This article is part of Upstream, The Daily Wire’s new home for culture and lifestyle. Real human insight and human stories — from our featured writers to you.
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If you’re like me — not a dad — your inbox is maxing out with last-minute ideas for Father’s Day. But if TheraGuns, bougie bath robes, and Jean Paul Gaultier Le Male fragrance sets don’t spark joy (or sound at all like the Dad you know), don’t worry. Dad doesn’t really want any of that.
He just wants to be left alone to do … dad stuff. Whatever that is.
For Le Dude who has everything, needs nothing, or can easily pop into Home Depot to get the exact thing he needs without a gift receipt, a few hours of “nothing” is the Father’s Day flex. As a woman, I can only assume this solitary ritual involves tinkering in silence until a brilliantly dorky joke pops into his head, which he then mentally tucks into his toolbox before getting back to building a canoe with his bare hands. Or something with a mower? Clearing out the attic using barbecue tongs and karate?
Well, no time like the present to mangle a quote from Winston Churchill. Most Dads are “a riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma,” and impossible to shop for. This is why my dad has been gifted car shammies and white crew socks his whole life. He’s literally never requested a single material thing and — classic Dad — he found the utility of these items timeless.
I was originally hoping to assemble the ultimate list of Father’s Day gift ideas from Daily Wire dads, but after talking to the third devoted father in a row who sheepishly confessed the same concept, I realized that the best Father’s Day gift for dads is a break from the people who made them fathers. Zing.
This is almost universally dad-verified. On r/daddit, one courageous soul started the conversation by conveying how deeply he loves his wife and two sons. He said he’d gladly spend the day with his 4-year-old, but also craved “a little bit of that freedom I had before kids. To go somewhere I enjoy and lead my own actions throughout the day instead of catering to others. Relax and not have to pick anyone up.” Even though his wife was on board, he felt guilty about it.
Another Dad put it like this: “My two favorite things are spending time with my kids and spending time without my kids.” The sentiment got hundreds of thumbs up.
Maybe you relate. But if you aren’t nodding your head and toasting a cold one to these men, imagine Mom requesting a few hours away for a Mother’s Day mani-pedi. No one would begrudge her sanity-saving blush pink soap nails.
Every Dad I talked to was hesitant to “speak his truth,” as the kids say. These guys clearly love their families with everything they’ve got. (Let’s go, dads!) But not every hero wears a cape 24/7 without a minute of rest. Maybe nurturing a father’s warrior spirit is a gift to the whole family.
Still, absent-dad vibes on Father’s Day might not fly with young kids who just burned through a whole box of Crayons on homemade cards. If you don’t want anyone wondering where Dad went on the one holiday he has, take Dad-time on a different day when no one will notice that he took his bike out to “stop at a food cart, get some tacos, and drink a beer” before returning home, fully refurbed.
I think I can safely say that every man has a clear preference when it comes to his preferred activity for a kid-free day. But just in case, I rounded up a few ideas from very reliable sources.
A round of golf, or an afternoon spent fishing, hunting, or hiking likely satisfies the assignment for adventure Dads. Sports guys might like a ballgame with their best bros, a few brews at a sports bar, or a pickup basketball game on the nearest court. Dads raising babies and toddlers are probably dreaming of something simple like a nice, long, uninterrupted nap. Tackling a forgotten project, fine tuning a car, or tending to the home brew in the garage probably sounds like a good time for a dad who thinks (fun) work is play.
Of course, a small gift also lets him know how much he’s loved. Dress dad up with a slick new wallet or a smartwatch that tracks his relaxation. Deck him out with a good book, a fresh Leatherman multitool, custom Yeti gear, or a gift card or subscription for his favorite spot. And steak. Don’t forget steak. I have yet to meet the man who would say no to a tender ribeye.
I’m also working off the theory that Dad’s me-time requirement might directly relate to the age of his kids. With almost 50 years of parenting under his belt, my dad says his ideal Father’s Day involves a fun hang with me, my sister, and our families. That is, if he can’t have lunch with sports icon Roger Federer, which I just discovered is my tennis-playing dad’s dream Father’s Day scenario. I’m 100% confident that decades of gym socks were equally thrilling.
As any parent knows, it all goes by too fast. One Reddit dad wrote, “There will come a day where you wish your kids could spend Father’s Day with you, but will be busy with their own kids.” Judging by how quickly Harry Chapin’s “Cat’s In The Cradle” lyrics were jokingly worked into the replies, it seems we can all agree that time spent together is never wasted.
Just in case, the chorus goes like this: And the cat’s in the cradle and the silver spoon, Little boy blue and the man in the moon, “When you coming home, Dad?”, “I don’t know when, but we’ll get together then, You know we’ll have a good time then.”
Here’s to the owner of the only legitimate World’s Greatest Dad mug. You’re one in a million. Happy Father’s Day.
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