_ What to get the most important man in your life._

With Father’s Day in the UK just around the corner (four days away, to be exact), we should all start thinking about what to get the all-important man in our life. Because, now you’re old enough to know better, a last-minute card and a hug won’t quite cut it any more. Below, we have made some suggestions based on what type of man your father might be, as well as selecting some failsafe gifts if you’re unsure what to buy. Choose wisely and don’t forget – a card still goes a long way.

Does your dad have a Twitter account, read Pitchfork and wear sneakers in a desperate but ill-advised attempt to engage and identify with whatever he imagines millennials are doing? Allow him to entertain the idea that he is 31, rather than 61, for a few years longer with some snazzy new kicks and a pair of brightly coloured headphones. Then have a word. Midlife crises can get ugly.

Your old man doesn’t know how to switch on a computer, never mind understand what “a Twitter” is. Well into his happy retirement, he is far more comfortable walking, bird watching, and drinking warm, obscure ale, a pastime, come to think of it, that he and the hipster above may have in common. So, why not get him the necessary kit? A nice cotton sweater (we know it’s summer, but all traditional dads have poor circulation) and a pair of cords, of course. Just the job.

What do you buy the man who has everything? Last time you went round to your father’s house for dinner, he showed you his new Tesla, before ordering a takeaway via Alexa while pouring you a cup of coffee from a machine that cost more than your monthly mortgage payment. Instead of trying to play him at his own game, get creative. Try something small and fun – a pair of socks perhaps, such as these by Paul Smith. Or go down the obscure route and hope he hasn’t treated himself to a silver drinks measure recently.

If you don’t recognise your dad in the paragraphs above, perhaps he is too nuanced to fit into our hastily imagined clichés. Either that, or you and your father have never quite seen eye to eye and maintain a stoically stubborn distance from one another. If this is the case, the situation may not be helped by a quick card and a present. Otherwise, feel free to choose from the items below – selected because of their universal appeal – which should do the job for your old man whatever his likes and aspirations.