The 56 Best Gifts for Dads

Sure, he can use Barbasol, but Italian brand Proraso’s toning aftershave is a small, nice upgrade. (It smells like mint and eucalyptus.)The company’s products are recommended by barbers as the best on the market and what they use on their own faces.

A “finger-friendly” box cutter that auto-retracts to prevent injury.

This analog wooden foot massager is a favorite gift for doctors — it’s even compact enough to fit under a desk.

A two-sided battery organizer with a built-in tester to eliminate the guessworkabout which batteries still have juice.

This doodad will allow him to chop garlic with abandon — it can process most of a small bulb in one go.

A field guide is a great gift for a bird-watcher, whether they use it for its intended purpose of identifying birds or just flip through the pages to look at illustrations. (This one comes recommended by a research associate at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology.)

Everyone should do The Artist’s Way at least once, and if your dad is in a transitional moment in his life — retirement, changing jobs, or just exploring a new interest — this book will give him inspiration and structure.

These waterproof playing cards are sturdy enough to be used anywhere in the great outdoors.

If he’s a whiz at removing crumbs from his laptop keyboard with a can of compressed air, he’ll get plenty of use out of this two-sided cleaning brush.

No airline’s getting one over on him with this handy, travel-size bag scale.

Spencer Rubin, the founder of the Melt Shop, uses this handsome, very giftable grill press, which he prefers to heavier options: “You don’t end up pushing the cheese or ingredients out of the bread,” he says.

Soul of a Nation: Art in the Age of Black Power chronicles work created by Black artists from 1963 to 1983.It’s a “must-read for anyone interested in the history of American art and the importance of Black artists in that history,” says Andria Hickey, curator at large at the Shed.

A reliable retro watch that Brynn Wallner, founder of watch website Dimepiece, says can “very quickly go from dorky to a cool summer-in-the-’80s-in-Italy vibe.”

An inspired gift Anna Gasteyer received from an SNL writer in the 1990s and has gifted “countless times” since.

He could drink an IPA or a grisette out of a normal tumbler, but this set of beer glasses from expert-recommended brand Spiegelau will elevate the experience.

SubwayTakes host Kareem Rahma named this back stretcher one of the things he can’t live without. He recommends it for “anyone that has a herniated disc or suffers from lower-back pain”and adds an ice pack for extra relief.(For more gifts for achy people, our guide is here.)

A solar-powered crank radio and phone charger all in one, recommended by prepper podcasters Coby Coonradt and Cameron Hardy.

Is it a $27 spoon? Yes. But it’s purpose-engineered for tasting as you cook, which any gourmand knows is necessary. (Our senior kitchen and dining writer, Emma Wartzman, gave it a glowing review.)

Two Strategist staffers are planning to buy this credit-card-size tracker for their forgetful family members.

An inexpensive, beginner-friendly camera for those getting back into shooting on film (or trying it out for the first time). It shoots in half-frames, so you get double the images for one roll of film.

This Japanese multi-tool blade was recommended to us by magazine editor turned Hudson Valley craftsperson Deborah Needleman. “It works as a spade, a knife, a fork, a weeder, a scissor for roots,” she says.

This simple made-in-America massage tool gets out knots — and it’s a favorite of writer Ottessa Moshfegh and Everything Everywhere All at Once director Daniel Kwan.

A fancy version of soap-on-a-rope from Portuguese company Claus Porto.

A subscription to Fine Woodworking is one of my all-time favorite gifts I’ve received. It’s full of illustrated guides and tips that deepen one’s understanding of the craft.

For the dad who’s always harping about cable management, this is the most minimal charging solution I’ve seen: It plugs into a wall outlet and uses MagSafe to attach to your phone while it’s charging.

A customized Spalding basketball might lift his spirits.

They don’t make sweatpants like this anymore — megathick, fleecy, and made in America. The pockets are sturdier than some of my T-shirts. When I wore these on a family vacation, my dad said, unprompted, “That’s a good honest pair of sweatpants.” Your dad may feel the same!

It’s not that expensive to get an ancient coin, and it will make your Roman Empire dad tear up.

This device can get a room-temp can ice-cold in a minute flat. It comes recommended by Andrew Burman of Other Half Brewing Company.

