All About Dads: 5 Facts About Father's Day 2021

ACROSS AMERICA — If you’re the kid who needs a calendar reminder to keep track of special days, there’s one coming up this weekend that’s specifically reserved to celebrate the man who made you.

Sunday is Father’s Day, a day when millions of Americans will celebrate the fathers, husbands, sons, brothers or friends who chose to take on the rewarding — and, at times, trying — role of fatherhood.

Father’s Day this year also happens to fall on the first day of summer, which also offers up the perfect reason to host a Dad-focused barbecue, camping trip or beach day.

While a lot of dads we know aren’t likely to make a big fuss of Father’s Day, their kids just might. In fact, the National Retail Federation is predicting people in the United States will spend a record $20.1 billion on gifts for Dad this Father’s Day.

That’s a lot of ties, socks and whiskey-of-the-month subscriptions.

But what’s so special about Father’s Day? When did it start? And does Dad really enjoy those greeting cards you buy him each year? Read on to find out.

The Origin Of Father’s Day

It was 1972 when President Richard Nixon’s administration declared the third Sunday in June the official day to recognize and honor the role of fathers in society.

Ironically, the actual origin of Father’s Day can be traced back another 60 years to 1909, when it was first proposed by a woman.

Sonora Smart Dodd of Spokane, Washington, was inspired to honor fathers the same way Anna Jarvis set out to honor mothers. At the time, Dodd proposed the first Father’s Day be held on June 5, her father’s birthday. However, local ministers opted for the third Sunday in June so they would have more time after Mother’s Day to prepare their sermons, according to The Old Farmer’s Almanac.

Regardless of when it was created or why, dads weren’t having it.

The holiday was met with umbrage by some men, many of whom claimed the holiday was simply too emasculating for them, according to the almanac. They were the breadwinners, after all. They scoffed at the holiday’s “sentimental attempts to domesticate manliness with flowers and gift-giving.”

In all fairness, Mother’s Day — which became an official holiday decades before Father’s Day — was soaked in flowery, feminine terms. In 1914, President Woodrow Wilson called it a day to recognize “that tender, gentle army — the mothers of America.”

The idea of tender flowers eventually faded, thanks in part to the Great Depression and World War II, and Father’s Day became a day to celebrate what Dad likes to do, whether it was fishing, grabbing a beer or watching a baseball game.

Father’s Day Spending

Clear some room in your sock drawer, Dad: U.S. consumers are expected to spend a record $20.1 billion this year on gifts and other items this Father’s Day, according to the National Retail Federation’s annual survey conducted by Prosper Insight & Analytics.

Total spending for the holiday will surpass last year’s record figure of $17 billion.

This year’s expected record also translates into more money spent per person.

Survey respondents told the National Retail Federation they plan to spend an average of $174 on Father’s Day items, a $26 increase from last year.

Mom Makes Out Better

If gift-giving was a friendly competition between Mom and Dad, Mom would win handily.

This year, people were expected to spend more than $28 billion on mothers and other special women in their lives, according to the NRF. Per person, Mom’s gifts totaled about $220 — $50 more than the average person will spend on Dad.

More people also celebrate Mother’s Day than Father’s Day each year. About 83 percent of U.S. adults celebrate Mother’s Day while 75 percent plan to celebrate the fathers, husbands and other paternal figures in their lives.

World’s Very Best No. 1 Dad

Shopping for the perfect Father’s Day gift usually can go one of two ways: Exhaust yourself trying to find something unique and special, or take a short trip to the local drugstore.

If this year’s predicted gift-giving trends are any indication, Americans are choosing the latter one.

Once again, greeting cards will be the gift of choice this Father’s Day, according to the National Retail Federation. About 59 percent of those celebrating the holiday plan to get their dad a card.

What else will dads get? Just under half plan to buy their dad clothing, while another 46 percent plan to treat him to dinner, brunch or another special outing.

Here are the top 10 gifts expected to be given this Father’s Day:

1. Greeting cards: 59 percent
2. Clothing: 49 percent
3. Special outing: 46 percent
4. Gift cards: 45 percent
5. Personal care: 28 percent
6. Books/CDs: 26 percent
7. Electronics: 25 percent
8. Home improvement/gardening tools: 24 percent
9. Tools/appliances: 24 percent
10. Sporting goods: 22 percent

What A Dad Wants

For the most part, the country’s unflappable dads will take whatever they’re given in stride. They’ll laugh off the latest corny Dad Joke T-shirt and place your card with the collection of others in his desk drawer. Some will proudly wear that ghastly floral tie you bought to the office on Monday.

What dads really want, however, doesn’t cost a cent.

A survey conducted before the pandemic showed that 57 percent of dads actually say Father’s Day is their favorite day of the year. A majority of fathers — about 47 percent — said they would be happy with a simple phone call from their kids.

Other gifts topping the wish list were a juicy steak, taking in a ballgame with the family, enjoying a cold beer or two, or simply basking in a day of peace and quiet.