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Christmas gifts for dad who says he needs nothing
19 October 2026
Christmas gifts for dad have a way of getting harder every year, mostly because whatever he wanted, he went out and bought himself in October. Ask him what he wants in December and you'll get "socks", "nothing" or "don't be going to any trouble", none of which is much use. So this guide skips the shrug and starts from what he does with a Saturday: the car, the bike, the match, and the thing he's been pricing online for months. Grandad gets a section of his own further down, because that's a different present at a different pace.
Christmas gift ideas for dad who buys his own things
Buying for a dad who has everything always hits the same wall. He doesn't need it, and if he did, he'd have bought it already and told you what a bargain it was.
So hand him the choice instead. The Dad Choice Gift Card starts at €10 and lets him pick the shop himself. You decide the amount, he decides what it turns into, and there's no size to get wrong.
Want him to have the run of the whole place? The All-in-1 Choice Gift Card works the same way and lets him spread it over more than one shop: a new drill for the shed, a jumper for the Christmas Day walk, dinner out in the new year. It comes as an e-gift card by email, or as a physical card in packaging with your own message, which is the one to go for when you want something to hand over on the morning itself.
It doesn't get much more practical than that. He gets to be fussy about the brand, and you don't have to be.
The car, the bike or the match
Start from what he was doing last Saturday and the list gets short fast.
The car or the bike. A Halfords Gift Card goes on a new set of lights, a roof box, a bike pump or the bits for the bike that's been in pieces in the shed since the spring.
The match. An Arsenal Gift Card suits the supporter who's been getting up early for the kick-off since before you were born, and who'll want the new jersey regardless of how the season is going. For a gig or a match in the new year, a Ticketmaster Gift Card puts something in the diary for the long weeks of January.
The thing he's been pricing since August. You know the one. He's sent you the link twice and read the reviews three times. A Currys Gift Card lets a few of you chip in towards the headphones, the air fryer or the new telly between you.
Christmas gifts for dad work best when they point at something he was going to do anyway. The ones that fall flat are usually the surprise hobby he never asked for. There are more ideas along these lines in our gift cards for men.
Presents grandad will use in an ordinary week
Grandad isn't a smaller version of dad. The pace is slower, the budget is often lower, and the present that goes down best is the one he can use in an ordinary week in January.
Books do a lot of the work here. A National Book Tokens Gift Card lets him pick the thriller, the local history or the big biography himself, and because it's in-store only, it gives him a reason to get out and browse on a quiet afternoon. An M&S Gift Card covers the nice bits for the week before Christmas, like a good jumper, a box of biscuits for visitors and something for the Christmas Eve supper.
For a Friday evening with the grandchildren, the Nando's Gift Card and the Just Eat Gift Card both start at €5. One is in-store only and takes everyone out for chicken, the other brings the chipper or the curry to his door so nobody has to cook.
A present for grandad doesn't need to be big. A modest amount with a message you wrote out by hand is the whole gift, and the amount is the smaller half of it. The same goes for gifts for a father-in-law, where you may still be working out what he's into. Ask what he did last weekend, then buy for that.
Ordering late and still being on time
Leaving it late usually means one thing: it's the 22nd and nothing has been bought.
That's grand. A digital card is in the inbox within minutes of you buying it, and at checkout you choose whether it comes to you or goes straight to him. A physical card goes by post, so give that one a few days.
Going in on it together as brothers and sisters? Put it all on one card and make it count. A Hotelgiftcard turns four smallish contributions into a night away for him and your mam, which beats four separate parcels of socks by a distance.
Have a look through our Christmas gift cards, pick the amount and write the message. Then go and enjoy your own Christmas!
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