Becoming a dad is a big deal, so of course you want to get him an awesome new dad gift — something that will help, or something just to celebrate this major milestone in his life. But what a new mom might want can be very different from the wish list of a soon-to-be dad. So, who better to ask than guys who’ve already been there?
We asked dads who are now ol’ pros to weigh in with the gifts they loved or would have loved getting during their days of early dad-hood. If you’ve got a new dad in your life and have been looking for the perfect first Father’s Day present, consider one of these tried-and-true dad-approved gift ideas.
“A really good coffee maker. I always had the cheap ones before, but my wife got me an expensive one with an espresso maker after our daughter was born. I don’t know how I could have gotten through the first six months without it in the mornings.” — Jay S.
MORE: 16 beauty products men want but won’t ask for
“This is going to sound weird, but my wife got me body wipes when our first kid was born, and they ended up being my favorite gift. I think the ones she got me were made for camping, but I’m pretty sure they sell all different kinds of all-over wipes for guys now. When I didn’t have time to shower or the baby spit up on me or whatever, the wipes were the best thing ever.” — Mike C.
“My favorite gift was a baby carrier, the one you wear like a backpack on the front that holds the baby. My wife is telling me the one we had was a Baby Bjorn. We would take walks on the beach in the evening, and it was nice for me to be able to carry the baby and give my wife a little break.” — Matt C.
“I would give a new dad a nice electric shaver. Something he might not typically buy for himself but that will be invaluable when he is running low on time and hasn’t showered in days but wants to feel human again.” — Glenn G.
“Definitely a diaper bag of his own. My brother got me a Diaper Dude messenger bag that was gray and orange, and it was nice to have that instead of using the gigantic pink diaper bag my wife loved.” — Skylar R.
“I would say a date night with his wife or partner. Whether you surprise him with a babysitter or offer to do it yourself, giving him a night to spend time with his partner would be the best gift I could think to give. That kind of time is hard to come by in the first year.” — Mark W.
MORE: Does your man have a sweet tooth? Make him this keto-friendly dessert
“This might sound cheesy, but I really liked getting one of those frameable print kits with my handprint and our baby’s. I can’t remember who gave us ours, but it had everything we needed for my wife and me to each do a handprint and then have the baby’s handprint on top of ours. It came with a three-photo frame so we could put mine on one side, hers on the other, and a picture of the baby in the middle.” — Ken N.
“If someone wanted to get a larger present for a dad-to-be, I would recommend a jogging stroller. We ended up getting one because there were times I wanted to take the baby for a run and our regular stroller just didn’t work for that. I’m glad we did, though, because I always enjoyed those times with our son.” — Jacob H.
“Books to read to the baby. In the beginning, I felt kind of useless because my wife was breastfeeding and kind of naturally hit her parenting groove. But I wasn’t sure what to do, until I decided to start reading some of the baby books we’d gotten. That became my tradition with our daughter, and I did it when our son was born, too.” — Ben F.
“Beer. Am I allowed to say that? For when he has a night off and wants to blow off some steam.” — Melvin H.
