Special Frugal Family: Father's Day Edition

If I were to take the advice of retailers flooding my inbox, I’d be ordering clothing or gadgets for my husband, Ken, for Father’s Day. Mens’ Wearhouse boasts "On vacation, at the beach or grilling up some burgers in the backyard — Dad will look great in our Pronto Blue shorts!"

Amazon’s Father’s Day email includes suggestions for “Yardman Dads,” “Patio Dads,” “Chef Dads” and “Dads Who Have it All.” The featured gifts include a  Fiskars Uproot Lawn and Garden Weeder, a turkey fryer, a set of salt and pepper grinders, an oyster knife set and a metal detector, to name  a few.

After briefly considering these ideas, I abandoned every last one. I was pretty sure I’d be in big trouble if I bought any of these stereotypical gifts.

Boston.com posted a photo gallery of “quirky gifts.” That sounded promising. Grow Your Own Beer Garden ($24.99) seemed like an awful lot of trouble vs. going to the liquor store for ale. The Bacon Collection ($39.95) which featured bacon lollipops, bacon soap and bacon air freshener, was indeed unique, but felt ill-advised.

Hoping for guidance, I asked some women from my exercise class what they were planning to get their husbands for Father’s Day this year. None had a ready answer; discussion ensued. Bottom line: the top choices were a Weber grill (which we already have, and which seems to fall into the aforementioned too-practical category) and a gift certificate for a Reflexology foot massage (which I am skeptical my husband would redeem.)

Finally, I did what I should have done in the first place: I asked my husband for ideas and emailed several of his friends asking what they’d like for Father’s Day.

I was stunned when five of Ken’s buddies immediately wrote back to me.

I was surprised, too, when they all gave similar responses to my question.

“At this point in my life, I value time with the family more than anything,” said Jon. These days, simply 'hanging' with (sons) Mike and Nick makes for a great day.”  

“We do not give gifts,” said Dave. “We are all so busy. We take advantage of the day and get together with the family. That’s the best gift of all — time with the family.”

Tom wants to “have some time to relax and enjoy one another’s company doing something we enjoy as a family” on Father’s Day.

After reading the other dads’ responses, Mark said, “It isn’t about the gift for me either.” Hoping to cook a big breakfast for his wife and three kids — like he did before they all started running in different directions — Mark wants to be reminded of “great memories when the kids were smaller. On Father’s Day, I just want to savor the time with my family.”

Ray, who thanked me for posing the question, agreed that gifts were not necessary. He shared his ideal vision. “It has been my long-standing tradition to spend  Father’s Day on my boat. Nothing fancy, just a nice day out with the family doing some fishing. It’s not about a present; it’s about doing what Dad wants to do.”

Here are some low-cost, creative Father’s Day ideas inspired by the dads who were nice enough to help me out:

Take a family hike. Checkout the Department of Conservation and Recreation to find state parks with trails. Admission is generally free; daily parking costs between $2 and $9 depending onthe location. Parking passes cost $35 for Massachusetts residents and are good for the calendar year. Need a closer locale? Hike Wachusett Mountain State Reservation or an Wayland Conservation Land trail.

Get out on the Concord River. The South Bridge Boat House located 1.5 miles from the Old North Bridge, offers canoe and kayak rentals starting at $13.50 an hour.  Have your own vessel? Head to the Lowell Road public launch near Concord Center.

Take the clan to Kimball Farms. Kimball’s is a great family destination. Now serving wine and beer, burgers hot off the grill, fried seafood and more, the fare is not just ice cream. Bumper boats, mini-golf, Pitch and Putt, a driving range, batting cages and arcades offer hours of fun. Savvy folks will take advantage of the money-saving discounts offered which include mini-golf/bumper boat combination tickets or $30 Give Me Five vouchers. See site for details and restrictions.

Head out to the ballpark. Red Sox tickets at face value are hard to come by, but fans who are willing to pay a premium will find luck at AceTicket. An enjoyable, affordable alternative is heading to LaLacheur Park to see the Lowell Spinners. Opening day is June 17, 2011, and the team is in town through Father’s Day. Tickets are available for all games and start at $6 apiece.

In sum, it seems best to honor Dad by keeping the activities that he enjoys in mind and incorporating one or more of them into to the day. My husband illustrates this point by stating simply, “Remember … before we were fathers, we were just guys.”