Father’s Day Gift Guide 2020: Quarantine Edition
We all know what’s at the top of the 2020 Father’s Day wish list for the cool dads in your life, but how many luxury nuclear fallout shelters does one family really need? So here’s some great Father’s Day gift alternatives that don’t require pouring three-foot concrete walls and buying a decades’ worth of canned beets.
Even prior to conducting the bare minimum of research to see what’s on other Father’s Day gift lists this year, I’m going to assume that many/most/all have this brand new streaming service in common. But it’s for some very good reasons. As platforms like Netflix and Hulu shift focus more and more to original programming and let rights lapse on the library content that first established their dominance in the streaming space, HBO Max arrives with one of the deepest content libraries available. At this moment in the history of humanity all I really wanna do is live on the couch with my toddler and show her the joys of Studio Ghibli and “Singin’ In The Rain” but by infusing an already strong selection with the power of the Criterion Collection, the service basically becomes a distance-learning film school. Plus what dad wouldn’t be in dad joke heaven getting the chance to program weird double features with pun title like for example “Maude-ern Romance Monday” with Hal Ashby’s cult classic “Harold and Maude” followed by Eric Rohmer’s art house staple “My Night at Maude’s”?
One of my few “conversation piece” articles of clothing, this beloved crew is both comfy, hilariously direct and honestly a perfect personal billboard in this time of social distancing. Can be work ironically, or not, it’s up to you.
“The Uninhabitable Earth: Life After Warming” by David Wallace-Wells
For all the dads out there who feel like there’s never enough simultaneous changing-all-life-as-we-know-it existential crises to deal with at once, this honest and honestly-spooky look at the climate crisis is a must-read. Full of revelations that clarify a sometimes murky subject, this will help that dad in your life kickstart his personal mission to save the world or at least make sure it stays inhabitable for the next generation.
Magic Puzzles by the Magic Puzzle Company
At this point, we’ve all gone Full Puzzle, so might as well get the coolest, most unique puzzle for dad this year. These Magic Puzzles level up puzzling by telling stories that progress as you assemble more pieces, featuring numerous Easter Eggs and pay off in a “magical twist ending” that is most likely some kind of optical illusion. The whole endeavor is brought to you by the co-founder of Cards Against Humanities, but be forewarned that this Kickstarter campaign isn’t expected to actually ship product until October. But really what are days, months or time anymore?
Drillbrush Bathroom Surfaces Scrubber Cleaning Kit
Listen, I don’t really want to use powertools or clean the bathroom, but if I have to do either I might as well do both at the same time, right?
This more-and-more-popular-every-day app allows you to purchase personalized videos from celebrities. So for an out-of-the-box kinda Dad’s Day gift, why not solicite some fatherly advice from Cameo’s roster and create a personalized super cut for that pop culture papa in your life. Because who wouldn’t want Gary Busey, Gilbert Gottfried or the guy that plays the Crypt Keeper telling them how to be the World’s #1 Dad?
Now that pop music is officially more punk rock than punk rock, it’s time for dads everywhere to embrace the awesomeness of Charli XCX. So here’s an ultra hip, extra designy tee to look cooler than your coworkers on Zoom meetings and while rocking out to Charli’s latest album (and the first musical masterpiece to be entirely made and released in these Quarantimes), How I’m Feeling Now.
It’s like mezcal but for food! I’m a somewhat recent convert to the world of liquid smoke but the possibilities seem endless-ish. Plus it adds a little science fair flair to your at-home foodie adventures which is especially welcome over in this neck over the woods where our family is mostly meat free and liquid smoke lets you bacon up your tofu, seitan and tempeh like nothing else.
-Chris AKA “Pop Culture Dad”
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