CELEBRATING FATHERS DAY WITH DEBENHAMS

With Fathers day less than a month away, and June looking to be super busy I thought that for once I'd be a bit more organised and grab Johns presents nice and early. I'm usually quite last minute and nothing screams 'I wasn't organised' like a pair of socks and a 'best dad' mug does it? Well, not this year, because I've teamed up with Debenhams to show that actually, even with a few days to spare before the big day, we can definitely do better than the last minute supermarket trips. There's no worst feeling that seeing the hours tick down before the shops close and knowing you haven't got around to picking something up just yet, being forced to grab something that you know isn't entirely thought out. Dad's deserve more, I know John certainly does, it's not often he asks for the limelight so I think that on June 17th he can have every moment of it.


I'll be honest in saying I hadn't thought of looking on Debenhams for fathers day pieces, rather naively I didn't think they would have much to John's taste - I was wrong. There's so much choice and something to float everyones boat, I think it's safe to say you'd struggle not to find something for the special guy in your life. From technology and gadgets, to clothing and shoes, to grooming and fragrances, you're spoilt for choice with Debenhams and now I kick myself for not thinking of them over the last four years.

This year I wanted to cover all basis, like I said, there really is something for everyone and though John is a tech kind of guy, I knew I could get it really wrong if I picked something myself, or worse, I chose something he already had. So I played it safe and sound, which was a wise choice as I didn't have that 'Oh goodness will he like this?' running through my mind as he teared through the wrapping paper. I said he, we all know with children in the house that opening your own presents does not happen, as soon as Patrick caught sight of the shiny paper he was like a magpie - John scooped him up onto his knee and we let Patrick become the chief present presenter.

My first choice for fathers day was a fragrance, it's an obvious one but with the huge selection on their website you can easily grab something a little different. I was a bit sneaky and actually chose my favourite scent that John has owned, he used to wear this when we first met over eight years ago so I thought it would be nice to throwback and reminisce when I sprayed it on. Patrick however was pretty upset that we weren't letting him drink the aftershave as it was quite obviously a drink to him. Life when you're one ey? The two pieces we chose next, and I say we as I roped Noah in when choosing the pieces online, were two simple plain polo shirts. There were so many different patterns and motifs, but I knew that going down the plain and simple road was best for John as he likes to wear them for work. I wanted them to be something he can get real use out of, as lovely as a brightly printed tee would be, novelty gifts wear off pretty quickly when they're sitting in your wardrobe for months collecting dust. Not these though, we opted for a plain blue and white, trying them on straight away they were a perfect fit, another tick on the checklist for Debenhams as we didn't want to get stuck in a returns or exchange saga.

Last up were a pair of shoes, we actually chose a couple and had a little mishap with one. Debenhams actually sent us a completely different pair to the one we ordered, completely accidental, however their customer service team handled it so well and I couldn't recommend them enough even on their response to my issue alone. Given I'd paid with a gift card I wasn't sure how tricky it would be to get things sorted, little did I know all it would take would be a quick message on social media, providing them with my order number and the next day the correct shoes were at my door. Remarkable service and it's really not often you come across such a determination from people to get things right for their customers. Kudos to Debenhams. I chose converse as the shoe of choice, we're off on holiday next month and I know they'll come in super handy for travelling, they're comfortable, sleek and stylish - perfect Dad on the school run chic if you ask me. They also go with absolutely everything from joggers, to shorts or jeans, he's owned a few pairs in the past and worn them completely to death so I know they're appreciated.

Though we haven't gone for anything too wacky this year, we decided to leave personalised gifts or novelty behind as whilst we love an engraved key ring or wallet, we wanted to give John gifts that we know he'll love and use. Debenhams have covered all basis and I'll be heading back online to grab something for my own dad before Fathers day approaches, with next day delivery available there's really no excuse for me now is there? So sorry Dad, if you were looking forward to those cheesy Dad socks, maybe next year?

*This blog post is part of Debenhams Father’s Day campaign, as always all views are completely my own and for the first time in four years I've managed to successfully avoid buying a mug for my non-hot beverage drinking other half