Best gift cards for dad that he will actually use

Start with his week, not his birthday. What does he do on a Saturday morning? What does he talk about once he gets going? What has he been reading reviews of for a month and still not bought? The answer usually points to the right gift faster than any list someone else wrote.

If this year's interest is hard to pin down, the Dad Choice Gift Card keeps it open. You choose the amount, anywhere from €10 to €500, and he chooses where it goes, whether that's a new rain jacket, a dinner out or something for the house.

Want him to spread it over a few different shops? The All-in-1 Choice Gift Card does exactly that. A bit on a book, a bit on a meal, a bit on the thing he'd never buy for himself. It's also the easiest answer for the dad who has everything.

Does he live in another county, or further? The e-gift card comes by email within minutes, so the distance doesn't matter.

Some dads more or less pick their own present. There's the dad who washes the car every Sunday before the drive to his mother's, the one who's out on the bike at seven, and the one who has had a new pair of headphones open in a browser tab since August.

For the car and the bike, a Halfords Gift Card covers the practical bits: a roof box, a bike light, a proper set of wiper blades, a new helmet. Whoever does the maintenance in your house, it's money well spent.

For the tech, a Currys Gift Card goes on the new earbuds, the smart speaker or the coffee machine he keeps pointing at. He's mentioned it at least three times. Let him go and get it.

Going in on it with your brothers and sisters? Put the money together on one card. Three small presents become the one thing he actually wanted.

Some dads don't want another thing on a shelf. They want a day out, and a story to tell at the next family dinner.

A Ticketmaster Gift Card turns into a match, a gig or a comedy night, and he picks the event and the seats. For the dad who still talks about a concert from 1998, it's hard to beat, because it gives him a new one to talk about.

If he follows Arsenal, the Arsenal Gift Card is an easy call. A new jersey, a scarf for the winter or a mug for the office, so he can wear the colours to the next match on the telly in the local.

These work just as well for a father figure: the uncle who brought you to your first match, a stepdad, a godfather. A day out suits any of them.

Grandad is a slightly different puzzle. You may see him less, he's got his own routine, and he has had a lifetime to collect everything he needs. The same goes for your father-in-law, when you're still working out what he likes beyond the match and a good cup of tea.

Keep it simple: books, a good lunch or a night away. A National Book Tokens Gift Card gives him a reason to browse at his own pace and come home with a history book, a thriller or the biography he's been hearing about on the radio.

For a night away, HotelCheque lets him choose the hotel and the date himself. Picture a night away, a dinner he didn't have to cook and a lie-in the next morning.

At Christmas, the same rule applies for grandad. A modest amount with a proper message beats a big box of things that go straight up to the attic.

December brings its own version of the question, usually around the time the Late Late Toy Show is on and you realise the list isn't getting any shorter. The Merry Christmas Gift Card puts the festive design on the front and leaves the choice to him.

Round birthdays ask for a bit more. For his 60th, a night away or a big gig marks the year better than another gadget. The same goes for the 50th and the 70th.

How it arrives is up to you. A digital card comes by email within minutes, or you can go for a physical card in a gift box with your message, for when there has to be something to hand over at the table. Either way he gets to pick, and you can finally stop asking him what he wants!