I don't wear ties any more, and I don't need any more cologne or after-shave.

As a father of two grown daughters, I can look back on over 30 Father's Days. That means I can look back on a lot of Father's Day gifts, and from a great deal of experience, I can tell you that the desirability of a Father's Day gift generally has no relationship whatsoever to its monetary cost. Whatever your budget, you can give your Dad a truly memorable gift.

I was recently talking with a friend who is over 80 years old, and he told me about a gift his son had given him. From a Father's point of view I have to say it was probably the most thoughtful gift I ever heard of a child giving a parent, and any child old enough to write a paragraph can give one like it.

My friend's son had written a collection of Memories. He wrote short recollections of some of his fondest memories of times with his Dad. Many of them were only a paragraph or two and most of them were no longer than a page. The value of the gift was enhanced by the fact that the son had put aside the computer and written all of them by hand.

Such a gift is not limited to children (whatever their ages). Do you think your husband is a great Dad? Write a memory book describing some of the great moments you remember of his time with your children. He will appreciate knowing you noticed. You can be certain that any father would be deeply moved by a Memory gift like this one, and it opens the door for future additions. In my friend's case, his son had put all of the memories in binders. Any year, or every year, additional memories can be added. And you can be certain they'll be appreciated as much as the first one.

In a similar vein, I think back over the years and look at my box of Fathers Day cards and realize that the notes in those cards are of far greater lasting value than the gifts that they accompanied. In fact, I can remember very few of the material gifts I received over the years. I remember those cards, though, because they weren't just signed - they included thoughtful notes.

If writing isn't your gift (and I would argue you need not be a gifted writer for a memory book to be of immense value to the recipient), there are many other things you can give the Dad in your life that will take very little or no money. The more the gift draws on your time, and the less it draws from your cash, the greater value it will have have for your Dad. This is true regardless of your Dad's age, but the older he is, the truer it will be.

One year, my brother and I cleaned out my parents' garage and built storage shelves to help keep it organized. My own Dad never mentions any of the things that we have bought for him over the years, but even 12 years after the gift, he still mentions that garage clean-up.

These really aren't meant to be specific suggestions. They are illustrations of the fact that a thoughtful gift that shows you love your Dad enough to spend time on him has far greater value than spending money on him. If you love the Dad in your life, show it. Show you love him enough to spend your very valuable time on him.

Learn more about this author, Jim Ruth.
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