Fathers are often the after-thought every Christmas. People buy their dads or husbands generic “dad” gifts but not stuff their guy or dad really want.

This year, I curated a list of gifts for every type of guy that they will

Dog Dad Who Runs

Sparkly Pets

If your partner, husband or dad is the one who walks the dog and uses that time to get in a good run or catch up on his fave audio book, then he would love SparklyPets hands-free leash. He can attach it to his waist belt and then have his hands free to scroll his phone, eat, or jog.

$21.95

Buy at Amazon

Dad Who Loves a Good Cocktail

Shaker and Spoon

Gift dad the joy in creating his own concotions and libatiosn with a monthly cocktail box delivering original recipes plus all the ingredients need to make them!

Each month, he’ll get 3 unique recipes by top bartenders + everything you need to make 12 drinks (4 from each recipe) other than the liquor—syrups, bitters, mixers, garnishes & more.

Dad will be exposed to new flavors & combos, and look at your liquor cabinet in a whole new way.

$40.00 per month

Buy at CrateJoy

Dad who Loves Movies

Viewsonic

If dad was a fan of going to the movies before the pandemic, he will enjoy getting the opportunty to have backyard movie nights.

Those who have reviewed this projector say it produces crisp picture quality indoors and out.

$379.99 per month

Buy at B+H

Dad Whose Always Losing His Keys

Tile

Tile is great for that dad who is always losing his phone, keys, walled or gym bag. He attaches these tiny trackers to the frequently misplaced item, register it and the device will emit a small sound when triggered.

If the Tile is within the 300 feet Bluetooth range, it will play a loud tune until you find it.

$21.95

Buy at Best Buy

Dad Who Has Cold Feet

Cozy Products

If your husband or dad has cold feet, literally, not figuratively, he may love this ergonomically designed toe warmer to keep under his desk at work or home office.
This device provides direct heat, warms cold feet and legs most efficiently with its 2-heat setting, choose between two different heat levels for optimal comfort

$41.19

Buy at Home Depot

Dad Who Wants to Stay Young

Kiehl’s

From the product page: Age Defender Eye Repair is a lifting, anti-wrinkle, dark circle-reducing eye cream for men, visibly correcting aging skin around the eyes to firm sagging and visibly resurface crow’s-feet for a smoother, more youthful appearance.
The multi-action formula contains rye seed extract, which helps visibly strengthen skin for a recharged look, leaving the eye area with a more lifted appearance.

$32.00

Buy at Nordstrom

For the Biker Dad

After Shokz

A guy who loves to ride his bike and safely listen to his fave tunes while doing so will love to receive Air Wireless Bone Conduction Open-Ear Headphones by After Shoks. They are super light weight and comfortable.
If you have a Sam’s Club membership, you can get it for $40 off this year.

$112.00

Buy at Best Buy

Germaphobe Dad

Phone Soap

As seen on Shark’s Tank, Good Morning America and other shows, Phonesoap is the first UV-C Sanitize and charger. It houses two scientifically proven germicidal UV-C bulbs that completely sanitize your entire phone, killing 99.99% of all bacteria and germs.
In addition, the unit offers one USB port and one USB-C port for charging.

$55.90

Buy at Best Buy

Dad Who Enjoys A Smooth and Stiff Drink

Aberfedly

Yum! From the product page:
“Laid to rest for 16 years in handmade oak casks, this enriched offering is finished in first fill Oloroso sherry casks to impart a subtle fruitful nature and a roundness to the whisky. Soft notes of honey, freshened with citrus, which gives way to spiced pears, studded with cloves, and drizzled with caramel. On the palate this well balanced dram is at first sweet and rich like fruit cake, but ends satisfyingly with a hint of dark chocolate.”

$100.00

Buy at Drizzly

Dad Who Hasn’t Been to Work Since March

Outdoor Voices

Outdoor Voices makes the “All Day Sweatpants” which it touts to be the softest sweats you’ll ever wear. It’s just the perfect amount of slouch and slim for dad.
It has great reviews for being comfortable and truly wearable all day for weeks on end!

$88.00

Buy at Outdoor Voices

Booming System

Sony

Experience an immersive acoustic performance with these Sony XB Extra Bass wireless headphones. The noise-isolating fit mutes ambient noises, while the lithium-ion battery offers up to 30 hours of playtime, keeping you entertained during long-distance travels.
These Sony XB Extra Bass wireless headphones have a touch sensor for convenient control. These wireless headphones are an outstanding option for a comfortable listening experience at home, traveling or in a noisy office, one reviewer said.

