Father's Day Ideas: Gifts and Activities for Father's Day

Father's Day is Sunday June 15. What are you going to get Dad? Here's some gift ideas and activities that are slightly more original than another tie.

For the Custom Car Loving Dad: A Gift to ArtCars in his name. One event missing from the Twin Cities' summer calendar is the annual ArtCar Parade. The parade usually takes place in July, but so far the nothing has been scheduled through lack of funding. Even though the ArtCars will be visiting other parades and festivals in the Twin Cities, it feels like there's a gap. Help put the parade back on the calendar next year by making a donation to ArtCars.

For the Thinks-He's-a-Comedian Dad: A trip to Minnesota Zoo. The comedy opportunities for dads are endless. He can make coffee jokes by the Caribou, compare the kids' bedrooms to the wild boar house, then have lunch by the Macaque monkeys, and make all kinds of hilarious comparisons to the way the kids eat. Children, roll your eyes, and let dad revel in his own hilarity.

For the Crafty, Geeky, or Fix-it Dad: A trip to one of the Ax-Man Surplus stores. The St. Paul, St. Louis Park and Fridley stores are treasure troves of strange articles, motors, laboratory glassware, military odds and ends, electronics and about a million other random items perfect for father-son or father-daughter projects. Watch out for the snort-pepsi-out-of-your nose funny signs advertising the bizarre items. Go, get inspired, then spend the day together in the garage building something to scare mom.

For Every Dad With a Heart: Heart disease is the number one premature killer of men. Many men, and dads in particular, often take care of their families but neglect themselves, and don't take the time for exercise. Run or walk in the Fathers Day 5K at Lake Como, raise money for charity, and pledge to do exercise as a family for a longer, happier life for everyone.

Need more inspiration? Here's more events and festivals for Dad on Father's Day in Minneapolis and St. Paul.

_{Ax-Man Surplus Store Photo © Clara James}