Tags: 2017 holiday gift guide, gift guide, gifts, gifts for dads, gifts for men

Gift Guide #3: Your Dad Who Still Works Seinfeld Quotes Into Everyday Conversation and Looks Even Cooler With Gray Hair.

Obama: An Intimate Portrait, the incredible and moving photo book by former official White House photographer Pete Souza. $29. (There’s also a kids’ version!)

Cozy sweater, $75, because it’s been his #1 closet staple for 55 years. (Side note: Why does every dude look extra cool in a half-zip?)

The best pepper mill, which lets you adjust the grind size and has hundreds of five-star reviews. $37. Get psyched for spicy soup and cacio e pepe.

An extra-high bouncy ball, $4, to impress the grandkids.

Big Sur candle with notes of wet wood, Pacific spray and eucalyptus leaf. $65.

Albatross Fudge, $10, with dark chocolate, sea salt and…wait for it…blue cheese.

One of the year’s funniest books, $18, in which David Sedaris chronicles his journey from college dropout to bestselling humorist.

A clever knife that makes a cold stick of butter instantly spreadable. Voila! Perfect morning toast. $20.

Reverse Charades, $18, where the group acts out the clue while one person guesses. It makes me laugh so much just thinking about it.

Plane tickets to visit each other, since that’s all he really wants anyway. xo

P.S. Last year’s gift guide for dads, and the 2017 gift guide so far.

(Cacio e pepe photo by Food52. Candle photo by Stella Blackmon.)

Tags: 2017 holiday gift guide, gift guide, gifts, gifts for dads, gifts for men

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Anna Cohen

November 27, 2017 5:17pm 5:17 pm

Re. sweater: totally agree! My husband has one in a tan and it’s still one of my favourites! Also after seeing Brad Pitt in Seven Years in Tibet, I had to get him one of the high collar sweaters and still maintain that guys look fantastic in this type of sweater. So cosy too!! http://www.oocities.org/tanyaandbrooke.geo/brad/brad8.jpg

Tracy

November 25, 2017 4:00pm 4:00 pm

As always, for years, I love your thoughtful gift guides!

My only quick takeaway: On the following guide you were kind enough to phrase it for “moms or mother figures.” As someone who painfully and slowly lost a parent throughout my teens and early twenties – seeing that was such a wonderful nod to the role others play for us. I’d love to see that language used here (and more often on the internet!). I have an uncle in mind who fits all of these things, was my father’s best friend, and would love nothing more than to bring that game to our family Christmas Eve game night. I’ll be getting him that game for sure, sending it a few days early so he can impress his great-niece and great-nephew.

dhsteele

November 25, 2017 11:07am 11:07 am

Where do you get the Obama book for $29? The link show $50 as do other websites that I checked. Did I miss the sale?

Joanna Goddard

Author

Reply to dhsteele

November 25, 2017 2:47pm 2:47 pm

yes, it is $29 on amazon but currently out of stock: http://amzn.to/2BmIoGC

i’ll update the link!

DHSTEELE

Reply to dhsteele

November 29, 2017 1:50am 1:50 am

Thanks! Just went and ordered it. It’s $21.50 right now. We are having our main celebtation after Christmas so hopefully it will arrive in plenty of time.

Ariane

November 23, 2017 2:31am 2:31 am

To soften refrigerated butter, heat a cup of water in the microwave, dump the water, and cover the butter with the cup. Bon appétit ! And happy Thanksgiving.

fefe

November 21, 2017 5:39pm 5:39 pm

So glad the gift guides are back!

Sarah

November 21, 2017 4:06pm 4:06 pm

I might be the 34 year old daughter that still works Seinfeld quotes into daily conversation….!

