We’ll Spend $138 on Dad for Father’s Day
If you're planning to spend less than a hundred bucks on Dad for Father's Day, apparently you're getting off cheap! The average will be $138, and what you'll spend the money on may be a surprise.
All my dad ever wants for Father's Day is barbecue seasoning. And maybe a polo. He's so low maintenance, it's almost hard to think of ways to spend more than a hundred bucks on Pop for Father's Day.
I did buy my dad a one-year membership to Ancestry.com one year so he could research the family tree and he loved that so much! It was the best gift ever and I think he loves me more because of it. And now I'm out of great ideas again.
The National Retail Federation says we'll spend $138 on our dads, and that will make for an all-time high of $16 billion in total Father's Day spending. So what in the world are we spending all of that money on? Dad is worthy of spoiling for sure, but there's gotta be something in there besides barbecue sauce.
For starters, greeting cards aren't cheap. Those can cost five or sick bucks each, and most of us usually grab them without thinking about how much they're going to cost. Around 62% of us will spend $830 million on cards. That's not the "e" kind.
Special outings with Dad will run $3.3 billion, clothing $2.5 billion, gift cards $2.3 billion, and then there's everything else including books, electronics, tools/appliances, and Pop's favorite grilling dry rub.
If your dad is like mine, maybe gift cards aren't the best idea. Pop never wants to spend a dime on himself and that gift card would probably sit in his wallet for months and then he would most likely slip it in a card and give it back to me on my birthday. Dad needs some Father's Day spoils that he will easily accept. Like clothing, grilling tools, and perhaps a book about genealogy.
Experience gifts are a great idea too. Dad might appreciate some tickets to the World Center for Birds of Prey, or some passes to Bogus Basin. And BMF! We'll have the food trucks and music waiting at the Boise Music Festival on June 22.
Father's Day is June 16th, so now is the time to start planning your shopping strategy. We're sure Dad will appreciate it all because he's cool like that. Thanks for all you do, dads!