Help him get into vacation mode with a comfy hemp and lyocell camp shirt recommended by travel writer Rick Steves. “I feel good about hemp because it’s an environmentally positive kind of crop,” he says.

Call it the Vermont Country Store renaissance — this piped Portuguese-cotton bathrobe would make a great gift and is a great value for the price. (There’s also a matching pajama set.)

Extend his brewery trips with an insulated growler, which will allow him to keep his favorite IPA cold on the way home, as any beer nerd should.

He’ll love this striking stovetop espresso maker from 102-year-old Italian manufacturer Alessi, designed by Memphis Group member Michele De Lucchi. It was designed to resemble a baby bird and makes a mean pot of coffee.

It’s a collapsible camping chair, a quilted lounger, and a rocking chair in one. The Dyrt co-founder Sarah Smith recommends it to everyone because it’s “super-comfortable and slightly decadent.”

The very best garlic press will save him time — it outperformed all its competitors in percentage of garlic successfully pressed.

A colorful, well-made steel toolbox with cantilevered trays and divisions to organize drill bits, nuts, and hardware.

These lightweight telescoping aluminum poles — one of our favorite gifts for hikers — will help him navigate steep terrain. (They’re also great for snowshoeing.)

If he has tried to sell you on whole-body scans, he’ll love the biometric tracking tool a data-obsessed doctor sleeps with every night and checks every morning.

Strategist writer Jeremy Rellosa gifted his parents this solar-powered smart bird feeder and it was an immediate hit. It functions like a Ring doorbell, streaming video of avian visitors to the feeder’s “front porch.”

This wireless probe thermometer will allow him to monitor internal temperatures from his phone (or using just the display), and it has many clever features he will marvel over.

These Danish wool clogs are at the top of our list of the best slippers to gift — they’re soft, warm, andmold to your foot, perfect for lounging around the house and also have a rubber sole that allows for quick trips outdoors. They “really do deserve their reputation as the best slippers,” says former Strategist writer Karen Iorio Adelson.

“I’ve tested dozens of pillows. Unfortunately, this $200 one is my favorite by far,” says Strategist sleep writer Amelia Jerden. It’s a great choice for the tried-and-true strategy of gifting him an upgrade of an everyday object.

This chiropractor-recommended massage tool would be a lifesaver for any dad who deals with back and neck pain. (Our testers prefer it to the Theragun — the Hypervolt is much quieter and less shaky.)

The LEDs trace the location of every train in the MTA network down to the tenth of a second. You can also order the maps of the Boston MBTA, the Chicago L, BART in the Bay Area, theWashington Metro, and the London Underground.

Strategist tech writer Jordan McMahon loves the Kobo e-reader — he prefers it to the Kindle Paperwhite for the ease of taking margin notes — and he writes that the brand’s new color reader is the best model yet.

Audio-Technica turntables are a favorite among experts — they won’t scratch records and are “built like tanks,” says record-store owner Jake Sullivan.

Gift him the infrared-therapy pad Jay Duplass used while filming a horror movie, which involved “running around like an idiot, getting beat up, and doing fight scenes.” It now comes on set with him: “It is shocking how well it works.”

Another upgrade gift: Swap an old coffee maker with a Technivorm Moccamaster. It’s built like a tank, and the company offers repairs if something does break. The machine has two big celebrity endorsements: chef Flynn McGarry and Bill Nye the Science Guy.

Get that ’90s-camcorder grain with this Sony Handycam, recommended by Rahma. “I like bringing it with me on road trips with friends. The whole dynamic changes recording with a Handycam versus a phone,” he says.“People look and feel more like themselves.”

Work boots that will last forever, according to Dirty Jobs host Mike Rowe. They’re hand-stitched in Michigan from the same patterns the brand has been using for over 100 years.

It’s the “Birkin of coolers.” If you’re feeling extra nice, stock it with his favorite drink.

If he has borrowed your LED face mask more than once, maybe it’s time to get him his own.

“If you want to see a grown chef cry, gift them an Ooni,” Strategist food and dining writer Emma Wartzman says. If he’s been fiddling with his pizza setup, he’ll love this compactoutdoor oven, which can get as hot as 950 degrees Fahrenheit.