Emma

Reply to Sarah

November 21, 2017 4:41pm 4:41 pm

Me too :)

Maria

November 21, 2017 2:57pm 2:57 pm

Jo, the last picture deserves to be enlarged and framed and displayed in a very big wall!! I absolutely love the aesthetic of your childhood pictures, but this one is A+, so sweet! In other news, I now know getting my husband for Christmas – the Obama book -, thank you for the inspiration :)

Kitty

November 21, 2017 2:54pm 2:54 pm

To me the half zip is the ultimate uncool… Haha. More of a cardigan lover myself. Whatever floats yer boat.

Joy

November 21, 2017 2:38pm 2:38 pm

We leave ours on the counter under a glass butter dish. I grew up in Los Angeles, so I think the main reason we don’t leave it out is because in the summer it might melt? But my parents have AC so… I don’t know. But then I moved to Norway for a while and everyone had their butter out all the time and I was like, this is awesome!!! (I never thought about it spoiling or being unsafe to consume, haha. But I’m more of the “if it smells or tastes off, don’t eat it….otherwise, enjoy!” camp)

Heather

November 21, 2017 1:10pm 1:10 pm

The dad guides always crack me up because the gifts are soooooo not my dad. My dad is more of a fart machine or borderline offensive t-shirt kinda guy. =D

Joanna Goddard

Author

Reply to Heather

November 21, 2017 1:18pm 1:18 pm

hahahaha love it, heather.

Pamela Rich

November 21, 2017 11:30am 11:30 am

I saw Pete Souza speak last night(!) and we’re giving the Obama book to multiple people in our family this year, including the kids book to our 2.5 year old son. Our little guy may be too young to understand the significance of the Obama presidency but we hope to instill many of the values and behaviors that Obama exhibited daily, like hard work, kindness and compassion, and that we hold so dear.

Lauren

November 21, 2017 11:23am 11:23 am

Love the David Sedaris suggestion! I recently took my dad on a father-daughter date to see him live and it was the best – we were both in tears laughing :)

Stella Blackmon

Reply to Lauren

November 21, 2017 11:31am 11:31 am

Such a wonderful idea, Lauren! Love that. xo

Ashley

Reply to Lauren

November 21, 2017 5:37pm 5:37 pm

I LOVE David Sedaris, as in, I have maybe 5 or so of his books on my bookshelf. But I could not get into Theft by Finding (I borrowed it from the library and read/skimmed maybe 75 pages before giving up and returning it). Am I missing something? Did I bail too soon? It just seemed sad and boring, whereas his essays have me laughing ’til I cry, even when tinged with sadness, as so many of his observations are.

P.S. I’m very jealous of your father-daughter date. What a great idea!

Donna

November 21, 2017 11:00am 11:00 am

J Crew sweaters are 40% off now … score for me!

neisha

November 21, 2017 8:41am 8:41 am

My dad died suddenly 2 years ago. He would have loved the butter knife! Hug your dads as much as you can.

Jen

Reply to neisha

November 21, 2017 2:48pm 2:48 pm

I feel you! My dad died 21 years ago and it’s always hard to notice the void, especially around the holidays.

Cherish your memories and appreciate that you have a Dad worth mourning, not everyone has that experience!

Saba

November 21, 2017 7:14am 7:14 am

I’m smiling to myself because most of these things would be perfect for my 36-year-old husband. (And we daily quote Seinfeld to each other. It’s our love language.)

Maria Castro-Castillo

November 21, 2017 6:23am 6:23 am

Great suggestions! I always look forward to your Gifts guides, they are full of great ideas!

Caroline

November 21, 2017 5:40am 5:40 am

Have you ever played heads up? It sounds like the app version of reverse charades and it is hilarious. Love these gift ideas, my Dad would be the worst to buy for, but fortunately he usually helps me out by ringing a few weeks before Christmas and telling me what he wants!

Michelle

November 21, 2017 2:39am 2:39 am

Not sure what it says about me that I want most of the Dad gift suggestions for myself, but this is a great list!

Veronica

November 21, 2017 2:34am 2:34 am

Haha everyone loved the butter knife

Laura C.

