Father's Day Gift Guide 2026: Why Time Is the Greatest Gift for Dads

Published 08 May, 2026

Ask most fathers what they remember most vividly about their own dad, and it is rarely a present that comes to mind first. More often, it is the things they learned alongside them: being taught to ride a bike, cooking pancakes together on a Sunday morning, learning how to throw a ball, light a barbecue, body surf through waves, or eventually drive for the first time years later.
 
What stays with them is usually not the lesson itself, but the feeling attached to it and the sense of time spent side by side with someone they trusted completely. These experiences often become part of a family’s identity, passed quietly from one generation to the next without anyone fully realising their significance at the time.
 
A recent study found that nearly three quarters of fathers say their best experiences with their children happen outside, unstructured and away from screens, while many described the thing they enjoy most simply as spending time together.
 
Jelle de Jong, co-founder of Tom & Teddy, recognises that feeling in his own memories of growing up with his father. “We used to watch Clint Eastwood films together, just me and my dad. Looking back, it’s something I really cherish, and I try to recreate that feeling with my own boys.”
 
That idea has always been central to Tom & Teddy. The matching swim shorts were never only about clothing, but about the role they play in family life: the holidays where children gain confidence in the water because dad is beside them, the trips families return to year after year, and the long days spent together that become part of a child’s lasting memories of growing up.
 
This guide explores five experiences fathers tell us they treasure most, and why the time spent together so often becomes the thing children remember long after the holiday has ended.

1. START AN ANNUAL FAMILY MATCHING TRADITION

@kimberlyannschneider and family soaking up the sunshine on their annual Bahamas escape in matching Tom & Teddy's.

Some families repeat something special every year, and it becomes a ritual that's etched in everyone's memory. It may be that the extended family meets in the same location each year, or there's a weekend marked out in the calendar for an annual get-together.

Why this matters: Traditions don't have to be expensive or elaborate. They just have to be yours. The same weekend. The same location. The same unspoken rules. That consistency is what your kids will carry with them.

Father's Day gift ideas for this moment: sports equipment, BBQ gear.

2. CREATE MEMORIES AROUND THE TABLE

Cooking together can be a great family event. Many families come together at the end of the day to eat, and getting kids involved can be special. While cooking something simple like tacos together may seem incidental, it's often repeated enough that it becomes very familiar.

When they leave home and find themselves cooking for the first time, they may reach for something they already know how to do.

Why this matters: Cooking together is how kids learn they can do things. It's how they learn your tastes, your shortcuts, your way of doing things. And later, when they're far from home, it's how they stay connected to you.

"I've just moved away from home for the first time and now need to cook for myself. I keep cooking the same things we used to make at home. Nothing complicated, just things I know I can get right. Dad even put together a small cookbook for me before I left, and I use it more than I thought I would." — Michelle's son

Father's Day gift ideas for cooking together: durable aprons, personalized oak chopping boards, family recipe books.

3. MAKE THE EVENING RITUAL A PRIORITY

Jelle De Jong, co-founder of Tom & Teddy, with their two sons Alexander & Tom

For younger kids, it tends to be bath time and reading in bed—a rhythm that everyone knows but takes a slightly different pattern every day. It allows time for relaxation and conversation. It's one of the few points in the day where nothing else is competing for attention.

For older kids, it shifts: baking something together, watching your favorite TV program, or walking the dog. These quiet moments don't make it into anyone's highlights reel, but they're often what everyone secretly looks forward to.

Why this matters: In a world of constant noise and schedules and screens, an evening ritual says: "This time is protected. This time is ours." Kids don't need grand gestures. They need to know they can count on you.

Father's Day gift ideas for the reset: comfortable loungewear, changing robes, cozy pajamas—things that signal the day is slowing down.

4. PLAY TOGETHER IN THE WATER

@4boysandacaravan making a splash in their matching Tom & Teddy's.

Something changes when you get in the water together; it strips things back. With younger kids especially, it's often where confidence starts to build—not all at once, but in small increments. For dads, it's one of the few places where play comes easily. It's physical, undistracted, and instinctive: throwing them in the air, catching them again, staying in longer than planned because no one wants to be the first one out.

These are the parts that stay. Not the pool itself, but the feeling of being there together, over and over again.

Why this matters: Water strips things back. There's nowhere to hide, but somehow that makes it easier to be together.

Father's Day gift ideas for water time: matching family swim shorts—the pair that gets packed first and comes out every morning of the trip.

5. MAKE SPACE FOR CONVERSATION TO HAPPEN

@ingridengevik in our new Red & Orange Lobster matching set.

With younger kids, you lead, and with older ones, you walk alongside—and that shift is worth noticing. The walk is where conversation happens, not because anyone planned it, but because there's no eye contact to manage and nowhere else to be. It might be a coastal path, a dog walk, or a loop around the park.

It's also where things come up that don't at home. Nothing forced, just something mentioned in passing that turns into a proper conversation before you realize it. These unplanned moments with your dad are often the ones kids remember forever.

Why this matters: Walking together is one of the oldest forms of connection. It's how humans have always solved problems and shared their lives. Your kid doesn't need you to have answers on a walk. They just need you to show up and keep walking.

Father's Day gift ideas for walks: versatile shorts and a lightweight layer—something he'd reach for on any day of the week.

The Best Father's Day Gift? Quality Time

This Father's Day, skip the generic gifts and focus on what dads truly value: uninterrupted time with their kids. Whether it's an annual tradition, a cooking date, an evening ritual, a splash in the pool, or a simple walk together, these are the moments that create lasting memories.

That's exactly why Tom & Teddy swim shorts are the perfect gift. Built to keep up with the days that turn into something more—the unplanned adventures, the pool days that run late, the moments that matter. Shorts designed for dads who'd rather be making memories.