Life.

Bingo

I really appreciate the feedback. A lot of the things mentioned have been gifts in the past, and he does appreciate quality and doesn’t lose things often.

I believe an overnight bag from Saddleback and a tool kit will be the combo. I had forgotten that my dad gave me a tool kit at about that age that I used for years and still have. And I always wished I had a decent high-quality overnight bag through the years until I could afford my own.

Wisdom. If only I'd listened to it.

Two gifts stand out for me.

Grandpa gave me a good set of wrenches and sockets when I was about that age.

Dad gave me grandpa's pocket watch when I graduated from highschool.

I'm now approaching 60. I still use grandpa's gift of tools frequently and cherrish the pocket watch as well.

My father gifted me several sets of history books. I still have them, and every time I see them on the shelf I think of him.

The best gifts my Dad gave me besides guns , was a lifetime hunting license in WV and a NRA lifetime membership.

My Grandfathers gold pocket watch vintage 1920's

This has me thinking about the things I've received or the things I will leave to my kids.

-Guns
-Knives
-Watches
-Drums/guitars
-Heirloom quality travel gear/bags
-my Bible and a few other books
-Heirloom outerwear/gear like a Barbour waxed cotton coat (this could depend on where you live and what you need)
-very nice belt. I recently got a nice ostrich belt and foresee it lasting a long time.
-a nice pair of resoleable boots or dress shoes
-hand tools if the recipient is inclined (think vintage hand planes if into woodworking, high end wrenches/sockets if auto)

How about a trip together? And a nice leather bag that will remind him of it. And lots of pictures.

I'll add my vote for tools. Good ones. My parents bought me a nice 200-ish piece Craftsman socket set when they dropped me off at college...the old Made in the USA kind. That thing got me out of many a jam on the side of the road as a young guy driving busted old cars. I've far outgrown that set alone, but tools from that set (or their free replacements) still make up the backbone of my collection and get used regularly today 20 years later. And if I can convince the rest of the family to put stuff back where they got it, there's no reason most of it won't still be around to get passed down to one of my kids someday.

Lifetime hunting and fishing license could be good.

The one physical gift that I still have is a hunting rifle that Dad gave me for Christmas when I was 16, 60 years ago now. The other thing Dad (and Mom, both) gave me was a good work ethic. That has seen me through jobs and times that nothing physical could have.

Long story short, we were broke when I was a teenager. Like I had to go to work to help pay the bills broke.

When I graduated High School my dad gave me a marble chess set as a present. Dad taught me to play chess when I was a child and it was kind of our only real thing. The set he gave me must have set him back a months salary. And I know he scratched and saved for it.

It’s literally the only thing from my childhood that I own that I care about. It’s the most important possession I have. If my house burned down and I lost everything but that I’d be happy that I had that.

Go for the one thing i wish my father had given me. Spend some time with him and make memories. Buy him the bag and take an adventure with him. He will remember it whenever he looks at the bag.

quote:

Originally posted by downtownv:
My Grandfathers gold pocket watch vintage 1920's

I’ve got my grandfather’s pocket watch too. It’s an Illinois, he was a railroader.

Time.

With my father. With my grandparents.

My Dad taught me to love the outdoors. He taught me to appreciate good quality guns. And, most important, as a home builder he taught me not to be afraid to tackle do-it-yourself projects.

I think I taught my kids to love the outdoors; but I fell down compared with my Dad on teaching life skills like handling building and electrical projects. But then I learned on the job with my Dad, couldn’t do that with my kids.

A few things that come to mind. Work ethic from my parents. Especially my father.

The gift my father gave me was the love of fishing. We lived month to month on a school teachers salary. My father always took us on a multi day fishing trip to the mountains when school got out. Made many memories on those trips.

He also bought me a Remington 870 many, many years ago that I still have.

My dad gave me a Craftsman tool box with screwdrivers, wrenches, a socket set, hammer and tape measure (I was 15YO). I am 68 and still use the set my dad gave me (among others I have acquired over time),but it's the 'go-to' set.