Why are dads so difficult to buy presents for? They surely must do it deliberately. I never know what to get my dad, it’s impossible because he’s not really in to anything except music. You’re probably thinking that would mean it’s 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 it is that I’m a little worried about his 50th birthday coming up in a couple of months. I want to get him something special, something that 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 shopping around for the ideal gift, but so far I’ve not been struck by any lightning bolt of inspiration.

So what gift can you get for someone like that? A friend suggested I buy some nice [1] 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 thought of 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 [2] 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 obviously I know what it’s for, but do they really make wine taste any better? Or are they just for decoration, 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 [3] beer glasses on the same site, maybe my dad would be more likely to appreciate and use one of those.