After more than ten years of running physical gift stores, I can confidently say that one of the hardest occasions to buy for every year is Father’s Day.
And it’s not just difficult for customers.
It’s difficult for us retailers too.
First of all, Father’s Day gifts are surprisingly hard to source.
Every year, I open supplier websites looking for something new, stylish and useful.
And somehow, Father’s Day takes me straight back to the 1980s.
Socks.
Keyrings.
Beer glasses.
Money boxes.
Tools.
More socks.
😂
Even the gift boxes somehow look older.
Finding something modern that I would actually want to put on our shelves can be surprisingly difficult.
Then comes the display table.
Mother’s Day? Easy.
Flowers, candles, beautiful packaging, different colours and textures.
Father’s Day?
Everything seems to be black, brown, navy or grey.
Put too many tools and practical gifts together and suddenly my beautiful gift shop starts looking suspiciously like Bunnings.
😂
And then there’s the budget.
From years of watching customers shop for different occasions, I’ve noticed that people generally seem more comfortable spending on Mother’s Day and Valentine’s Day.
Then Father’s Day arrives...
And suddenly it feels like every dad in Australia is worth one $10 scratchie.
😂
Even Father’s Day greeting cards often sit at a lower price point than many of the cards we sell for Mother’s Day or Valentine’s Day.
Over the years, I’ve watched so many customers walk around our shop again and again, trying desperately to decide what to buy Dad.
It seems especially difficult when it’s a man buying a gift for his own dad.
He walks around.
Looks at a few things.
Walks around again.
Sighs.
Looks at something else.
And very often, the final solution is beautifully simple:
A lottery ticket from us...
and a carton of beer from BWS next door.
Honestly, men really do know how to keep happiness simple.
😂
But this year, I thought:
Who decided dads can only have scratchies, beer and socks?
So for Father’s Day, we’ve selected a few of our blue preserved rose gifts.
Because dads can have flowers too.
Although...
You can always add the beer.
😂
Here are some of my favourite blue preserved rose gifts for Father’s Day.
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