I Buy This Father’s Day Gift Every Year for My Jewish Dad

I’ve just scrolled through my first Father’s Day gift guide of the season and, once again, wondered why no one has ever made a gift guide for my specific brand of Jewish dad.

He’s not a barbecue dad or a sports dad. He’s undeniably a funny, silly Jewish dad, but he doesn’t want a book about Jewish humor — he tells the jokes, his way. He’s a golf dad, but he doesn’t want to read about golf, and he’s been playing for decades — why should he accept gear from someone who quit the high school golf team and falls asleep the moment the golf channel turns on (sorry Dad, but could you have picked a hobby with a little more energy)? He loves tech, but only when he discovers it and can tell me about it. He would not take kindly to my trying to introduce him to a new gadget. (See: His lackluster response to an Aura digital picture frame.)

My Jewish dad wants one thing and one thing only: socks with pictures of his family on them.

I know this because one year, after feeling guilty for sending him the same pair of socks with rotating photos of myself, my husband and my kids year after year, I tried sending him a gourmet version of a treat he likes. He texted me: “Thanks. Next year please send socks with pictures on them.”

Message received, Dad! I went back to my old standby: Divvyup, a truly seamless service for printing photo gifts. Just choose your product (they used to only do socks, but have branched out into blankets, can coolers, stickers and more), upload your photos and pick a color or pattern. They even have a pretty robust Hanukkah section with options that work for any time of year. (Pro move for a goofy Jewish dad: If you buy two different colors of socks with different photos on each, your dad might take it upon himself to wear one of each color — two Kveller dads have pulled this move.)

Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to go sift through my camera roll for this year’s perfect sock photo. You should too, so you can order your gift in time for it to arrive on Father’s Day!