Father’s Day is this weekend, and I’m sure many of you are scrambling for last-minute gifts, trying to figure out exactly the right thing that says, “I love and appreciate you, Dad,” and not, “here’s something I picked up in the gas station on the way over for brunch.” Well, as the newest dad hire at Hunter Public Relations, I’m here to tell you…I don’t have the slightest idea what that could be. If you’ve got some ideas, please let me know, and I’ll definitely add them to my Amazon wish list.

There’s always a certain value in getting dad exactly what he wants, of course. My aforementioned wish list is full of video games I’d be perfectly happy to receive as a gift…your dad’s might not be. But at the same time, don’t you want to be the one who comes up with the perfect gift—the one that perfectly encapsulates exactly who your dad and only your dad is, and makes the shirts and ties your siblings got him look like hastily bought afterthoughts?

Of course, it’s not a competition—no matter how much more awesome your gift is than your sibling’s. In the end, sometimes the best way to say, “I love and appreciate you, Dad,” is…to say, “I love and appreciate you, Dad.” Now, my girls are five and two, so they’ll probably give me something hand-made that I can hang above my desk to remind me how much they care about me. You may be too old to make your dad a handprint painting or a macaroni-and-glitter-paint greeting card, but what’s your version of that? What can you give your dad that has the same love and thought put into it as the handprint paintings you used to give him? Figure that question out, and you’ve got the perfect Father’s Day gift.

Or, you know, maybe a gift card. Let’s face it…dads can be tough to shop for.

- Justin