$123.00

Buy at Best Buy

Dad Who Loves to Golf

Par 3

In the winter when there are less opportunities for a Golfer dad to hit the links, or get to a driving range, there is this putting green.
Par 3 makes a three whole green to help dad practice his putting during off season so he is in tip top shape come Spring.

$34.93

Buy at Overstock.com

Dad Whose Always Looking to the Stars

Nikon

A dad who is a fan of astroloy, Super Moon or birds would appreciate a pair of binoculars.
From the product page: Pairing a relatively low magnification with large objectives, Nikon’s black 7×50 Aculon A211 Binoculars are outfitted with enhanced light-gathering capabilities, a large exit pupil, and long eye relief, which work together to produce an optic that is optimized for use in challenging light conditions.

$105.00

Buy at Nikon

For the Boating Dad

Wicked Good Doormats

From the product page: Long-lasting, all-weather doormats handwoven in Maine using some of the toughest nautical rope around. Designed to withstand the extreme conditions of the ocean, these polypropylene doormats are water-resistant, mold-resistant, and mildew-resistant. Because water runs through them they’ll never harbor odors. Added UV protection against fading.
This is one hard-to-beat, long-lasting doormat. Great for boats and campers, too. Only use on non-skid surfaces. Handwoven in Maine using imported nautical rop.

$69.95

Buy at Amazon

Dad Who Likes To Cook Simply

Cuisinart

The best thing about Cuisinart’s compact Air Fryer is the window that lets you see its specially engineered motor fan and heater deliver powerful airflow and high heat for perfectly fried food.
Dad will love to join this new kitchen gadget food trend.

$99.00

Buy at Bloomingdales

Dad Who Is Always Out of Power

Anker

Dad can forever stay in the loop with a fully charged phone via anker’s wireless air charger.
This power bank charges iPhone SE, 11, 11 Pro, 11 Pro Max, Xs Max, XR, XS, X, Galaxy S20 S10 S9 S8, Note 10 Note 9 and Note 8.

$39.99

Buy at Amazon

Dad Who Loves Music

Sonos

The compact Sonos speaker system delivers superior premium sound from any room in the house and is compatible with Apple Air Play and other devices.
It connects from any room using the home’s wifi.

$179.00

Buy at Sonos

Dad Who Loves Hot Coffee

Ember

The miracle of the Ember mug’s tech is that it keeps hot drinks the perfect warm temperature for up to 1.5 hours. Designed for home or office, the new Ember Mug² does is the perfect smart mug.

$99.00

Buy at Best Buy

Dad Who Really Does Need a New Wallet

SSense

For all the jokes about dads being always given wallets for Father’s day, their birthday and all other holidays, some dads really need a new wallet.

The Paul Smith buffed hide wallet is sleekly designed and simple yet exquisite and would make a great traditional dad gift with its style and sophistication.

$88.00

Buy at SSense

During the current pandemic, a lot of people are using their extra time cooped up at home to do thorough cleaning of junk stored in their closets, attics, garages and basements and to redecorate and upgrade existing spaces or to expand and enhance their outdoor living spaces.

I am on that bandwagon and recently, I decided to finally upgrade the drab first floor guest room in my home which my daughter has been staying in as her personal bedroom. It lacked design and looked pretty rundown.

I wasn’t going to do it alone. My daughter had to put in some sweat equity into this project. I let her pick out the base color.

[HOW TO UPDATE YOUR DAUGHTER’ BEDROOM ON A BUDGET]

When I was a kid, my favorite color is purple and my daughter also considers that shade one of her faves so she decided that she wanted to have the walls painted purple. Purple is a color or royalty and is associated with celestial beings like the stars and the moon so we gravitated to that theme for the room.

The Budget

The total cost for the remodel: $500! Can you believe that?

My first investment was on good quality paint so I invested in the PPG Timeless brand which can cost up to $100 per gallon but gets great reviews because you only have to use one coat.

The paint has a primer built in and is supposed to go on even and smoothly so you do not need to apply a second coat at all. It was a little bit pricier than basic paint but still reasonable at $50, after shipping and tax for the gallon.

Next: Paint essentials!

Home Depot sells a reasonably priced paint kit that comes with a tray, liner, a couple of brushes, rollers and an edge brush for about $15! That’s a steal and while not professional quality, it was perfect for a small DIY job in a home.

Furnishings and Accents

We decided to keep some of the existing furnishings in that room or use some of the items I have picked up from Christmas bazaars and thrift stores here and there. Pre-Covid era, I used to like to purchase items that are heirloom quality or top quality when I see them when out and about thrifting or visiting yard sales on the weekends.

