Gifts for Dad

Why a drawing beats another tie

Ask most dads what they want and you will hear “nothing, honestly”. They mean it. They have enough socks, enough mugs and a drawer of ties that never leave it. What they rarely have is something that only one person in the world could have made for them.

A drawing from his own child is that. It cannot be bought in a shop, and it cannot be matched by anyone else’s child. The tall stick figure with a round head and enormous hands is him, as seen from about a metre tall. The jewellery around it is simply a way of keeping that picture within reach, instead of in a drawer.

It also costs him nothing in effort. There is no style to get right and no size to guess, and nothing he has to remember to put on a shelf. He wears it, and it does its work.

What dads actually wear

Plenty of dads do not wear jewellery, and that is fine. These pieces are chosen because they look like things he already owns: a tag, a pair of cufflinks, a token for his keys, a cuff for the weekend.

The Dad & Me Dog Tag is two stacked brushed-steel tags on a 55 cm ball chain, with a child-drawn dad and his little one holding hands engraved on the front. It is the most obviously “his” of the four. The Doodle Cufflinks are 14 mm squares in silver-tone or gold-tone, each carrying a different drawing, such as a smiling sun and a paper aeroplane. The Rocket Pocket Token is a 25 × 40 mm brushed keyring token for the dad who never takes off his watch and would not wear a necklace if you paid him. The Family Cuff Bracelet is an open cuff cut from a flat brushed plate, engraved with a child-drawn family holding hands.

Each piece is shown below with its published price. Finish options, such as brushed steel, brass, silver-tone or gold-tone, are listed on each product page.

For the everyday dad

If his week is jeans, T-shirts and a school run, the dog tag and the token are the easy wins. A tag sits under a T-shirt or outside a jumper and takes no thought; it is made of steel and is meant for daily use. The token lives on his keys or in his wallet, so the drawing comes out of his pocket dozens of times a week, usually while a small person is asking where he is going.

The cuff is a good fit for the dad who wears a watch on one wrist and nothing on the other. It is a flat plate rather than a chain, so it reads as a considered accessory, not as a charm bracelet.

For the office dad

If he wears a shirt and cuffs most days, cufflinks are the quiet choice. A pair of Doodle Cufflinks fastens like any other with a bullet back, and only he and the person he points them out to will ever know. Nobody in the meeting has to be told they came from a six-year-old.

We would keep the styling simple: a plain white or pale blue shirt, nothing busy on the cuffs, and let the drawings be the only thing that is not formal. The token also does well in a suit-pocket or a work bag when a necklace would feel out of place.

How to pick the drawing

Do not hunt for the neatest one. Choose the one with the most of your child in it. Three directions tend to work well.

A handprint or hand outline is a good choice for a new baby or a toddler who cannot draw yet; it records size, which grows out of reach in a year. “Dad” in your child’s own handwriting suits a short message, and the uneven capitals and backwards letters are exactly what he will love. A stick-figure family, even a lopsided one with a dog and a sun, gives the cuff or the cufflinks something to say.

Take a photo in daylight, lay the paper flat and keep the original. We work from the photo or scan, and the paper stays with you. Our photo guide explains how to take a good picture, and a scan is even better for faint pencil.

When to give it

Father’s Day and birthdays are the obvious moments. A drawing from this year makes a good birthday present because it will never be repeated; next year’s picture will be a different one.

For a new dad, a handprint or a first scribble is a lovely way to mark the start. For a first Father’s Day, one early drawing on a dog tag or a token gives him something to hold on to when everything else is a blur of nappies. Whichever date it is, give yourself generous time: every design goes through a proof, and we do not offer delivery promises.

How it works

Choose a piece, add it to your basket, then send us a photo or scan of the drawing. You see a digital proof of how it will look before anything is made, and nothing goes ahead without your approval. The original drawing never leaves your house.

Questions people ask

Sizing. The dog tag chain is 55 cm, the cuff fits 15–18 cm wrists and the cufflinks use a bullet-back fastening. The tag, cufflinks and token have a fixed size, listed on each product page. If you are unsure, ask us through the contact page.

Durability. The dog tag is brushed stainless steel, chosen for everyday wear. As with any engraved jewellery, keep it away from perfume and cleaning products, wipe it with a soft cloth, and take it off for swimming or heavy exercise. We do not make claims beyond what each product page states.

Gift wrap. We do not publish gift-wrap details on this site. If you would like something specific, ask through the contact page before you order.

Timing. We do not promise a delivery date. The design goes through a proof first, so start early if there is a date you care about.