Christmas Gift Ideas for Dad From His Daughter

A gift from his daughter lands differently. Your dad may not say much when he opens it, but he will remember it. The best Christmas gift for a dad from his daughter shows him you remember the small things he did, not just the big ones. Our top pick is a song about your life with him, because it says out loud what most daughters only think.

Listen to a real Songbond song first

This one was made for another family. Yours would carry his name and the stories only you two share.

11 Christmas gift ideas for dad from his daughter

1. A song from you to him ($39.90). Tell us about the bike he taught you to ride, the long car rides and what he always said at the door. Songbond turns your stories into an original song, and you can ask for changes until it sounds like the two of you.
2. The two of you, recreating an old photo. Find an old picture of the two of you, stand in the same spot and copy the pose. Frame them side by side. About $20 to $60 to print and frame.
3. First Saturdays at his diner. Give him a card that books the first Saturday of every month at his favorite diner. Then show up.
4. A letter called "What I learned from you." List ten real lessons, big and small, from checking the oil to how to apologize. It costs nothing, and he will keep it in his desk drawer.
5. Something engraved in your handwriting. A keyring or money clip with "Love you, Dad" copied from a birthday card you wrote as a kid. Usually $30 to $80.
6. A trip to the town where he grew up. Let him show you his old school, his first job and the house he lived in. Bring a notebook and ask questions.
7. The album he played in the car. Find it on vinyl or CD and wrap it with a note about the song you both sang too loud. Usually $20 to $40.
8. An afternoon where he teaches you. Ask him to show you how to sharpen a knife, fix a leaky tap or make his chili. Being asked is the gift.
9. Your childhood drawing of him, framed. If he kept the crayon portrait you made at six, get it framed properly. If you kept it, even better. About $30 to $80 for a frame.
10. Matching Christmas sweaters. A bit silly, and that is the point. Wear them for the family photo. Usually $30 to $60 each.
11. A book of dad jokes with your notes. Circle the ones he has already told you a hundred times and write the year you first heard each one. About $10 to $20.

How to choose a gift that sounds like you

Think about the thing you two do, or used to do, together. The best gift from a daughter picks up that thread. If you live far away, choose something he can hold or hear when you are not there.

• If he is sentimental: the song, the letter or the old photo recreated.
• If he is a doer: the teaching afternoon or the trip to his hometown.
• If he loves a laugh: the sweaters or the joke book.

What to write in his Christmas card

Skip "Merry Christmas, love you." He knows. Write one specific memory and one thing you are grateful for now. For example: "I still think about you waiting in the car outside every school dance. Thank you for always being the one who came." Short is fine. He will probably read it more than once, and he may keep it in his wallet. Sign it the way you signed cards when you were small, even if that was a name nobody else uses anymore.

Make a song for your dad this Christmas

Make your dad a song from his daughter. It is ready within 24 hours, and express delivery gets it to you in about an hour. Nothing ships, so it still arrives in time if you order on Christmas Eve.

Also in the Journal: father-daughter dance songs and thank-you songs for dad.