For example, I got the lamp and curtains in this photo above from a consignment shop nearby for about $7 each, or $15 total and I purchased the Ikea desk second hand for $20 from a local seller using Facebook Marketplace. It was in perfect shape!

I had previously purchased a used office chair from the same guy and he offered me the desk though he hadn’t listed it at all. Sweet!

In lieu of just an accent wall, we decided to paint the entire room purple.

The Hiccup

Unfortunately, we discovered when we were done that the deep eggplant color was too overwhelming and too dark. My daughter and I decided to balance the dark wall with white or light colored linen and decorative accents.

I got a bed in the bag at Marshalls for about $60 and it included two accent pillows, a comforter, a flat sheet and fitted sheet, a sham pillow and a pair of pillow cases. We got it in queen size which is the size of the bed in that room. Kohls also sells these bed in bags for twin, full, queen and King sized beds starting about that the price I paid as well.

We diluted an entire wall by purchasing a white tapestry linen in a paisley print to drape that side of the room. It was only about $20 and was a popular brand, Ralph Lauren though Dormify sells plenty starting at just $11 for quality linen!

We let the celestial print in the bedding and tapestry drive the the theme and hung accent string lights from the ceiling and framed the wall and artwork framed in white with lights. The lighting also helped soften the dark colored purple walls too.

DIY Dresser Update

There was dark furnishings in the room before that we moved them out and to further lighten up the room via furniture, I decided to DIY spray paint a brown dresser in the room white. It was a bit of task because I did not have an electric sander and did not put enough energy sanding it with sand paper.

As you will see if you watch my video documenting the makeover, it was initially, a disaster because the first coat of chalk spray paint I purchased just ran over the sheen of the original paint job. Ugh!

I went to YouTube and found a video of a young lady, Desia Jean,who painted her furniture but who decided to skip the step of sanding it down first. I followed her lead and learned from her mistakes and subsequently, headed back to the store to pick up two more cans of semi gloss and that worked!

I really liked how the final paint job turned out. The paint was distributed evenly and without the blotches and sheer patches that were visible in previous coats. Phew! I had to have patience and trust the process!

I got new drawer pulls at the home design store that had a Victorian look to them for about $2 a knob (or $8 total) to tie in with the purple, mystical, celestial theme I was going for with this room makeover.

Luckily, I had already purchased some framed crafty cloth art work with green and purple in them which tied in well with the color scheme.

I went to Lowe’s and purchased a lamp shade a rustic old lamp we had in the basement for about $30 and we kept a steel grey side table that was in the room before because it blended in better with the new aesthetic than the old wooden chest and side tables that were in the old version of the room did.

Decorating the Walls

While we were shopping for the linen and accent pieces, we found a large canvas sketch of a woman’s back and I thought it matched perfectly with a framed sketch of a ballerina’s back I had in my first apartment after college.

I fetched my old artwork from the basement and hung it up next to the white canva and framed it with the star string lights. Together, the grouping matched perfectly.

We got three other pieces of white framed artwork that cost about $15 each.

Finishing Touches

Finally, we picked up a couple of accent area rugs in white with a print and a light gray one at TJ Maxx for about $20 each and found the same brands online for similar price or slighty higher so I felt I got a steal, as usual!

I got wooden letters from the home modeling store and painted it white with the left over spray paint. The cost of the letters were abour $30 and the Command strips ran us about $20 for a few packs to hang up everything.

I got replacement blinds for about $40 for the pair at Home Depot as you can see in the video, the ones in the room in the before images was beat up and a hot mess!

The total output for the entire project is about $450 and maybe a little more. We love how it came out and it is a far cry from how it looked before! You’ll see it in the video of the project below but first a few other photos:

Home Depot

Best Gifts For Dad He Really Will Use

Sparkly Pets

Shaker and Spoon

Viewsonic

Tile

Cozy Products

Kiehl’s

After Shokz

Phone Soap

Aberfedly

Outdoor Voices

Sony

Par 3

Nikon

Wicked Good Doormats

Cuisinart

Anker

Sonos

Ember

SSense

DIY Celestial Themed Teen Purple Room Makeover {REVIEW VIDEO INSIDE}

[HOW TO UPDATE YOUR DAUGHTER’ BEDROOM ON A BUDGET]

The Budget

Next: Paint essentials!

Furnishings and Accents

The Hiccup

DIY Dresser Update

Decorating the Walls

Finishing Touches

WATCH THE OFFICIAL VIDEO