33 Gift Ideas for the Travelling or Minimalist Dad

My dad calls Father’s Day the ‘Commercial Exploitation of the Masses Day’ which has always made me laugh! But although it’s even more true today than when I was growing up in the 1980s, and we are trying to live as minimalist life as possible, I still want to spoil the dads in my life on special occasions.

Luckily for dad there are loads of gift options out there that won’t sit on a shelf for years to come or have a huge environmental impact – here are some of our favourites

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Camping Gifts for Dad

If you love the outdoors like us then here are some ideas for the camping dad – practical gifts he’ll love that will be used for years.

• Caravan and Camper Trailer Log Book – This is a great A5 journal to keep track of how many KMs your caravan has covered, the places you’ve visited and stayed and your fuel consumption. It’s a great memory keeper as well as awesome info if you ever decide to sell on your van.
• Nope you’ve not had one too many beers dad, your chair really is rocking! How awesome is this King rocker chair with high back and built in drinks holder? Think I’ll be asking for one for Mother’s Day too 🙂 If dad is larger than life how about this Big Arse Chair designed to hold up to 200kg and 168cm high!
• Bluey Caravan Toilet Bag – perfect for toting his toothbrush and other man gear – the blue caravan design is perfect for the proud caravan dad!
• Caravan Reusable Coffee Cup  – keep the coffee cups out of landfill – for the coffee loving dads out there.
• Caravan Design Thermos – our thermos has been one of the most used things on our trip! Perfect for cuppas and soups at the playground. I have fond memories of taking a thermos to the footy with my dad as a child – every dad needs a thermos!
• Colourful Fire! – Little packets of magic that you throw on your campfire to make it a multi-coloured display. Hours of fun for the kids  for dad.
• The Scrubba Wash Bag – we reviewed this on the road laundry solution and LOVE it! It’s a compact, eco-friendly wash bag that you can go with you on camping trips, weekends away or long holidays. Constant clean socks and jocks – now there’s a great gift! You can read our full review here.
• String awning Gum Tree Lights – these are amazing to use at home or on a trip – they give off a beautiful ambient light and are available in battery, solar or electric.
• Every dad needs a good backpack – and The North Face have some great Father’s Day Deals on at the moment.
• For the outdoor chef – this OzTrail Charcoal Grill is the perfect portable charcoal cooker.

Charity Donation Gifts for Dad

Such a lovely idea for the dad that has everything – show him you care by donating to one of these great causes in his name

• Buy an ‘Eat, Play, Love’ Bundle with UNICEF Australia for a child in need
• Compassionate gifts that give twice with PETA – perfect for the animal loving dad
• Father’s Day Gift Ideas that Pay if Forward – a donation to World Vision can help a dad in poverty learn how to grow his own nutritious food
• Sign up to Karma Currency and end unwanted gifts forever!
• The gift that keeps on giving – make a donation for dad to the Australian Cancer Research Foundation

Digital Gifts for Dad

• If dad is an amateur photographer this 4 hour photography course looks great – if I were in any of the course locations in November I’d be signing up to improve my photography skills for sure.
• You can get hundreds of brilliant ebooks on Amazon – buy dad the camping guide to Western Australia and write an IOU for a holiday there in the next 12 months on his card.
• Gift him an app from the iTunes store – some great travel Australia apps are Wikicamps, HEMA Explorer, and we love Skyview for checking out the night sky in the Outback

Adrenaline Gifts for Dad

‘Collect memories not things’

I love giving experiences as gifts – if your dad is an adventure lover here are some fun-fueled options.

• Snow season is still going strong – if you’re within striking distance of the NSW snow fields you can get a voucher for snow gear hire at 50% off here.
• Buy him a Lamborghini. Unless you’ve not won the lottery this is the next best option – a ride in one!
• As wild as life gets! Get dad to take the family to Australia Zoo with discount tickets
• Buy him a Skydive voucher to give him the excuse of making dad jokes about jumping out of a perfectly good plane!
• After all that excitement dad might need a massage – they’ve also got special offers on couples massages wink wink!

Op-Shops

This is one of my favourite ways to shop! You can find absolute incredible bargains at your local op-shop – whenever we arrive in a new place we normally drop a bag of things off and buy some new bargains. This week we’ve settled in to a new house sit and we popped to our local op-shop where we picked up a brand new tent for $5 which is the kids’ playroom for the next few weeks, a Shakti mat in amazing condition for $4 that promises me stress free life changing properties, a Meccano set for $4 and lots of little toys to keep the boys amused while we are here – all for small change. In the past we’ve found all sorts of treasure in op-shops and it’s almost a family hobby now! It’s a great way to re-use and recycle and you know your money is going straight back into the community.

Gadgets for Dad

eBay is full of cool stuff for dad – you can filter your search for items that will arrive in 3 days or less so it’s perfect for last minute people like me! You can get 20% off with the code PARENT this week too

• I really want a drone! This one’s 80% off too so it might not matter too much when I fly it into the unknown. So I might buy one for Paul so I get to use it all the time. #thegiftofsharing
• Noise cancelling head phones. When you’re in a caravan or bus with kids sometimes there’s no escape from the noise – unless you have these.
• Have you seen the Instagram pictures of the people camping watching movies? This is how they do it and it’s pretty cheap – great for longer term travel (don’t waste a chance to stargaze by watching a movie!)
• A Kindle is a great gift for dad – if your dad is a book hoarder like me it’s much more practical to binge buy ebooks than heavy paper ones when you’re on the road.
• If you’ll be doing a lot of driving on your travels then why not consider a dash cam for dad?
• If you’ve not got one already then a portable speaker is amazing for camping – they are really cheap to buy now and we use them for music as well as audiobooks and podcasts.

Practical Gifts for Dad

If your dad appreciates a shiny car or peace of mind these gift ideas might be for him!

• Car wash voucher – not sure if they’d allow the caravan in too though!
• Roadside assist 12 month membership (50% off)
• For eco-conscious dads don’t look past these reusable bamboo straws. Did you know that every single straw you’ve ever used is still out there somewhere? It’s a horrible thought and something we can change – these reusable and hygienic straws are perfect for home or away.

And I’m signing off with maybe one of my favourite gifts for dad – limited edition Bundy Rum! This one is salted caramel flavour – we had a taste test when we visited the factory in Bundy and it was incredible!!