November 21, 2017 2:10am 2:10 am

That knife is awesome!
My dad would have loved a game like the one you suggested. He loved playing board games. Thank you for this guide Jo.

Phreni

November 21, 2017 2:01am 2:01 am

I once was gifted the Menu salt and pepper grinder set. Looks great and is definetly one of the most used gifts I ever got. http://amzn.to/2iBXFvg

Lindsey

November 20, 2017 10:18pm 10:18 pm

Just picturing a group acting out “baby powder” killed me!!

anna maria

November 20, 2017 8:49pm 8:49 pm

The BEST solution for someone who wants spreadable butter: https://food52.com/shop/products/381-french-ceramic-butter-keeper

Katie

November 20, 2017 8:35pm 8:35 pm

Gotta say, I love that so many (almost all!) of these are under $40! So much more affordable than some previous gift guides. Pricier options are aspirational and can still give me great ideas, but it’s nice to have so many be in my actual price range. And that bouncy ball would be a great stocking stuffer! (Metal slinkies are great too!)

Joanna Goddard

Author

Reply to Katie

November 20, 2017 8:46pm 8:46 pm

thanks for noticing! we try to keep the gifts below $30 as much as possible on these guides, with the occasional more splurge-y item. xoxo

laura

November 20, 2017 6:44pm 6:44 pm

I want that Obama book for myself!

I love this idea of titling your holiday shopping lists. Mine would be: Your Dad Who Works Cantinflas Quotes Into Conversation and Calls You for any iPhone Related Issue

And yes, I am grateful for those calls haha.

Joanna Goddard

Author

Reply to laura

November 20, 2017 7:43pm 7:43 pm

hahahaha

brianna

November 20, 2017 6:42pm 6:42 pm

That fudge sounds amazing. I’m a sucker for a good sweet/salty combo.

Kelsey

November 20, 2017 6:34pm 6:34 pm

My family always gives and receieves books at Christmas. The vacation days give us time to do our best reading! I am thinking of giving my dad the new Hamilton biography. His love of history and my love of music will give us something to talk about!

https://thewonderof.co/2017/11/15/gift-guide-for-wisened-storytellers-and-givers-of-great-advice/

Joy

November 20, 2017 6:32pm 6:32 pm

THANK YOU for the spreadable butter knife suggestion. Now I finally have a gift for my buys-everything-he-wants stepdad, because he and my mom keep their butter in the fridge (WHY?!).

Sarah

Reply to Joy

November 20, 2017 7:44pm 7:44 pm

love the knife too! but don’t you have to keep butter in the fridge?

Sarah K

Reply to Joy

November 20, 2017 10:20pm 10:20 pm

I always keep butter in the fridge, but when I was growing up my parents didn’t and I thought nothing of it. Then I moved out and came back to visit and was all, “Wait. Why is that butter dish living on the kitchen counter?!” I think it should be kept cold…

Olivia

Reply to Joy

November 21, 2017 10:06am 10:06 am

I think butter is fine if left out for about a week or so…had perused lots of food safety websites a while back wondering the same question. The problem with that, though, is who knows how much butter you’ll use and when?? So i just put the amount of butter i want in a little ramekin and microwave it for 10-15 seconds for toast. No waste and minimal effort :)

Andrea

Reply to Joy

November 21, 2017 12:10pm 12:10 pm

My mom keeps butter covered in the cupboard and has lived to tell the tale. It’s covered because the cat has a tendency to find the butter and leave adorable cat tongue indentations in said butter.

Jen

Reply to Joy

November 21, 2017 2:51pm 2:51 pm

Basically – salted butter can be left in or out of the fridge. It has a shorter lifespan out, but it’s still likely weeks and weeks of time.

Unsalted has to be refrigerated because there is no salt acting as a preservative and also gets liquidy at room temperature.

Butter lesson!

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