By Phoebe Farag Mikhail

Read to the end to learn how to enter for a book giveaway of I’ll Carry You by Martha Salama.

Father’s Day in the United States is fast approaching, and I hope this gift recommendation list gives you some ideas for gifts for dad, especially a dad of young children. Many of these will ship before Sunday with Amazon Prime, and some might also be available at your local bookstore. Read my own tribute to my dad in my 2017 Father’s Day post here.

Children’s Book for Fathers and Daughters

Martha Salama has written a sweet children’s book for fathers and daughters called I’ll Carry You. This colorfully illustrated book is written in rhyme, repeating the words, “Daddy promised, ‘no matter where, when or who, don’t worry sweetheart, I’ll carry you.’” It follows all the stages and struggles of a little girl’s life, from her childhood falling off her bike, to struggles at school and self-esteem, to graduation and marriage, each stage with a promise from dad.

“I love writing about families so writing about relationships was an easy start,” Salama told me. “The relationship I was able to relate the most was with my father. I hope that this book inspires daughters and fathers to come together and cherish an intimate moment of love and bonding.” The aspirational relationship between the father and daughter depicted in the book is based partially on her own relationship with her father, but also on other “father figures” in her life, including priests, mentors, and teachers.

I’ll Carry You is a beautiful gift not just from a daughter to her father on Father’s Day, but for fathers to their daughters on any day, or a gift to a new dad who just had a girl. My daughter gave our copy to her dad a little bit early so I could watch them read it together. He replaced “Melanie” with my daughter’s name while reading it, and laughingly repeated this line, “Dad’s words are lessons for life.” It was truly a moment of bonding.  This book will allow fathers to share beautiful moments with their young daughters. To be entered to win a copy of this book, subscribe to the Being in Community email newsletter and share a comment below about a father or father figure in your life.

Daddy & Me Journals

There are many of these types of journals out there, and when I discovered how fun it was to use the “Mommy & Me” journals I got with my kids, I decided these would be great gifts to dad from my kids on Father’s Day. The journals offer prompts for sharing thoughts by exchanging the journal – dad writes something, and child writes back. These can be silly, like “what do I do to make you laugh,” or more serious, like “Describes makes you sad.” From my six year old, who is only starting to write words and sentences, dad will get Draw with Me, Dad! (on sale for $6.95 this week, 50% off, on Amazon). My eight year old will give him the journal Just Dad

& Me, which incorporates more writing.

Smart Ties, T-shirts, Pajamas, and Socks

My “gateway” Svaha USA clothing item was my “book dress,” a super comfortable, 100% organic cotton dress with book spines printed on the bottom half.  Svaha USA prints smart and fun designs on all sorts of attire, including men’s ties, t-shirts, lounge pants, and socks, all using 100% organic cotton or silk. Does dad like looking at the stars? The “Constellations Printed Silk Tie” would be perfect. If he’s into math, the “Pi silk woven tie” is tastefully designed. The adult lounge pants include patterns like musical rests and “good night” written in several languages. There are also lots of choices for “Daddy and me” matching father/child t-shirts with prints ranging from dinosaurs to the Apollo blueprint to java code. Using my referral link, you can get 15% off your first purchase.

Laptop, tablet, and travel bags

Betabrand is my go-to site for high quality, functional and stylish clothing, shoes and accessories. Best known for its “dress pant yoga pants,” Betabrand allows subscribers to “vote” on different designs for clothing, shoes, and bags (and even upload their own design ideas that they can get commission on if funded), and carries a number of men’s items. My favorite is the “Under-the-Jack Pack” is an extremely slim backpack that can hold a 13” or 15” laptop and be worn UNDER a coat or jacket. Using my referral link, you can get $15 off your first purchase of $75 or more, and using the code WORK20 you can get 20% off the purchase as well.

Remember to subscribe to my email newsletter and comment below for a chance to win a copy of I’ll Carry You. Happy Father’s Day, readers!

Some of the links above are affiliate links or referral links. If you choose to make a purchase via those links, I will receive a small commission for referring you at no extra cost to you. You are under no obligation to purchase the items through my links, but if you do, you will be helping support the cost of running this blog and providing you with the writing and reviews you enjoy. Your support is much appreciated!