• Search Dad's past for gift clues.old books image by Alexander Maksimov from Fotolia.com
  
  Dads continue to be a Christmas gift enigma for many people. As the holidays role around, the lingering questions of whether to go practical or sentimental always arise. Then there's the dad who has everything and buying him yet another golf club just seems redundant. However, Christmas shoppers rejoice because a little thought can go a long way to alleviating the burdens of finding that perfect father gift.
  
  

Dig for Ideas

• Like any person, dads have a unique style all their own. The key to making a Christmas gift unique is to investigate their specific quirks, their likes and dislikes and the daily design of their life. The first step in the quest to the perfect father gift is peeling back the layers of their personality to recognize their interests beyond surface pursuits.
  
  It's easy to see that dad loves to watch baseball, go bowling and watch movies, but look beneath those hobbies. Does he have an old tattered copy of a book that he loves? Buy him a new copy, maybe even a first edition. Does he always wax on about someday planting a garden? Get him started with a gardener's book, some seeds and a trowel.
  
  

Be Creative

• The abundance of retail outlets that offer everything from DVDs to house plants makes gifts seem increasingly generic. However, gift givers have a unique asset: the ability to get personal. Personal touches can take ordinary gifts to dizzying heights of nostalgia and any individual knows that every family comes equipped with a history of distinctive experiences.
  
  Dads who love to cook may have a million cookbooks, but do they have a cookbook designed by you? Take a simple scrapbook and design pages with family photos, pasting recipes that correspond to images on the page. For example, a picture of dad boating with friends might accompany a recipe for summer potato salad.
  
  

Pay Attention

• One of the greatest ways to discover a truly unique gift is to listen to what dad has to say. Whether he's reminiscing about his long dead dog or excitedly replaying last night's game, every word opens a gift possibility. Thanks to online commerce, it is quite easy to find specific products that otherwise would prove impossible come Christmas time. A few interesting products offered on Ebay.com that can't be found at your local department store include yearbooks, historical and military memorabilia, vintage clothes and antique household goods. Any gift that represents a piece of dad's history is a gift that stands apart from boxed cologne sets or a case of new ties.