gift idea geared for a guy

Today is my Dad's birthday and every year I struggle to come up with creative, personal ideas for him (and my husband and other male family members when gift-giving is called for). After some serious thinking and praying here's what I came up with (we celebrated Sunday, so this won't be giving away any surprises ;)):

I call it the "Ticket to Ride" gift package (and could be adapted for any sport or theme).

Gift package details:

• 1 container of my special trail mix recipe contained in a cracker jar I found at Target
• 1 personalized white t-shirt intended for use on a bike ride*
• 1 gift card to tie up the theme - the gift card is an invitation for my Dad to go on a bike ride with my husband and I
• 1 galvanized metal container (garage sale find!) - I considered adding a ribbon or burlap wrapping but decided it was more appealing to have the contents visible

* To make the T-shirt, I bought a plain white one (at Target) and designed the message using MS Word. The bike graphic was from MS Office Clip Art. I printed the design on freezer paper (available online or in stores), and used an exacto knife to cut out the image (this was an idea I've come across on several blogs including Made and Finding My Feet). After applying the freezer paper to the T-shirt, I filled in the design with black fabric paint, let it dry, ironed the image to set the paint and voila!

Find some more great ideas at Kojo Designs Fun Friday Finds.