Raise your hand if you take your dad’s side on everything! I love my father and love every opportunity to spoil him. Just ask my mother, I am a daddy’s girl!

As we look to Father’s Day, I’ve been thinking of ways to honor my dad and his fatherhood. Have you started looking yet?

Since we focus primarily on femininity and motherhood here, I want to take this opportunity to say that fatherhood isn’t something we should dismiss, but we should absolutely be honoring and holding up. Here’s why. Father Ed Broom explains it in The Essential Role of the Father, “The mother is the heart of the family but the father is the “head of the family.” The father has the primary role of passing on the faith by living a relationship with God, letting his family see it and experience it in the way he loves them, and teaches them.

As we reflect on the gift of fatherhood and how we want to honor the father’s in our lives, I want to share with you some ideas on how to honor fathers this Father’s Day! Whether your dad, husband or brother enjoys music, reading, fishing, learning, cooking, running and growing in the faith, there’s something for everyone on this list (and if you’re lucky, he’ll let you use his kayak or join him for the Theology of the Body course!).

If you don’t have a relationship with your father, he passed away, or if you and your husband haven’t been able to conceive, why not pick one man in your life who you just ooze with gratitude for and spoil him this Father’s Day?

Here’s My 2020 Father’s Day Gift Guide

1. I give my dad a pocket knife every Christmas. I wonder if I could get away with giving him more knives for Father’s Day? The Forged in Fire 2-Piece Forged Knife Set is just so cool that I am willing to take the chance! 

We’ve all been searching for ways to stay busy during the quarantine. Did any of your guys discover Forged in Fire on the History Channel? If they did, they will be absolutely stoked if you get them this 2-piece knife set that is “full tang” (distributes weight more evenly along the knife).

You can even cut through a full water bottle with one swing of the 8-inch chef knife. I bet someone in your family will be trying this out this Father’s Day!

2. Our culture has done a huge disservice to men in that it often shows men doing unmanly things and claiming they’re actually what it means to be a man. Because of this, many men don’t know how to be men anymore. While we ladies dream of a gentleman, guys first need to know how to be men. Author Sam Guzman provides the perfect solution in the guidance he provides for men in his newest book!

I waited months for the release of this book to share with others. Sam Guzman of Catholic Gentleman has packed so much truth and inspiration into his 171-page book titled The Catholic Gentleman: Living Authentic Manhood Today for today’s men who desire to be men of integrity but need accompaniment and encouragement.

Who among us doesn’t want the men in our lives to have what they need to be the men God is calling each one of them to be, while at the same time being a gentleman? (Think beyond them holding the door for you. To be a gentleman is so much more!)

3. I triple-dog-dare you to find better for your guys! Help him conquer summer by giving him a pair of the men’s DuluthFlex Fire Hose Relaxed Fit Cargo Work Pants. Do you accept the challenge?!

I crack up every time I see Duluth Trading Company’s advertisements. Their marketing is brilliant! Does your guy have the gear he needs for summer?

Let’s step up our game and get our brothers some quality clothing for the summer. Duluth Trading has more than underwear, I promise! My family has concluded that their best is the flex fire cargo work pants.

They are perfect for working in the field, garden, or workshop. They’re tough and the pants won’t fall off while he’s bending over doing the jobs you’ve given him (let’s be honest!) for the yard.

The perk is the extra stretch material for his belly and all things. The many pockets are great too for him to carry around his tools. Just call up my dad, he’ll give you a long list of all the benefits of these work pants! His number is 719-23…Oh, wait!

4. Row, row, row, your boat all the way to some alone time. With his new kayak, it would be paddling though! Give him his very own toy, that comes with all the things! Exercise, sport, the great outdoors, and what I consider to be the best part of summer. Lake time!

Is your husband or dad an outdoorsman? Maybe he needs recreation to get away for a couple of hours once or twice a week and enjoy some solitude!

I have searched and searched, and the reviews of the Pelican Mustang 100X Kayak received the best comments and stars for a beginner experience that I could find.

It’s the ideal kayak for calm lakes, beginners who aren’t heading out onto Lake Superior or the white waters of Colorado, and who might even want to cast a line all day and enjoy a good book.

You could tuck The Catholic Gentleman: Living Authentic Manhood Today and a beer in his bookbag for an extra surprise as he heads out on his adventure!

Some cider and beer ideas: Wild State Cider and Brew Dog. Get free shipping on your first month of cider with the Duluth, Minnesota Wild Cider Club by using the code: AMANDA.

5. Do you love to see your honey dancing around the kitchen or shaking his tail feather as he gets ready for the day? Why not give him some life-giving beats filled with faith-filled inspiration? Turn his dance into praise to the awesome God who made this beautiful man and who gifted him to you and your family.

Ike Ndolo is a Catholic songwriter and singer with an authentic style and genuine lyrics praising God and speaking to the spiritual journey and human experience.

