Skip To Content
JEWISH. INDEPENDENT. NONPROFIT.
Culture

A very normal, totally logical, sort-of-Jewish Father’s Day gift guide

Gift guides for men are perplexing documents.

In their haste to assure our dads and ourselves that men don’t like clothes, cosmetics, or anything that can’t be classified as a “gadget,” publications have urged the purchase of some truly deranged items. Doorbells that connect to his iPad. Camping knives with functions that almost no dad is qualified to actually use. High-tech beer Koozies that cost hundreds of dollars. A key chain the shape of a saw, lest anyone mistake it for an ornament. Super, super masculine aprons. What rough beast, I wonder while reading these gift guides, slouches toward The Sharper Image, Hydro Flask in hand, to be born [again, as a member of a subscription coffee service]?

In the name of every father living in fear of receiving an industry-grade grill set in the near future, we have compiled a totally logical and universally appealing list of gifts for the dad or dad figure in your life. Have at it — and try to make it through the weekend without referring to any of your loved ones as “buddy.”

For the dad with grievances: A very Jewish rolling pin

Image by Unkosher Market

This rolling pin, which imprints dough with untold iterations of “Oy,” is a standby for anyone Jewish or Jewish-adjacent. But it’s especially good for dads with some complaining to do. If you’re tired of hearing about the people in the supermarket who wear their masks under their nose, let him get his kvetching out in the kitchen — hopefully you can get some cookies in the bargain.

Unkosher Market, $40.

For the dad who wants to chill out: A scented candle

Paddywax candle.

Image by Paddywax

Everyone loves scented candles, yet half the population has to pretend that they’re only interested in them “because of my wife.” Give your dad the gift of freedom from toxic masculinity with this Apothecary candle, for whose many scents I can personally vouch — I’ve sent them to several people during the pandemic, with universally soothing results.

Paddywax, $25.

For the dad with a sense of humor: A Jewish space laser

Image by National Museum of American Jewish History

Yes, they made a keychain for this. We fervently hope that gifts in this vein will soon lose all relevance. Get it now, while it’s still funny.

National Museum of American Jewish History, $16.95.

For the dad who does legitimately enjoy grilling: A menschy apron

Image by CafePress

Everyone wants this apron and no one will admit to it. Do your dad a favor and just get it for him.

Cafe Press, $29.99

For the dad who likes to tell you things: A book about his favorite war

Image by Metropolitan Museum of Art

If you give a Jewish dad any opportunity at all, he will tell you something about an international armed conflict. And there’s a 99% chance that a new book about said conflict has been released in the past few months. In the unlikely event that no new blockbuster on the Hundred Years War has emerged lately, get him Svetlana Alexeivich’s “The Unwomanly Face of War,” a book we should all probably read.

Your local independent bookstore. Knowledge is priceless.

For the dad who cares about the future of independent journalism: A subscription to the Forward

The Forward's banner.

Image by The Forward

Come on, did you think we weren’t going to include this?

Right here, $6.99 per month.

A message from our CEO & publisher Rachel Fishman Feddersen

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.

We’ve set a goal to raise $260,000 by December 31. That’s an ambitious goal, but one that will give us the resources we need to invest in the high quality news, opinion, analysis and cultural coverage that isn’t available anywhere else.

If you feel inspired to make an impact, now is the time to give something back. Join us as a member at your most generous level.

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

With your support, we’ll be ready for whatever 2025 brings.

Republish This Story

Please read before republishing

We’re happy to make this story available to republish for free, unless it originated with JTA, Haaretz or another publication (as indicated on the article) and as long as you follow our guidelines. You must credit the Forward, retain our pixel and preserve our canonical link in Google search.  See our full guidelines for more information, and this guide for detail about canonical URLs.

To republish, copy the HTML by clicking on the yellow button to the right; it includes our tracking pixel, all paragraph styles and hyperlinks, the author byline and credit to the Forward. It does not include images; to avoid copyright violations, you must add them manually, following our guidelines. Please email us at [email protected], subject line “republish,” with any questions or to let us know what stories you’re picking up.

We don't support Internet Explorer

Please use Chrome, Safari, Firefox, or Edge to view this site.