The Best Gifts for New Dads [Because Dads Need Some Stuff Too]

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Check out these best gifts for new dads (because dads need some stuff too).

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I became a dad in 2016.

In the beginning, there can be a lot of challenges and a lot of adjustments that had to be made.

I found out I was going to become a dad less than a year after my wife and I got married. We were still adjusting to being together when we then had to adjust to a third person joining the family.

In a hurry?

Go straight to our # 1 recommendation as the BEST gift every new dad should have!

If I knew then what I know now, I would definitely invest in the following things, because they made my life so much easier.

Are you going to be a dad?

Know someone who will be and you want to help them out?

Take a look at the list of gift ideas we have below. Each of them would be a great addition to a dad’s day to day life. Whether it’s just to relax after a long day (YES, both dads and moms need to relax and sometimes we just need help) or if it’s to go for a walk out into the fresh air with baby in tow, there’s a handy item that will help him out.

They certainly helped me (although some of them came a bit late) so hopefully, they will help you too.

Side Note: If you’re looking for gifts for the baby and not the parents, head over to our guide on the best gifts for the new baby that no one ever thinks of.

For the dads on the go!

Why are most baby gear in pale pink, blue and grey? Or full of flowers? Or if you’re lucky enough to find a black bag, it then looks like a woman’s purse.

Try it. Search for nappy bags on Amazon and you’ll get 7 pages’ worth of items that have one or all of those.

So, what’s a dad to do if he wants to look a bit more like GI Joe – only with a smiling baby instead of a gun?

My wife says that men in tattoos look hot when they’re carrying a baby in one hand and a flowery pink diaper bag in another, but yeah…I’m not convinced.

Anyway, enter the Tactical Baby Gear Deuce 2.0.

This bag is a great gift for a busy dad who wants to look a bit more manly but wants to have everything he needs for a quick and easy, as stress-free-as-possible nappy change (yeah, you know what I mean).

I mean look at it.

Wouldn’t you want to have one of those over your shoulder over a fluffy pink bag?

Want a backpack?

They have one too!

An owner’s manual on babies

This is a fun-filled book with loads of info and funny quotes. It’s a great gift because it’s funny but still full of useful info for a new dad.

So, if you want to give him some essential tips or a heads-up without terrifying him completely and you’re not sure how or you don’t want to come off as a know-it-all (because nobody really wants that), what better way than to give him a copy of The Baby Owner’s Manual?

No, it’s not a prank.

It’s the real deal.

Written by board-certified pediatrician with the American Academy of Pediatrics, Dr. Louis Borgenicht, it “explores hundreds of frequently asked questions: What’s the best way to swaddle a baby? How can I make my newborn sleep through the night? When should I bring the baby to a doctor for servicing?”

For more serious evidence-based parenting books (none of that “spare the rod, spoil the child” nonsense or the equally crappy “bedsharing will kill your baby” advice) you can check any of the books below.

Side Note: These books are all evidence-based, meaning they show current research that works. 😉

For the long nights in

Fire HD 10

A big change for new dads is the fact that baby comes first, which means dad relaxing after a hard day at work is no more.

Or is it?

With this tablet, dad can still watch his favourite program or sports so even if baby is asleep on top of him and he can’t move because baby has Jedi senses and wakes up at the slightest movement (ahem, that’s a friend’s experience), he can still relax and catch up on anything he missed.

So, if you want to splurge (or you’re the dad and you want to buy yourself a special present), well, Amazon is an institution.

You can’t go wrong here.

Wireless headphones

Of course, a Fire HD 10 is pretty useless if you can’t turn it on because…remember, baby Jedi?

Yeah, you need a way to listen to it without subjecting baby to all the noise.

Trust me, you’ll pay a steep price if you do that.

Whaa – it’s just my baby that does that?

Oh, in that case, let’s move on.

Yeah, a great addition to your tablet would be to get headphones.

And I recommend wireless headphones because then you don’t get paranoid that you (or worse, baby) will get tangled up in the cords.

So, you soundproof your tablet when you finally get the little one off to sleep and they stay asleep but dad doesn’t miss out on any of the action.

From listening to his favourite music to watching the game, he won’t miss any of it while doing what daddy does best.

My wife got me these headphones and I’ve used them every single day.

Highly recommended!

Hands-free dads

This is a baby carrier that will let dad go hands-free and do what he needs to without affecting the baby when he’s out and about.

Staying indoors? The Ergo does the trick.

Use these when baby is still in that need-to-be-carried all the time stage so you can still go shopping or do things around the house. Just don’t cook, work out or DIY with it (and baby) on.

It’s a great bit of kit for a dad who doesn’t want to sit about all day when looking after baby.

It’s not too girly, either. They’re not like those carriers that are really just flowery swathes of fabric. You know? Yeah, them.

For the budding photographer

The best advice I got when we announced the pregnancy was to get an external hard drive for all those baby photos and videos that we’d be taking.

I didn’t take that seriously.

But after 1 month, we ended up buying one with 1TB capacity.

Now I’m thinking, I shouldn’t have tried to scrimp because we’re almost at full. So, if you’re considering getting an external hard drive, get a 4TB one.

You won’t regret it.

For the handyman

If you haven’t got one already, invest in a toolkit.

See all those baby furniture that’s just waiting to be arranged in your newly decorated nursery? Yeah, somebody’s gotta build those.

And would you ask the very pregnant mother of your child to do the building?

Of course not, you’ll want to do something to help out and you need the proper tools for it.

DeWalt is one of the best in the business so this is a sound investment.

With proper care, you can use this even after the kids have all gone to college.

Really value for money.

For the video gaming dad

When you love video games but have a baby, what do you ?

Well, when the baby falls asleep, the chores are done and mum’s not there, you could…play more video games?

The Nintendo Switch is, hands down, the best video gaming system for new dads who are hands-on with bub but also needs some downtime.

Like Amazon Fire, it’s portable so when you need to move a sleeping baby from one room to another, or maybe rock him to sleep (combine with the carrier and the wireless headphones for maximum effect), you can still put in some game time.

It also has a physical controller so you don’t need to learn how to do things on-screen. Playing with on-screen controls is just not the same.

Finally, its library is almost as good as a dedicated home game system. So what more can you ask?

Don’t believe me? Check out this video. Other dads realised the same thing.

Don’t wait. If your dad is a gamer, he will absolutely love this.

And there you have it

How do you like our curated list of gifts for new dads? If you took our advice and bought one of these, let us know how you got on in comments.

From one dad to another: good luck and enjoy.

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