I was thrilled for the opportunity to hear him live at SLS20. I love following him and his bride Mallory on Instagram too! His soundtrack “Shine” is hip with really chill beats. If your dad or husband is someone who is open to fresh faith-filled tunes this is for him!

6. We buy hands-free device everything, the safest possible cars on the market, helmets. You name it. Something we forget to protect our men from is incredibly intrusive, destructive, and life-altering. How do we so easily dismiss Internet Pornography and its effects on our loves? This Father’s Day make the choice to protect him from Internet Pornography. Girl, he will thank you for it!

Who doesn’t want to keep their loved one safe? As you prepare for Father’s Day, take this as an opportunity to acknowledge that your dad, husband, or brother needs accountability online too. Just like the rest of us!

A subscription to Covenant Eyes could lift a weight he’s been carrying for a long time. This could be the perfect time to give him the support he’s been needing and protect him in a way you’ve never maybe thought about before or have been too nervous to bring up. He can get his first 30 days of Covenant Eyes free with the code: JOYSEEKER30. 

7. Help him discover for the first time or dive deeper into something that is so key to our Catholic faith and what it means to be human. Give him the gift of the Theology of the Body I: “Head and Heart” Immersion Course.

When my parents attended their first Theology of the Body conference a few years ago their reaction to me as we walked out of the doors was “Where has this message been?” “Why are we just hearing this?” My heart sunk but I was grateful at the same time that they finally had the opportunity to hear the good news of what it means to be human!

I attended the Theology of the Body “Head and Heart” Immersion Course two years ago this fall, and men and women of all ages were in attendance, including mothers and fathers in their later years.

This is one of those once in a lifetime opportunities I personally will always be grateful for experiencing. I dream of going back! I know your husband, dad, or brother will be grateful.

For some extra fun, get him our new Theology of the Body Sweatshirt to wear to class to get an extra high five!

8. Even if he’s not into the smartwatch fad. He’s into accomplishing his goals. He’ll see the Garmin Smartwatch as an affirmation and an act of support for his hard work.

Is he a runner? Does he have a 5k or Iron Man he’s training for? What a great way to show your encouragement and support as he works to be healthy and challenge himself.

I purchased this Garmin Smartwatch a couple of months ago to track my miles and it’s probably the simplest watch on the market today. If what you want is to know your mileage, then bam. That’s what you get. 🎤  To take the overused line from Forest Gump and sweeten it up a bit: Run, honey, run! 🏃🏻‍♂️

9. You’ll want to take it out of his pants pocket before you wash them, but definitely buy him the Rugged Rosary for Father’s Day or any holiday you want to stand out and be remembered.

When I think of rosaries for men, I always think of Rugged Rosary. I laugh when I see the pink rosaries in the back of the church when I think of guys wanting to pray. What do men think when they see those pink rosaries? (Hopefully, it reminds them to pray for their little girls!) This could very well be what inspired Rugged Rosaries to make these awesome manly rosaries though.

I don’t really know but I do know that guys could pull their boat or gator with these beads! I’d encourage not doing that though and stick to the Marian rosary, Divine Mercy Chaplet and maybe even the Rosary of St. Joseph – earthly father of Jesus Christ and the husband of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

10. Be prepared for him to be on his smartphone a bit more, but if he has language goals, hook him up with the best: Babbel.

¿Tu papá quiere aprender español? Does your dad want to learn Spanish? Maybe German or Italian? Has your husband talked about traveling to France but wanting to learn French first?

A new language, what a cool gift to be able to give him and honor him and his fatherhood.

I have a beginner’s knowledge of Italian and the best part of traveling to Italy is being able to understand the Mass, much of what the Pope says during the Angelus, and being able to order the best wine in town!

The Babbel method is to teach us the language of our choice to actually use it with real people and in the real world.

11. Here’s the plus one and the best one! This is a unique offering that can be the best complement to his fatherhood: sponsor a child in need. He will be moved. Maybe even emotional!

Give him the opportunity to be exactly what you are seeking to honor this Father’s Day: a father! There are many organizations in the United States and developing countries that have sponsorship opportunities.

I sponsor a little girl named Joyce through the Miryante Orphans Home Sponsorship Program. Miryante Orphanage is located in Western Uganda. I have had the opportunity to visit the orphanage twice. The work they are doing is beyond inspiring through the leadership of their foundress Laura Corcoran –  a Midwestern thirty-something Catholic woman seeking to love and serve just like many of us!

Laura and her team are saving children’s lives and providing the love, faith formation and education every child deserves. This sponsorship (and my donation to the local pro-life pregnancy center) is by far the best thing I give money to each month. I wish I could sponsor all of the children!

Please take on this wish as your own and join me in making this a reality and at the same time making it a gift to your dad, husband, brother, father in law, parish priest and why not every man you know? 😉

Happy gifting, and if you have ideas not already mentioned, please be sure to share any and all Father’s Day gift ideas!