Father’s Day Gift Ideas 2018 Review

Reviewed by Louise Watts

With Father’s Day fast approaching (17 June 2018), what do you buy for the dad who has everything? I find presents for men generally fall into 3 categories:

Toiletries
Gadgets
Things to do with the kids

With this in mind and the knowledge that my husband has every gadget going already, I have been trying and testing (with some assistance from him) some shaving toiletries and a tandem cook book to enable him to make delicious food alongside the children.

I am going to start with the range of toiletries as let’s all admit it girls, we love a clean-shaven man who smells gorgeous. With the trend now for having very little hair all over the body, Nivea have launched the UK’s first body shaving range aimed at strengthening the skin post shave leaving it soft and smooth and ready for the next shave, however soon that may be.

For the actual shaving process, they have Nivea Men Anti-irritation Shaving Gel. This is marketed to use in the shower and is reported to be “Showerproof, see through and anti-irritation”

When the package arrived, the first thing that struck me when I opened it was the slickness of the design. It is simple but perfect and the bottle has a nice feel to it. It contains 200ml so is substantial enough in size to be sufficient for any area of body shaving!

The ingredients include Aloe Vera which we have known for a long time now helps cool the skin and Pro-Vitamin B5 to help moisturise the skin and keep it hydrated. On opening the bottle, you are greeted with a very pleasant manly smell – not too strong but strong enough to clearly distinguish from a ladies’ product. The gel is clear, pale blue in colour and attaches to your skin beautifully so that when you are in the shower, it doesn’t get washed off immediately but actually enables you to shave whilst under the water in the shower. You do not need too much in order to gain good coverage and when you shave over the gel, it feels smooth and clean.

Nivea recommend that you use this product alongside their Nivea Men Anti-Irritation After Shave Lotion. This comes in a bottle of 240ml and has a dispenser attached to the top enabling you to pump the lotion out. The ingredients are similar in that it contains Aloe Vera and Pro-Vitamin B5 as it has the same purpose as the Shaving Gel in keeping your skin smooth, hydrated and irritation free.

The pump has a very simple open and close system which is great as it gives you the opportunity to shut the bottle in between uses so there is no mess. However, in order to close the pump, you have to push down and twist it, so you need to be careful that you catch the lotion that is dispensed during that movement or it will become very messy!

The lotion is white in colour and the aroma is the same as the Shaving Gel. The more I smell it, the more I like it. Having had my husband use it for nearly a week now, I have grown quite fond of the fragrance. It is advised that you use the lotion liberally and this is what he has been doing. It has a really lovely feel to it and is absorbed into the skin leaving no film or greasy residue. The skin afterwards is beautifully soft and feels “springy” and full of life. He has even started using it between shaves as a moisturiser in order to maintain his new-found softness.

Both products are available for sale at around the £6 mark, however with a bit of searching, I managed to find them as low as £3! This has to be an absolute bargain. To get quality products like these from a well-known respected brand like Nivea, this has to be madness! Get out there now and stock up on these fantastic manly products and make your partner super smooth!

Rating: 4/5

Toiletries are lovely and most women and men nowadays enjoy receiving them but let’s be honest, we also like something that we can actually “do”. Father’s Day is all about praising the Dad’s in our lives and our children’s lives, so what could be better than a present which brings Dad and the kids together?

My Little Sous-Chef is the First Tandem Cookbook for Kids and Grown-ups to cook alongside each other. My first impression when it arrived was that it is genius! You receive 2 books, both with the same recipes on the same pages and they work simultaneously together. One book is for the kids and the other is for the adults. The kids book is bound with a spiral binder to stop it being broken by keen little hands. There are 30 recipes in it, split into sections – snacks, deserts and meals.

The adult version has all the written boring text and details such as what temperature the oven needs to be, how long things need to be cooked for and the quantity of each ingredient. The children’s version is simple and clear with very little text but pictures to show them what they need to do. By combining the two together, we have been able to make some delicious food over the past week and we are set to make chocolate brownies this afternoon – yummy!

My 3-year-old son absolutely loves it as he has his own cookbook and he can follow what he needs to do, making him feel very grown up and involved in the cooking process. There is a little introduction in the children’s book on every recipe too that tells the children to wash their hands, tie their hair back, put their apron on and roll up their sleeves. I particularly like this emphasis on hygiene as if we can instil this in our children at an early age, it is more likely to be carried on as they grow up. They are also more likely to do it if the book tells them to as oppose to if Mum or Dad tells them to!

I also love the fact that the recipes are actually things that children are likely to eat but are healthy too. There are some quite exotic ingredients for children, but the recipes are easily adaptable and it is very easy to replace one ingredient with an alternative if required. The design on the front of the book is perfect, very simple with a picture of a big chef’s hat and a small chef’s hat. The cover on both books are identical too making the child feel grown up as they have the same book as their grown-up helper.

The book retails at £22 and has free postage across the UK. It also comes shrink-wrapped so as to avoid any damage occurring in the post. This may seem a little expensive, but you are actually getting 2 cookbooks and the opportunity to spend quality time with your child whilst teaching them the basics of cooking. Personally, I think that is well worth £22!

Rating: 5/5

There are many items on the market currently and with Father’s Day becoming much more commercial, it is time to think more about what the Father’s in our lives would like. Here are 2 good examples of products that are around which provide a lovely gift to Dad.