

From $30+

Send a cake—literally any cake—from Red Truck Rural Bakery in Virginia.

We’re not even going to pretend to be objective here. We’ve enjoyed and sent nearly every one of Red Truck Bakery’s cakes: Alma Hackney’s Rum Cake, The Almond Cake with Amaretto (so moist, so good), the Triple Chocolate Cake (still getting compliments), The Shenandoah Apple Cake (deep sigh of joy), and every one was better than what we could ever hope to produce in our own kitchens (and we are accomplished bakers, FYI). Just order from Red Truck Bakery ($30 and up) and your gift-giving is expertly done!

Shop REd Truck Bakery

Gifts for Men Who Love Coffee

While the Keurig or Mr. Coffee coffee maker is fine for weekday mornings, it’s nice to slow down the routine on a Saturday or Sunday morning and geek out a bit on making your coffee. Here are some of the best coffee gift ideas for the men who are ready to upgrade their cup o’Joe.

From $15+

Classic 1940’s Chemex Pour-Over Coffee Maker

The Chemex pour-over coffee maker was designed by the German chemist Peter J. Schlumbohm and has been in production since 1941. It’s design is so beautiful and functional that it is in the permanent collections in a number of museums including the Museum of Modern Art in New York, and the Smithsonian. And, yes, it makes excellent coffee.

But remember you need to use Chemex filters, either paper or you can buy a stainless steel reusable one, whereas in the French Press above, you don’t. However, have you every gotten the grounds out of a French Press without making a mess?

More than 2500 top reviews on Amazon.

Buy Now on Amazon

OXO Burr Coffee Grinder

The best coffee starts with the best beans, and if you’re investing in the best beans you better have a grinder that makes the most of them. Coffee experts agree you need to use a burr grinder.

The OXO Burr Grinder is beautifully and intuitively designed of course, and it creates uniform grounds for optimal flavor extraction. Choose from 15 settings (plus micro settings) which adjusts the grind to suit any taste. The hopper holds up to 0.75 lbs of coffee beans, enough for 12 cups of lovingly brewed coffee.

Buy Now on Amazon

Death Wish Whole Bean Coffee Beans

More than 7000 Amazon reviews. That got our attention. Describing itself as “The World’s Strongest Coffee” Death Wish Organic Whole Bean Coffee has double the caffeine of your average coffee. Now, is that really necessary? Couldn’t you just pour a second cup? That’s not a problem for us to solve, so we’ll just go with it.

The premium beans are expertly roasted to ensure a bold, smooth brew. Bonus: If your man isn’t completely satisfied they’ll refund your order. No questions asked.

Buy Now on Amazon

Cafe De Loja Aribica Whole Bean Coffee

Award-winning Cafe De Loja 100% Arabica Whole Bean Coffee is grown at 6233 feet above sea level producing a bean with just the right balance of acidity to give it a crisp taste and smooth flavor. It’s perfect for all brewing methods including Pour Over, French Press, Espresso Machine, Turkish, Cold Brew or a Traditional Drip Coffee Maker.

Buy Now on Amazon

Gifts For Men Who Hate Gadgets (Except for These!)

Fitbit Charge 3 Fitness Tracker is an ideal gift for dad

Apple Series 5 Watch

“I don’t need any gadgets!” my husband told our son as he was fishing around for gift-giving ideas. But when my obstinate “I-want-my-ham-sliced-tissue-thin” husband (see the deli-slicer gift idea above) was told by his doctor to watch his blood pressure, he realized our son was right. Maybe a watch that did practically everything he needed to stay connected with work, and served as a fitness tracker too could be a good idea. The Apple Series 5 watch is the ticket.

Shop Apple on Amazon

Gifts for Men Who Prefer the Quiet

Wireless Bose Noise Cancelling Headphones

Bose Noise Cancelling Headphones

You will be amazed what tension can be defused when you can retreat into a cocoon of quiet by clapping on a pair of these sleek, wireless, Bose Noise Cancelling Headphones. Of course you have the option to pipe in favorite tunes and shows and podcasts as well. When the house is crowded with family, or you are in a family known for blasting dueling television shows, this will help your favorite guy quietly rise above it all.

Buy Now on Amazon

Gifts For Men Who See the Humor in Life

New Yorker Encyclopedia of Cartoons 1924 - Present Makes a Terrific Gift for Dad

New Yorker Cartoons from 1924 to Present

Encyclopedia of New Yorker Cartoons 1924 – Today

This A to Z curation of cartoons from the New Yorker magazine from 1924 to the present is a brilliant gift. Not only is it a pleasure for everyone in the family, seeing the cartoon topics evolve from decade to decade reminds us how our culture has changed. I want this collection for myself.

Buy Now on Amazon

David Sedaris Short Stories About Family Bonds

Calypso

Calypso (under $15) is yet another brilliant, hilarious and touching short story collection from David Sedaris that shows even an imperfect relationship with your dad can be perfect in its own flawed way. Give this to your dad, but borrow it the first chance you get.

Buy Now on Amazon