6 strong ideas for Father's Day in Abu Dhabi

How to show your appreciation for dear old dad…

In the UAE, as with most countries, we celebrate Father’s Day on the third Sunday in June. This year that falls on June 21.

And we’ve got a lot of reasons to be thankful for our papas. Not the dad jokes of course, or the nagging about making sure you regularly check the oil in your car, standing up on the plane first, obsession with yardwork, or their underwhelming signature chilli dish… But the other dad stuff. The stuff that’s important.

And that goes for all the stepdads, single dads, stand-in dads, mums that play both mum and dad, foster dads, fur fathers, and dads-in-waiting. Thank you for everything…

An all-inclusive dad-cation

Show pops that he’s the tops by treating him to an all-inclusive daycation at Rixos Premium Saadiyat Island. He’ll get a special access rate of Dhs99 (other adults over 12 get in for Dhs319, kids 6-11 get 50 per cent off and kids under five go free). You’ll get beach access, breakfast and lunch at Turquoise or People’s Restaurants and unlimited drinks at the Beach Bar and Lobby Bar between 10am and 5pm. If dad has to work on the big day, you can still take him for dinner at one of the hotel’s two open a la carte restaurants (serving Italian and Asian), he’ll get a free four-course meal if there are three others dining.

Rixos Premium Saadiyat Island, valid on June 21 only, advance booking essential. Tel: (02) 492 2222

Give him a piece of your art

There’s nothing dad’s love more than a piece of artwork from their beloved offspring. If you’ve left it to late to knock something together yourself, why not support a local business, by ordering through a site like Saffron Souk. They can even create some beautiful custom pieces (as pictured) from as little as Dhs250.

Order from saffronsouk.com

Do a good thing

For every item you buy from One Good Thing, something good will happen in the world. It may be that a tree gets planted, someone in need gets a meal, or your item itself may have been made by a survivor of human trafficking. The products are good quality, well designed and just plain awesome. And you’ll be spoilt for choice as there are over 550 products to choose from.

Tel: (04) 58 504 1975. one-goodthing.com

Steak your intentions clearly

One of the capital’s top steak joints, The Foundry is back open and fluent in beef. Put the old boy on the other side of the grill by treating him to one of the fine-dining spot’s signature butcher’s platters.

Southern Sun Abu Dhabi, Al Zahiyah, Abu Dhabi, 12pm to 9pm. Tel: (02) 8184888. tsogosunhotels.com

Help a dad in need

Kindness exchange, Stop and Help is running a special #stopandhelpdads campaign for Father’s Day, that enables you to support dads in need. And we can’t think of a better way to celebrate the spirit of the day, than by honouring the paternal virtue of selflessness. You can choose to donate either one week or four weeks’ shopping for a family struggling to cope during the current pandemic. Be a hero, be a dad.

Register your intent to support dads here, form.jotform.com

Give your dad a celebrity endorsement

We’re going off-piste for this one. Cameo is a platform that lets you contact celebrities, and ask them to record a personalised message. Asking for trouble right? We think they’ve banned ransom messages though, so that’s something. There’s some (eh, relatively) A-list talent, right the way down to obscure musicians from the sorts of odd bands dads are often into. You’ll find notable individuals from the worlds of music, film, TV sport and the internet all willing to record a message, for a fee that’s relative to their demand/fame level. Prices start at around USD5 and go all the way up into the USD100s depending on whether its a tutu-wearing chihuahua or NFL Hall of Famer making the address. For example, you can get Chuck Norris to personalise a shout-out for your dad (we recommend getting him to admit your dad could beat him in a fight) for just USD300 and that’d probably be one of the best presents he’s ever likely to receive.

Browse the list of celebrities at cameo.com

Images: Provided/Unsplash