For those looking for ideas or inspiration the suggestions vary greatly amongst my friends. Some are into home-brewing, others love a good whiskey, I just want… Time!

Before my grandmother passed away a few years ago, I was trying to figure out the best present for her 80th birthday. She has everything I thought. And she had indeed all she needed, yet every time she saw us she reminded us how great it was to see us. So for her 80th, I brought her to the cinema to see Les Miserables (a film she was anticipating to see, yet fell asleep during the climax) and afterwards I brought her to a fancy restaurant for dinner so she would feel good and be treated like royalty. We laughed so much that day, especially when she said that Bruce Willis was fantastic in the movie (he wasn’t actually in it). Of 30+ years of presents for my grandmother, that’s the only one I actually remember. For my own 30th birthday I went to Sicilly, for my Dad’s 60th we all went to London, for Mum’s 60th we all went to Dublin. These are the gifts I remember, because we shared our greatest asset – Time.

As I write this, I’m currently on a family holiday and I know in a few weeks I won’t remember the money I spent on silly stuff or the fridge magnets I bought, really I will just remember all those unique moments we have spent together. When I asked my daughter last week what was she looking forward to the most on the holiday (having already told her about the nearby beach, the Hotel’s multiple swimming pools, my consent for her to have a daily ice-cream) the 3-year old child simply responded “Spending time with you.”

So if you are pondering profusely about what to give a Father for Father’s Day, I suggest – Your TIME. Spend time together doing something. Something unique and special that will one day be a treasured memory. It can be a meal, a spin in the car, playing cards or going to bingo, or simply just sitting down with them and being present. The presents we eventually forget, the moments we hold onto forever.

Garry x