Father’s Day Spending Gets Big Bounce in 2011
Business + Economy

Father’s Day Spending Gets Big Bounce in 2011

Worried about their finances and fretting about the future during the economic downturn of the last few years, many Americans held back on extravagances like Father’s Day spending. But this year, doling it out for Dad is back in a big way, according to analysts. Consumers plan to spend money on everything from natty golf attire to smart electronics to high-end barbecue grills that resemble small manufacturing plants.

The National Retail Federation (NRF) reports that total Father’s Day spending by consumers this year will reach $11.1 billion – well over the $9.8 billion figure for 2010. On average, according to the trade group’s new survey, Americans will spend $106.49 on the men in their lives, up from $94.32 last year and the most in the NRF survey’s eight-year history. “Some kids and wives are planning to make up for lost time this Father’s Day,” said Matthew Shay, president and CEO of NRF, in a statement. (On average, Americans spent roughly $140 on Mother’s Day this year, up from the $126.90 they spent on Mother’s Day in 2010.)

The NRF, with an assist from BIGresearch, questioned more than 8,000 consumers last month about spending plans for this year’s Father’s Day. Among the findings: Americans will spend $2.1 billion on special outings for dads (to eat out, play golf, see a film), $1.4 billion on gift cards, $653 million on sporting goods, and $593 million on car accessories. Traditional Father’s Day gifts like electronics ($1.3 billion), clothing ($1.4 billion), home improvement or gardening tools ($1.4 billion), and books or music ($598 million) will also remain popular, says the NRF.(Of course, what offspring give their dads might be in direction opposition to what he actually wants, according to Natasha Ferro at everyguyed.com, who suggests that if his grown kids give him “a crime and/or detective novel,” what he really wants is for them “to get a job, a real one, that pays in money and not in ‘street cred.’”)

Here’s the deal: During times of inflation or deflation, war, peace, boom or bust, we’ve honored fathers no matter what. Since 1972, when President Nixon signed it into law, Father’s Day has been an annual celebration, and LBJ had a piece of it, too. In 1966, he issued a presidential proclamation honoring fathers and making their day of dedication the third Sunday in June.

We have to go much farther back in time, though, for the genesis of this day. In 1909, Sonora Dodd of Spokane, Wash., wanted a way to honor her father, William Smart, a widowed Civil War veteran who was raising his six children on a farm. She'd listened to a Mother's Day speech and thought, What about Dad? Others agreed. So roughly a century ago this weekend — on June 19, 1910 — the first Father's Day in the U.S. was celebrated, chosen for June because that was the month of William Smart's birthday.

Numbers Worth Considering
Where are the numbers for all those adoringly hand-crafted, slightly crumpled, sometimes illegible cards churned out by kids across America? Those are the cards my husband tends to save from our sons (and he’s not the kind of guy who saves things). At the risk of sentimentality here, how do you account for all the bear hugs, handshakes, laughter, words of wisdom, quiet moments, and hours of happy companionship that dads and their offspring share over the course of a lifetime?

Suzanne Saperstein, a mother of three in Westchester County, N.Y., recalls a Father’s Day that stands out. “When I was a teenager, my dad and I went to a Yankees game together,” she says. “My dad and I always shared a love for watching sports on TV over the years, so it was natural for him to share this game with me. It’s a memory I’ll always treasure.”

Similar thoughts flow from Siamak Kordestani, 24, of Washington, D.C. “Togetherness and family cohesion are more important to me than buying my dad a shirt or clothing,” he says. He and his family usually take their dad out to a restaurant for a nice meal together.

My own dad, Joe Mackey, could give two hoots about lavish expenditures. When you get to a certain age and have seen your share of brushes with death — in his case, a liver transplant and a few heart surgeries — you look at life with different eyes. Phone calls or visits from his kids and grandkids are what matters, and these are the numbers he would cite: He has 6 children and 18 grandchildren. He walked his two daughters down the wedding aisle and served as best man for all four of his sons at their request. Four of his grandchildren asked him to be the sponsor at their confirmations, a position of honor in the Catholic Church, and he’s watched more ballgames, practices, recitals, plays, and other special events that his kids and grandkids have been involved in than he can begin to count. And that’s just fine by him.

This piece originally appeared in The Fiscal Times on June 19, 2010, and has been updated.

Related Links:
Top 10 Father’s Day Gifts for the Digital Dad (TMCnet.com)
Father’s Day Spending Benefits Limited Group of Retailers (Tulsa World)