Father’s Day 2018 Gift Guide

I have to confess that Father’s Day always kind of creeps up on me. With Pickle’s birthday being at the start of the month, I tend to concentrate on that, and then once all the celebrations are wrapped up, I have the sudden realisation that Father’s Day is just around the corner and get a little panicked with trying to find something appropriate to buy. It’s hard, isn’t it? There are so many options! A lot of what is readily available in the shops and in supermarkets is all fairly generic – which has its advantages (everyone could always use a new pair of socks, and a bag of smellies is usually well received) – but occasionally, it’s nice to go for something a bit more unusual, isn’t it? I’ve tried to pull together some ideas that I think encompass the whole range!

Colgate ProClinical 250+ Electric Toothbrush

I seem to remember Sarah from Run Jump Scrap asking on her Instastories a while ago how many people used electric toothbrushes. I was so surprised by the results! Even though we don’t have them, I assumed most people do but if her poll was anything to go by, most of her followers are still using the bog standard ‘analog’ ones. To encourage those big proud parenting smiles, Colgate’s ProClinical 250+ Electric Toothbrush with its new slimmer, lightweight design, could make for an interesting present this year. It delivers up to 30,000 strokes per minute for a really refreshing clean and includes a two-minute timer and 30 second pacer to make sure you achieve a dentist-worthy finish. It’s available in black, white and bold pink and can be purchased for £49.99 at Boots and all major retailers. Whilst pink might not be everyone’s choice for a Dad, pink certainly is the Dad toothbrush colour in our house! LPD (Little Pickle’s Dad) and I decided he would have the pink brush and I would have a blue brush, just to switch those gender stereotypes up a little bit. We want our little boy to grow up without thinking pink is just for girls.

Wilkinson Sword Hydro 5 Sense Razor

Maybe this isn’t one to perhaps be too worried about with your own Dad, but is your husband like mine? Does he constantly pinch your razors? Why he just doesn’t buy his own, I’m not sure… but I’ve caught him several times with my favourite Wilkinson Sword disposables in hand and it really winds me up. Although I don’t shave my face, I’ve learned the hard way that some razor brands are better than others, and the one brand that I trust above all is Wilkinson Sword. Not only is the quality consistently good, but I find they cause so much less irritation to my skin – and I’m sure the same goes for the Men’s range.

This Wilkinson Sword Hydro 5 Sense razor has a lovely weight to it and looks super smart. I love the sleek design, and it even has shock-absorbent technology. Pretty whizzy for just a RRP of £12.99. You can find out more about it here.

Father’s Day Book Ideas

I seem to have a bit of a thing for buying LPD Dad-related book gifts. He’s starting to amass quite the collection, and this year is no different. In the past, I’ve bought him a Daddy Pig Peppa Pig book* (which was just an impulse buy from Morrisons, but is available to buy for less than £3 from Amazon) and a Commando Dad book which I hope will provide hours and days of fun for Pickle and LPD in the future. To continue with the theme of fun outdoors things to try out, this year I’ve bought him The Wild Book – outdoor activities to unleash your inner child by David Scarfe. It covers all sorts! From making and flying kites to building your own pizza oven, from campfire cooking to ultimate frisbee. I bought my copy from The Book People but it’s also available from Amazon*.

A Star Map

This is perhaps the present I am most excited about, and will be writing a full review of shortly. Greater Skies offers a stunning service where they will create a map of the starry night sky showing the view from an exact location, at an exact time and date, personalising it to you. You could choose the moment you were born and give it to your own Dad, or maybe choose the moment your partner became a Dad instead? The versatility is amazing, and you can either purchase your sky map as a download or they offer a framing service as well. I think these look absolutely stunning and I love the sentiment behind them.

Dobell’s Tweed Jacket

When I first met LPD, he used to have this brown corduroy jacket. It doesn’t sound like much when I write it like that, but he was wearing it the first time I met him, and I remember thinking it was so smart and different to the things I’d seen other blokes wear. As is often the way thanks to blossoming love, we both piled on a few pounds (thanks to lots of indulgent treats and the frequent occurrence of sharing a bottle of wine with dinner) and sadly, he outgrew it. After our wedding, he realised he could fit back into it again and I was thrilled! I just love him in a jacket.

Thanks to the lovely team at Dobells, I’ve got that fresh, new, excited feeling all over again as they’ve given LPD a new jacket to dazzle me with. This time: it’s tweed. It’s perfect to sling over a shirt and smart jeans for a date night, and he wouldn’t look out of place wearing it on our National Trust trips either. I really love it, and there’s such a wonderful selection to choose from at Dobells – so many colours and patterns. I think they’re really reasonably priced too, considering the quality.

Whistle Punks Axe Throwing

If you’re looking for a gift that is an experience rather than a possession (something we’re a fan of doing in our house), then I can really recommend Whistle Punks Axe Throwing. We tried out a session back in January and it was such a good evening. Even if it doesn’t sound like your cup of tea, give it a go! You’ll be pleasantly surprised and I had a silly grin on my face the whole time.

Disclaimer: this gift guide includes products that we’ve been sent on a gifted basis. It also includes Amazon Affiliate links. This doesn’t affect the price you pay but if you decide to purchase, I may receive a small referral fee.