"Nuclear Family" decal by Brandon Bird
Just because your dad deserves the very best doesn’t mean you have to break the bank on his Father’s Day gift. And with the first ever National GeekDad Day merely a week away, the time for picking a present draws short.
Naturally, we’ve spent a good bit of time spotlighting many of our favorite items, but some of them have been a bit on the extravagant side. Still, if you’re in the market for something that’ll please the GeekDad in your life somewhere in the moderate to inexpensive price range, there’s no better place to look than that online purveyor of quality nerdery ThinkGeek.
While traditional Father’s Day fare hinges on the classic necktie — and ThinkGeek does offer some options in that vein — a more contemporary alternative might be the polo shirt. You can easily please with any number of stealth-geek options featuring embroidered logos from the wholly fictitious Aperture Laboratories to the smartphone-supporting Android mascot. By far the most interesting option, however, is their line of Doctor Who polos. Available in black, grey and navy and sporting a Dalek or TARDIS design, it’s a functional treat for any Whovian. Sturdily constructed and generously sized, it’s business casual for the rest of us for only around 30 bucks.
There are also similarly priced equivalents for more active pops. A wide variety of jerseys are available for those who straddle the line between geeky and sporty. Chief among them are amazing Star Wars and Marvel Comics graphics in the sleeveless basketball style. You can rep Stormtroopers and Spider-Man nemesis Venom on the court in a pair of black and white 100% cotton athletic mesh tops boasting bold screen-printed designs.
If clothes aren’t your GeekDad’s thing, you can help him relive his SNES gaming glory days. Inspired by the Japanese Club Nintendo reward — minus the ridiculous import price — the Classic Super Famicom Controller for Wii gives him era-appropriate controls for his favorite Virtual Console titles. It might lack the bells and whistles of the first-party Classic Controller Pro, but it’s a great fit for games like Kirby Super Star. (Which, coincidentally, is a current American Club Nintendo reward.) For $20 you can help your dad squeeze that last little bit of life out of the family console before the holiday debut of the Wii U.
And if even that’s too rich for your blood, you can always impress your father with the proper application of nostalgia and snark. Yes, those ubiquitous rear-windshield family decals are a pox on rush hour, but nerdier options are certain to charm and delight. Surely the greatest example is the “Nuclear Family” Ghostbusters design by artist Brandon Bird. Ernie Hudson is, by any metric you’d care to apply, a more suitable automotive decoration than your little brother, and your dad can have him Aykroyd, Murray, Ramis and Slimer for a mere six bones.
For additional GeekDad Day gift ideas, please peruse ThinkGeek’s own special gift center, and don’t forget to enter their Most Ultimate GeekDad Giveaway for the chance to win a truly staggering collection of top-shelf prizes. Because holidays come and go, but swag is forever.
Review materials provided by: ThinkGeek
