Father's Day: Five Very Bad Gift Ideas

By Richard Connelly Thu., Jun. 17 2010 at 5:58 AM

Categories: Whatever

Gifts even worse than another tie

Father's Day is fast approaching, and you probably haven't given much thought to your gift. We know you.

To be sure, most fathers would gladly settle for Peace & Quiet once the kids are out of the weirdly-shaped homemade-paper-clip-holder stage, but most people feel obligated to get the old man something.

Which can lead to horrible mistakes. As a public service, here are five Father's Day gifts to avoid:

1. Extenze
Nothing says "We love you, Dad" more than this, of course, but it can still make for some awkward moments. Extenze is really more of a Secret Santa thing, anyway.

2. A Bed, Bath & Beyond gift card
Ladies, know this: No man has ever willingly gone into a Bed, Bath or a Beyond. Any such visit has been performed strictly under the category of Relationship Maintenance. So no gift cards. And no, Restoration Hardware doesn't count, either.

3. This outfit
The one on the right, that is. That's GOP congressman Aaron Schock, who became an Internet sensation with this photo. As a result he tweeted that he had learned his lesson and had burned the belt, which in terms of solving the problem was the equivalent of BP plugging the oil spill. In all the web chatter, we didn't see anyone wondering the even bigger question: How is it possible that he's standing next to the late Bella Abzug?