Why is it always so difficult to buy presents for dads? I’m sure they must do it deliberately. I never know what to get for my dad, it’s pretty much impossible because he’s not really in to anything except music. You might think that would make it an easy task, but he has very selective taste and everything he likes, he already owns. And he really just isn’t bothered about anything else. So you can imagine why I’m a bit worried about his 50th birthday coming up soon. I want to get something special, something he will keep and that will get used, instead of just sitting on a shelf gathering dust (I got him an mp3 player for Christmas and I don’t think he’s even opened the box yet!). I’ve already started looking around for the perfect gift, but so far I’ve not been struck by any lightning bolt of inspiration.

So what do you buy for someone like that? A friend suggested I buy some nice crystal glass tableware, she bought her parents a set of wine glasses for their anniversary and said they use them all the time. I hadn’t really considered anything like that, but my dad does enjoy the occasional drink so I thought I’d have a look and see what I could find.

My parents already have a set of crystal wine glasses so there wouldn’t be much point buying more of those, but I managed find a decanter that I’m pretty sure is a perfect match. The only thing is I’m not sure exactly what the point of a decanter is – I mean, I know what it’s for, but can they really make wine taste any different? Or are they just decorative, in which case why bother? And I can’t really see my dad using it much. maybe I should go for something more everyday, I’m pretty sure I saw a nice selection of unusual looking handmade beer glasses on the same site, maybe my dad would be more likely to appreciate and use one of those.