Fun gifts for Father’s Day

If you’ve ever wondered how the necktie became the “classic” Father’s Day gift, you’ve got Norman Birrell to thank.

Father’s Day was first inaugurated in the U.S. in 1910, and as things often do, the idea eventually migrated its way north.

In 1936, during the Great Depression, Toronto menswear retailer Norman Birrell, who sold a lot of neckties, saw an opportunity to market the day and prop up the summer sales slump. His enthusiastic promotion of the day as the chairman of the Toronto Father’s Day Committee, joined by other businessmen, helped to give the local economy a boost with sales and jobs while honouring dads for all they do.

And so here we are, with 90 years’ worth of necktie purchases under our belts, still celebrating devoted fathers.

These days, we might skip the haberdashery and go for something more fun — maybe some games that the whole family can play together all summer.

Amber Doubleday at Toymasters shared some great ideas to get dad out into the sunshine with the whole family.

She starts with kites which feature images like dragons, butterflies, and even dinosaurs — great fun in the wide open spaces.

“We also have pocket kites that fly like a regular kite and come in a little travel bag to carry with you. They could attach to a stroller or a wagon and you can have that kite with you everywhere you go,” said Doubleday.

Games that let you swat at something besides mosquitoes include badminton, pickleball and Battle Bird, a quick and easy set-up which uses rope to make two large squares on the ground instead of a net.

“Battle Bird is almost like pickleball and badminton kind of mixed together,” Doubleday said.

“You have a red square and a blue square and you want to keep the birdie out of your square. The paddle that you’re using is a hand paddle you slide your hand into.”

The Exploding Kittens franchise has Throw Throw Burrito Extreme Outdoor Edition (an outdoor version of Throw Throw Burrito) where you collect cards and play the hand for points.

“The cards are actually waterproof so you can play them in the pool or with sprinklers going … but there’s also burrito cards,” she said.

If burrito cards get played, you duel your opponent by throwing the ridiculously large, three-foot inflatable burritos at each other. Sounds insane.

Something a little drier is Pock, a giant dice game. To start, two large wooden dice are tossed out as targets. Players toss their dice at the targets to score points.

“You’re rolling dice to get the highest score and there’s some strategy involved. You can end up losing points. You can roll certain combinations, to take points from your opponents,” she said.

Additional elements can change how the game is scored and the game is flexible enough to add your own family rules.

Other outdoor fun includes the Moon Ball from Waboba, a specially formulated ball which can bounce up to 30 metres in the air, then make a distinctive “pop” sound when it bounces off the pavement.

“Those are great for playing catch, even with a baseball mitt,” said Doubleday, who admits to bouncing it onto the roof of her house.

And in case there is rain in the forecast, Doubleday also has a few indoor ideas. She said she sees dads of all ages are still very keen to put together LEGO kits.

“We’ve got something for every interest: Formula One racing, all of the FIFA sets out for world soccer, and Star Wars — and there’s not many dads out there who aren’t Star Wars fans!”

Other put-together or crafty ideas for boys and girls to do with dad include painting stones.

“We have frogs, dragons, butterflies, bumblebees and a lot of nice garden stones to paint and have the memory of painting with your dad. We have kits where you can paint a tractor, or even NHL Zambonis,” she said.

High quality stickers are also a fun gift and a popular trend with dad-friendly themes like cowboys, farms, Manitoba, hockey, golf and baseball.

“We carry a brand called Stickers Northwest. It’s absolutely amazing. If you put them on water bottles, they will not come off in the dishwasher,” she said.

For adventure board games, story- and character-driven Dungeons and Dragons has become popular again.

“That’s a lot of nostalgia there for dads. I think everyone’s kind of had their run playing D&D. We’re really finding that kids are into it again and it’s just a great game to sit down with your family and play,” she said.

D&D comes in a starter set and an essential set. The starter set comes with pre-generated characters and the essentials kit teaches you how to make up your own characters. Both come with story campaigns in them.

Doubleday also suggests easy-to-teach deck-building games Dominion and Clank (for up to six players). The object is to follow the directions and gather cards to create the largest deck.

“We also have Colt Express — a huge hit — where you’re bandits on a train and you follow your cards to try and loot the train. It’s got an actual train in there — and that is a fun one as well,” she said.

Add some party food, and maybe even a necktie to the mix, and you’ve got a great plan for Father’s Day.

» wendyjbking@gmail.com