Father's Day Gift Ideas for the Internet Shopper

Father's Day is right around the corner and it's not too early to start thinking about what to get him. This holiday always seems more difficult than Mother's Day. Dads aren't interested in jewelry or an aromatherapy candle so for the non-creative crowd options are more limited. Fortunately, gifts abound for just about every audience and the Internet is the perfect and easiest place to buy them.

Think about what your father likes. Is he athletic, a techno geek, an outdoorsman, or avid reader? If you are buying for your husband (the other important father in your life), think about your children's ages and what he might especially appreciate or would be appropriate from them. Your children can even choose gifts with your assistance this way.

Crafty Man
Get him a gift certificate to a hardware store. Both of the big box stores have gift certificates you can purchase on-line (www.lowes.com or www.homedepot.com) starting at $5. These cards can be directly mailed to the lucky Dad or to you so you can include it in a card. Ace Hardware (www.acehardware.com) sells cards in $25, $50, and $100 increments. Or check out www.restorationhardware.com for more upscale items; a gift certificate starting at $25 and the latest catalog will go right to his door. These gift certificates give him carte blanch to buy the tool toy of his dreams.

Electronically Inclined
What man doesn't like electronics? Check out the Bose website (www.bose.com) and give him the gift of clear sound. The Web site offers ideas and items for a range of budgets, including payment plans. Best Buy (www.bestbuy.com) has music, TV, videogames, you name it and they have something he will love.

Read Into It
Powell's is a great place to look for a rare or unusual book idea (www.powells.com). The website is sorted by bestsellers, new arrivals, and book reviews, among others, and is guaranteed to spark your (and his!) creativity. The NPR website (www.npr.org) has great book suggestions of recently reviewed and/or featured authors, as well as NPR contributors; additionally, a portion of your purchase goes to support NPR. The big sites like www.amazon.com and www.barnesandnoble.com are fast and easy places to find books.

Good Sport
Look and see if nearby golf courses or batting cages have websites and book him a tee time, buy him a punch card good for 10 buckets of balls, or sign him up for a private lesson. This is both the gift of time and a nod to his hobby. If your kids are old enough, they can go with him (or you can!). All of the professional sports teams have websites. Get him tickets to a game or a hat. Check out the REI website (www.REI.com) for great ideas to make his outdoors summer a success.

Picture It
The smiling faces of his children are guaranteed to be the number one pick-me-up in his life. Sites like www.shutterfly.com not only print photographs but will also put pictures on cups, into photo books, or on calendars. The site even sells frames so you can put that perfect pictures into a frame and send it straight to him.

Assorted Ideas
If you are stuck for ideas but are shopping for a (wannabe) metrosexual, check out www.whatshebuys.com for unique gift ideas. Pamper him with deluxe shaving accessories such as the eShave After Shave Soother or the Anthony Logistics Deep Cleansing Shave kit. Or give him a Lodis leather Blackberry case or Abas alligator-skin money clip. Many of these companies offer free shipping as a part of the initial purchase.

No matter what road (or site!) you take, the father in your life is guaranteed to love that you remembered him. These are just a few of the many examples of where you can look on the Internet for great Father's Day gifts.