Father’s Day fast approaches and, once again, we’re left with the age-old conundrum of what to get our pater familias on his day of celebration. Assuming a ‘World’s Best Dad’ t-shirt won’t quite cut it this year, here are a few carefully curated ideas that might just put a smile on the old man’s face.
Infinity Gauntlet Mug
Sure, ‘Dad’ might have abducted you from your home planet after killing your real parents and half the population of your world but that doesn’t mean you should forget him on his special day. Say “I love you” to the Thanos in your life with this Infinity Gauntlet-styled drinking apparatus. Handily, the Reality Stone will keep drinks warm indefinitely. Probably.
Oculus Go
Have you seen the news recently? Reality really is dreadful, so what better gift than the gift of unreality? Oculus’ Go is a VR rig on the move: entirely self-contained and unhindered by shackling you to a hefty PC. Show your dad you really love him by letting him spend his twilight years locked away in an digital world playing VR Settlers Of Catan.
Kindle Oasis
Books are great, we love books. But with a Kindle you can have all the books and there’s something to be said for having the digital equivalent of the Library Of Alexandria knocking around in your man bag. Plus the latest version of the Kindle Oasis is waterproof, meaning Dad can devour Plato’s Republic in the bath. Good times.
Goldfinger - Ian Fleming
For those still tied to good old dead tree fiction, books don’t come much more stunning than The Folio Society’s super plush editions. So add a little luxury Fleming to your father’s life with this delightfully finished edition of the book that birthed the best Bond film of all. Pretty girl, beware of his heard of gold. This heart is cold!
Nintendo Classic: SNES
The foremost sensation of fatherhood is feeling very, very old. Double down on that with this nostalgic trip down memory lane, reminding him of a misspent youth spent in front of Super Mario World with Nintendo’s retro Mini SNES, which comes pre-bundled with games of yore. Of course, back in his day the original SNES was powered by the labour of a yoke of oxen, but things have moved on since then.
Sega Mega Drive Classics
If Sega, rather than Nintendo, was more your Pa’s thing then this new release of Sega’s Megadrive hits should fit the bill. Streets Of Rage, Wonder Boy In Monster Land and Sonics I & II are all present and correct. No Sonic And Knuckles, though. Must have a thing against echidnas.
Lego Kessel Run Millennium Falcon
Let’s be very clear: Lego is not for kids. Well, not just for kids anyway. No Star Wars fan of any age could turn their nose up at this bricktastic take on the Falcon — complete with Kessel Run-era escape pod module on the nose that was in no way added for merchandising reasons.
Game Of Thrones: Seasons 1-7
As people get older and the Night King’s embrace draws ever closer, it’s nice to be reminded that, no matter how bad the lawn gets in the summer, worse things happen in Westeros. All seven Seasons are present and correct in this bumper box set, which will bring him upto date well in time for the series’ curtain call next year. Plus its full of venerable British character actors your dad will remember findly from his youth.
MCU Phases 1 & 2
Infinity War marks the nineteenth instalment in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. That’s all well and good if you’ve seen the preceding 18 films but try explaining to your dad why Tony and Cap aren’t on speaking terms or Thor’s missing an eye if he’s still got some catching up to do. Luckily these box sets for the first two phases will do much of the heavy lifting for you. Give the gift of Marvel this father’s day and make the old man proud.
Black Series Darth Vader Helmet
In the annals of shoddy parenting, there can be few deadbeat dads to rival Anakin Skywalker. He abandoned his kids, killed their mother, hacked the hand off his son and had his daughter tortured for information. Tell your dad he could have done a better job in the most passive-aggressive way possible with this accusatory Vader mask, complete with realistic, three-piece construction and breathing action.
The Vietnam War
Dads love old war documentaries, right? It’s basic genetics. So why not bring him Ken Burns’ 10 part, 18 hour account of how it all went tits up for the US army ‘over there’. Even if the closest your dad got to Vietnam was that honeymoon in Thailand (bone spurs, right?), he’s sure to get a kick out of this.
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