Offbeat ideas for awesome Father's Day gifts

These days good dads are the ones who somehow manage to refrain from damaging their offspring for life by spending at least some of their precious weekend time on the sidelines of a son's rugby/soccer/tennis match, or applying La Pebras to a little girl's hair ahead of her ballet exam.

The ones who manage to pull off this feat successfully earn themselves a full day of love and praise from their offspring on Father's Day this weekend.

Hell, even the ones who grunt hello after a long day's work deserve some appreciation just for the act of bringing you into this world.

To show your love, pick a gift that your dad will actually like - and won't just end up in a small, dark box, much like his unexpressed emotions.

CAR PLAY MAT SHIRT

Tired of your toddler sibling dragging your dad around by the finger? If he'd love a moment to take a load off and relax, this Car Play Mat T-shirt (pictured above) will give him an excuse to take naps while entertaining the young 'uns.

This one's available from etsy.com for about R300, but we suggest you make your own with a few thick kokis.

BOOBY COOZY

Combine two of the things your dad loves best and make him something he'll never stop appreciating. Every time he takes a sip of his - admittedly slightly warm - beer he'll be reminded of your thoughtfulness.

BigMouth Inc Nana's Boobies and Beer Holder is available from amazon.com for about R150, but dad would much prefer if you knitted it yourself. Find the pattern at ravelry.com/patterns/library/booby-coozy

SOCCER FIELD PIZZA

If boobs and beer aren't his thing (and frankly we find that hard to imagine) why not make him a soccer field-shaped pizza.

This is how:

 Ingredients:

Pizza dough

2 tubs sun-dried tomato pesto

2 tubs grated Parmesan-style cheese

Cooked grated spinach

Feta cheese, crumbled

Olives

Baby tomatoes, halved

Method:

1) Roll out the pizza dough into large a rectangle.

2) Smear with the sun-dried tomato pesto, top with the Parmesan-style cheese and then the grated spinach.

3) Create goals and lines by sprinkling feta cheese.

4) Create the two ''teams" using olives for team 1 and halved baby tomatoes for team 2.

5) Bake at 220°C for 12-15 minutes, or until golden brown and cooked through.

• Ingredients available from mediterraneandelicacies.co.za