Father's Day Gift Guide: Ideas For All The Dads In Your Life

Dads. They come in all shapes and sizes, and sometimes they aren't even ours, but they provide guidance and support and they teach us (or our kids) important things like how to tie a tie or change a tire or give a solid handshake. And so, for all the dads out there, be they husbands or surrogate dads, or even single mothers who play the dad role, here are gifts worthy of all that they give.

 A great gift for your husband (that won't break the bank)

Bargain gift

Pay him back for all those times you've uttered the threat, "Wait until your father gets home" by giving him something nicer to come home to than a shuddering child. Whether he's just finished giving the stern look and lecture or just needs to unwind after a long day at work, with these stone glasses in the freezer he won't have to wait to enjoy his evening tipple—or water it down with ice (uncommongoods.com, $40).

Mid-priced gift

Make life easier on the traveling man with this cool full-size keyboard that folds up small enough to fit in his laptop bag. It syncs up with his iPhone, iPad or laptop, so the gadget-loving guy will never have to wrangle with a too-small keyboard again (matias.ca, $69.99 wired or $99.95 wireless)

Fantasy gift

It's dapper, practical and reliable, just like a good dad should be. With the rugged leather Nicky Messenger bag, your man can keep his gear organized—without embarrassing your teenager (benminkoff.com, $395).

Your Fiance
Bargain gift

Maybe you tell him daily how much you adore him. Maybe you don't say it enough. Either way, he'll love this super-soft shirt that crowns him king of your world (shop.bushandleavenworth.com, $36).

Mid-priced gift

Style's important. So is good sound. Now he can have both: The sleek IDEA Card Speaker is the size of a credit card and comes in an easy carrying case. Plus it hooks up to any mp3 player and provides up to five hours of quality sound on a charge (theghostlystore.com/collections, $75).

Fantasy gift

Help him be the coolest guy at the tailgate. The Picnic Time Portagrillo portable gas grill means he can get his grill on at the beach, the game or even a tiny fire escape. No clunky, messy charcoal required (Kohls.com, $390).

Your Father-in-law
Bargain gift

He's always talking about when he was a boy, so give him a token of remembrance, with a modern style. This gorgeous traditional wooden toy set includes a yo-yo, spinner and hole-stick, all sustainable and hand-crafted in an Indonesian farming village to ensure fun and goodwill (areaware.com, $40).

Mid-priced gift

This bright, whimsical new take on the Polaroid camera serves two functions: It plays to his nostalgia and lets him capture every adorable grandkid moment in an instant! Plus, it's got modern functions, like four lighting settings and an automatic flash, making it much easier to use than his old version (polaroid.com, $89.98).

Fantasy gift

A great gift for the foodie dad-in-law with time on his hands, the six-volume Modernist Cuisine set combines gorgeous illustration with culinary expertise to create a 45-lb. manifesto that turns the art of cooking into, well, science. The impressive photographic technology that captures such intricacies as microscopic meat fibers also, incidentally, turns the science of cooking into art. In all, it'll keep him fascinated—and hopefully you'll get some good meals out of it too (kitchenartsandletters.com, $625).

Single mother
Bargain gift

She doesn't have a whole lot of free time, but it's also important to have something of her own. The watercolor painting starter kit (complete with an instructional DVD) is small, portable, and includes all the paint, paper and brushes she needs to get creative, whether on her lunch break or waiting for basketball practice to get out (Target.com, $24.99).

Mid-priced gift

Playing two roles means she has even less time to treat herself, so gift her with something pretty she can look forward to every month. An annual subscription to Papirmass means she'll receive a unique art print every month. Because, though she loves her kids, sometimes it's nice to have a work of art that hasn't been made with crayon. Bonus: Since Papirmass is a magazine, art group and social experiment in one, each piece of art comes with something interesting to read on the back (papirmasse.com, $60 a year).

Fantasy gift

Because this mom-and-dad in one is a hero of epic proportions, gift her with a bag fitting of a female hero. The Susan B. Anthony alligator purse is so much more than a sophisticated bag. It commemorates the woman who championed all women, by replicating what was to the suffragist a symbol of woman's rights: To Anthony, the purse was not a fashion statement but a symbol of financial independence. To the modern day female hero, the limited edition bag can be both! Plus, 100 percent of the proceeds benefit the programs of the Susan B. Anthony House (susanbanthonyhouse.org, $250).

Your Step-Father
Bargain gift

Give your wordsmith step-dad a little entertainment and a shot of technology in one. With the Flash Electronic Letter Game he can play Scrabble with you, or your mom, or simply on his own. The "SmartLink" tiles automatically register that a word has been created, so they're both cool and fun (thinkgeek.com, $24.99).

Mid-priced gift

It's manly, it's interesting, and it's pretty unique. All things add up to the fact that he'll love this limited edition topographic map with a handmade woodblock print. Maps come from the United States Geological Survey and choices vary based on availability (bestmadeco.com, $98).

Fantasy Gift

The man is never without a cup of coffee in his hand. Give him a gift that's good for both him and the coffee industry. A 12-month coffee share supports sustainable coffee farmers in Ethiopia, Guatelmala, Mexico, Nicaragua and Peru. Each month he'll receive a supply of delicious coffee from a select farmer of the month, and a gift book, Connecting Worlds: The Coffee Tale will give him an idea of the practices your gift supports (coffeecsa.csaware.com, from $259.95).

Grandpa
Bargain gift

He inspired you to learn and explore. Now's your chance to inspire him to do the same. An artsy, informative A La Carte map is a perfect way to start. So much more than a map, here he has part-art, part-guidebook. Whether you choose his favorite city, or somewhere he's always wanted to visit, this map gives him the insider's scoop on local customs and fun activities. Plus it's got some pretty pictures (alacartemaps.com, $13).

Mid-priced gift

All those slides his has of old trips, his wedding, his kids... Now he can look at them any time. The Ion Slide to PC Converter makes it easy for him to transfer his slides, and adjusts the quality for him too. Now he can reminisce without lugging out the old projector (urbanoutfitters.com, $99.99).

Fantasy Gift

The man deserves something very special, and this Chiellini Chess set is just that. The artful alabaster pieces are beautiful and modern, but the best part will be the promise that you'll come by and play with him (nexusgadgets.com, $499.95)

In Memory of Dad
Bargain gift

He always told you to pay it forward. Now do so in his honor. Boom Boom cards give you easy random acts of kindness suggestions, which you pass along after you accomplish. And, with the check in system, you can track your acts as they spread. Try the family version to get the whole gang honoring dad (boomboomcards.com, $14.99).

Mid-priced gift

He always said you were a super star. Now make him one. At the International Star Registry, you can name one of the countless unnamed stars in the universe for dear old dad. You'll recieve a commemoration certificate and a sky chart so that can look for him at night (starregistry.com, $54).

Fantasy Gift

What better way to honor the dad who was always telling you to hit the books than to turn some of his favorite tomes into a tribute. Jane Dandy will integrate Dad s books into a gorgeous custom table. Then every time you look at it you'll remember him—and maybe you'll read more too (etsy.com, $1800).