OK, so Father’s Day is Sunday, and if you’re reading this, you probably haven’t finished your shopping. You know Dad doesn’t want another tie – or even a motorized tie rack – so here are a few other ideas. Caveat: Some suggestions are not appropriate for all gift-giving scenarios. (Especially the last one!)Whirlybird tour. Have you ever wondered why there are so many helicopters over Manhattan? Well, they’re not all for guys like Donald Trump. Flightseeing tours aren’t as outrageously expensive as you might think – and a helicopter flight would make an unforgettable gift. Liberty Helicopters now offers flights from its new location at the Paulus Hook Pier in Jersey City. Tours start at $49 per person for a flight past the Statue of Liberty, Wall Street, South Street Seaport, and the Brooklyn Bridge – flight duration is five to seven minutes. Or if you have at least four people in your group, for $30 each, you can take a two-minute “Sneak Peek” flight that gives you a glimpse of some of the sights mentioned above. Several other tour options are also available, offering a look at Central Park, the Empire State building, Yankee Stadium, and other landmarks.
Source: Liberty Helicopters, (212) 967-2099, www.libertyhelicopters.com
Tickets to a game. Even if Dad’s not a die-hard Yankees or Mets fan, a trip to the ballpark makes a great gift. Tickets to a Yankees-Red Sox game might be hard to come by, but good seats for other match-ups are still available. If you’re the think-globally, act-locally type, take Dad to a Newark Bears game. Downtown Newark’s Riverfront Stadium – a.k.a. the Bears’ Den – completed in 1999, is a great little park. And when you buy tickets to a Bears game, you can go all out on beer and hot dogs without breaking the bank.
Tickets to Mets and Yankees games are also available at each team’s clubhouse stores in Manhattan. Check the team’s Web site for locations.
Sources: New York Mets: www.mets.com, (718) 507-8499
New York Yankees: www.yankees.com, (718) 293-6000
Newark Bears: www.newarkbears.com, (973) 483-6900
Local color. Whether Dad’s a native of the area or just a visitor, he’ll look sharp in a Hoboken T-shirt. Stan’s Sports Center stocks the T’s in red, navy blue, and grey, $9.95. They also sell Hoboken baseball hats for $14.95 and baseball jerseys for $39.95.
Source: Stan’s Sports Center, 528 Washington St., Hoboken, (201) 798-4466
Mmm … beer! Why not get Dad some of the good stuff? Buy him a six-pack of his favorite brew and a sampling of some of the more unusual offerings. At Sparrow Wine & Liquor in Hoboken, they’ve got a whole refrigerator case dedicated to out-of-the-ordinary ales sold by the bottle. Of the 300-plus varieties of beer they stock at Sparrow, Carlos Ramos recommends the Dogfish Head 60 Minute India Pale Ale, brewed in Lewes, Delaware, $7.99 for a six-pack.
Source: A friendly liquor store near you …
Sparrow Wine & Liquor Co. has two locations in Hoboken: 126 Washington St., (201) 659-1500; and 1224 Shipyard Lane, (201) 659-1501
The latest game. What are the hottest new video games this season? For the Sony PlayStation 2, the big ones are MVP Baseball 2004 (including AAA and AA farm teams) and Fight Night 2004 (featuring boxers past and present, including Lennox Lewis and Muhammad Ali). For the Xbox, check out Full Spectrum Warrior, a military strategy game based on a simulation originally commissioned by the U.S. Army. All the new games are about $49.99. And if Dad doesn’t have an Xbox or PS2, he might just want one. The consoles are about $149.99.
Sources: GameStop, 408 Washington St., Hoboken, (201) 420-1500.
Best Buy, 925 Paterson Plank Rd., Secaucus, (201) 325-2277.
You in a racy little number that reminds him of how he became a father in the first place.
Source: Galatea Lingerie, 1224 Washington St., Hoboken, (201) 963-1522.
What Dad really wants Last-minute Father’s Day gift ideas
