Father's Day Gift Ideas From a Son

Fathers and sons often show love sideways: a ballgame, a job done together, a handshake that turns into a quick hug. Father's Day is a good excuse to be a little more direct. The best Father's Day gifts from a son are things you do side by side, plus one thing that says out loud what he means to you. Here are 12 ideas at every budget. Our top pick is a song about him, because it can say the part that sons and fathers usually skip.

Listen to a Songbond song

This one was made for another family. Yours would carry his name and your stories.

12 Father's Day gift ideas from a son

1. A song about your dad ($39.90). Tell us what he taught you, the jobs you did together and the line he always used when you messed up. Songbond turns it into an original song, ready within 24 hours.
2. A road trip to a ballpark he has never seen. Pick a stadium on his list, drive there together and split the hot dogs. Tickets and a night in a motel usually come to $150 to $400.
3. A round of golf, and you pay. Book the tee time, cover the green fees and carry the bag if he wants. Usually $40 to $150 for two.
4. A bottle one step up from his usual. Whatever he drinks, buy the next shelf up, then sit on the porch and share it with him. Usually $40 to $100.
5. A brisket smoked by you. Get up at five, tend the smoker all day and feed the whole family. He will offer advice every hour. Meat and wood usually run $60 to $120.
6. A hobby kit for the two of you. Fly-tying, a model ship, a small woodworking project. Something to do at his workbench over a few weekends. Around $30 to $80.
7. A three-generation photo. Him, you and your kids, or him, you and his own dad if you still can. Frame it for his wall. Usually $30 to $70 for the print and frame.
8. Tickets to the band he played when you were small. The one from the car stereo on every summer trip. If they still tour, go together. Usually $60 to $200 a ticket.
9. A work jacket that lasts. Heavy canvas or a good flannel-lined coat. The kind he will wear for the next 15 years. Usually $60 to $150.
10. A scale model of his first car. Find the exact make, model and color if you can. It will sit on his desk and start a story every time someone asks. Usually $30 to $90.
11. A barbershop shave for two. Hot towels, a straight razor and half an hour of talk. Usually $40 to $80 each.
12. A card with the three things he got right. Not a long letter. Three sentences, each starting with "You were right about..." He will read it more than once.

How to choose a gift for your dad

Think of the last time the two of you really talked. Where were you? For most fathers and sons it happens in a car, on a golf course, in a boat or at a grill, not across a table. Choose the gift that puts you back in that spot.

• If he is a talker: the road trip, the golf round or the barbershop.
• If he is a man of few words: the song, the card or the scale model.
• If he is a hands-on dad: the brisket, the hobby kit or the work jacket.

If you are a father now too

Something shifts the first Father's Day you spend as a dad yourself. You suddenly understand the early mornings, the money worries he never mentioned and why he checked the locks twice. Say that. Tell him which of his habits you have caught yourself repeating, and which one you are proud to have kept. Put your children's names next to his in the card or in the song notes. For a lot of fathers, hearing that a son has become a good dad is the best review of their own work.

Make a Father's Day song for your dad

Create a Father's Day song from a son. Share the stories, and his song is ready within 24 hours. If the day is close, express delivery gets it to you in about an hour.

Also in the Journal: Father's Day song gift ideas and thank-you songs for dad.