He has three identical screwdrivers in the drawer, the garage is tidy, and the answer is the same every year: "Nothing." Many fathers are like that. It doesn't make things any easier when he turns 60, or when the children need to come up with something together.
The problem is rarely that he doesn't want anything. It is that he bought whatever he was missing long ago - and that he feels awkward about anyone spending money on him.
"Nothing" usually means "nothing I could have bought myself"
Think of the gifts he has actually kept. It is rarely the expensive drill. It is the drawing from his grandchild that is still on the fridge, the picture from the holiday cottage from back when his hair was dark, the note that was tucked into his lunchbox. Things with a sender.
That is why the gift voucher and the third pair of woollen socks fall flat. They tell him nothing he didn't already know.
What he would never order himself
There is a category of gifts that fathers almost never buy for themselves: the ones that are about him. A portrait painting from a photo belongs there. He would never go onto a website and order a painting of himself. But he will hang it on the wall.
The subject doesn't have to be him. It is often better when it isn't. The orders we see most often for fathers are:
- The dog. If he has a dog, you already know who his favourite in the house is. A pet painting hits the mark with men who otherwise aren't into decorations.
- Him and the children. An old picture where he is 35 with a child on each arm.
- The house, the boat or the motorbike. The first house they bought. The machine he sold and has regretted ever since.
- His own father. A worn black-and-white picture of Grandad, painted in oil. This is the one that makes grown men go quiet.
Why a painting and not a print
You can have the same photo printed on canvas for as little as 40 CHF, and it looks fine from a distance. You feel the difference up close. A print is the photo - with all the shadows and harsh edges of a mobile camera. An oil painting is an interpretation: the artist removes the clutter in the background, softens the light and builds up the face layer by layer.
There is also something in the craftsmanship itself that matters to the recipient: someone has spent hours on it. We have written more about the difference in our article on photo on canvas versus hand-painted painting, if you are unsure which suits your situation.
What if the photo isn't good enough?
It often is, anyway. We go through every photo manually before we begin, and we tell you if it won't work. A mobile picture taken in a garden is usually more than enough - what matters most is that the face is clear and that the picture looks like him as you remember him. Old paper photos with creases and scratches work too; we have painted from photos that were 60 years old.
For a milestone birthday
For the big ones - 50, 60, 70 - most people choose a slightly larger format, because the painting needs to hold a wall in the living room. 60x50 cm is what we send most often for occasions like these. If you are unsure about the size in relation to the wall, our guide to choosing the right size of painting for the living room will walk you through it.
The price follows the dimensions, so you can control it quite precisely. There is a full overview in the price guide to hand-painted portrait paintings.
When several of you are giving the gift
This is one of those gifts that gets easier the more of you there are. Three siblings share the cost, and suddenly you can give something none of you could give alone. If he should choose the subject himself - or you can't agree - you can give a gift voucher for a personal painting instead and let him find the picture.
If the gift needs to arrive by a particular date, allow roughly 2-3 weeks from order until it is hanging on the wall. You will find the practical details under frequently asked questions, and what happens if you are not satisfied under the satisfaction guarantee.
How to get started
Find the picture that makes you happy when you scroll past it. Choose a size and, if you like, a frame, upload the photo, and let us take it from there - order the painting here.
If you are looking for more ideas along the same lines, we have collected them on the page about a personal gift for him and in the overview of Father's Day gifts.
PS: If he says "you really shouldn't have", but stays standing in front of it, you've got it right. That is how these things get said.