Scrambling for a Christmas gift for Dad? We've got you covered.



We get it. You've spent so much time on other gifts that you may have forgotten one very important person — Dad. While Christmas is just around the corner and it would probably serve you well not to tell anyone when you got these gifts, we have some special recommendations from American companies that your father will love.

Give your dad a gift he'll remember for years — and be proud to own!

1. Liberty Cigar Company

Liberty Cigar Company

Liberty Cigar Company was founded, fittingly, on July 4, 2015, to rekindle the liberty that was so dearly held by those original American seekers of independence. The compay believes that cigars are a quintessential element of the simple pleasures of leisure, a cornerstone of colonial America’s spiritual foundation. Each cigar is named after influential figures of the founding period, so each has a story. The Founders’ Series was Liberty's inaugural cigar collection, featuring 13 cigars for 13 founders. Each cigar is blended to reflect the unique spirit of these historical giants. Box of 13 MSRP: $196.00

2. Lynx Defense

Lynx Defense

With an emphasis on thoughtful design, Lynx Defense is your one-stop shop for all your range-day needs. Founded in 2013 to provide an organized pistol bag, Lynx Defense has since grown into a much larger company committed to providing high-quality gun range accessories. The team has over 150 years of combined sewing experience, and the company's commitment to sourcing and manufacturing its products in the USA guarantees the highest quality. Designed for portability, yet spacious enough for an impressive and organized loadout, the Concord pistol range bag is the solution every shooter at the range has been looking for. MSRP: $369.00

3. KelTec

KelTec

KelTec, established in 1991 with a strong commitment to the Second Amendment and making the world a more secure place, is one of the leading gun manufacturers in the USA and beyond. KelTec proudly employs over 300 American citizens, many of whom are military veterans. KelTec's guns are marked by cutting-edge and innovative designs, made to “strike a nerve” with customers. The semiautomatic SUB2000 is designed for convenience, featuring Glock magazine compatibility and the capability to completely fold in half for easy storage and carry — optics and all. MSRP: $511.00

4. Daniel Defense

Featuring M-LOK attachment technology with the Daniel Defense MFR 15.0 rail, this made-in-the-USA AR-15-style firearm has attachment points in seven positions and an uninterrupted 1913 Picatinny rail on the top, maximizing functionality. It’s also equipped with a DD improved flash suppressor, built around a cold hammer-forged 16-inch barrel to reduce that flash signature.

5. American Giant

The American Giant lightweight full zip is as light as a T-shirt but as cozy as a hoodie. This casual hoodie is perfect for a few extra layers of warmth on cool summer evenings or crisp spring and autumn days. And it’s from a company that produces its products in the USA.

6. White’s Boots

White's Boots

White’s Boots, founded by Edward White in 1853 in Connecticut, has been a legacy boot-making company for nearly 175 years. From 1853 to 1972, Edward White’s legacy was passed on to his family, who were always committed to creating boots they could be proud to sell. As a result of the boom of loggers, miners, and mill workers in the Pacific Northwest in the early 20th century, the company moved west to meet the demand. Now based in Spokane, Washington, White’s Boots continues to produce handcrafted, high-quality boots like the Packer. It’s an all-purpose, all-weather stomper, so well worth the investment. It could be the last boot you’ll ever have to buy. MSRP: $725

7. GoRuck

GoRuck

Founded by a former Green Beret in 2008, GoRuck set out to create high-quality rucksacks inspired by those used in the military. In keeping with the company's special forces roots, GoRuck commits 1% of its annual revenue to supporting communities that protect the American way of life. You can also check out the GoRuck community challenges, which the company has been hosting across the nation since 2010. The new Bullet Ruck x Carryology-Berserker Viking collab showcases the finest craftsmanship and the highest-quality material — all with a lifetime guarantee. MSRP: $795.00

8. Case Knives

Case Knives

Committed to keeping the legacy of American craftsmanship alive for future generations, Case Knives handcrafts its utility knives with an eye to aesthetics. Responsive to its fan base, including an exclusive Collectors’ Club and sponsorship program to inspire younger generations to love American craftsmanship, Case delivers on its promise of excellence. Headquartered in Bradford, Pennsylvania, Case offers a wide range of unique designs among its pocket and kitchen knife collections. The new Crossroads Sod Buster EDC, a fan-favorite design, combines the classic Sod Buster frame with modern enhancements, including a screwed-together build. MSRP: $89.99

9. Gokey

Gokey

Promising timeless style and enduring quality, one company has claimed to be the industry standard in boot-making since 1850. Founded as a premium leather hunting and sporting boots manufacturer, Gokey produces several other leather products, including a variety of shoes, moccasins, and sporting accessories. Handmade in the United States, the boots have been enjoyed by the likes of Presidents Teddy Roosevelt and Dwight Eisenhower and the adventurer turned novelist Ernest Hemingway — a testament to the company’s longevity. The Gokey Super Light Upland Boot, available in Wavy Olive and Chocolate Milonga leather, is built to last in the company's Tipton, Missouri, factory. If you’re in the area, they will happily hand-measure your feet to find the perfect fit for your boots. MSRP: $580.00

10. Saddleback Leather

Saddleback Leather

Saddleback Leather produces heavy-duty, luxury leather goods that “they’ll fight over when you’re dead.” With the confidence of a hundred-year warranty, you’ll never have to worry about anything going awry with these “over-engineered” products. Visit Saddleback Leather’s new showroom in Azle, Texas, coming next year, to get a feel for the passion with which the company creates these premium leather goods. The large classic leather briefcase easily converts to a backpack when you need your hands free and is spacious enough to fit everything you need for a weekend getaway in style. MSRP: $689.00

11. Warwood Tool

Warwood Tool

Boasting a rich, 170-year history, Warwood Tool has supplied American soldiers, firefighters, woodsmen, landscapers, and homeowners since before the Civil War. To this day, it is said that many generations of the same family have worked at the factory, and ownership has only changed hands seven times. The Pulaski axe, developed by “legendary” U.S. Forest Service ranger Ed Pulaski in 1911, is considered to be “nearly synonymous with wildland firefighting.” A combined axe and mattock blade, it is a versatile tool. Hand-forged by American craftsmen from high-quality steel and American hickory in West Virginia, the Pulaski axe is an elite option for all of your outdoor needs. MSRP: $99.00

12. Unplugged

Adobe

Everyone knows it: Our phone data is constantly being accessed and sold by data brokers without our consent. But what can be done about it? Luckily, Unplugged, Erik Prince’s company, has a secure solution: UP Phone. Featuring an advanced operating system designed specifically for privacy protection and a physical “kill switch” on the body of the phone, you can rest assured that your data is kept private and secure in an increasingly vulnerable world.

Santa Claus: Innocent Christmas fun or counterfeit Jesus?



Jesus is the reason for the season, but more often than not, it’s Santa who takes front and center stage. A 2,000-year-old baby offering an intangible gift just can’t compete with the big, red-suited, jolly man and his sleigh full of toys in the mind of a child.

That’s one of several reasons Allie Beth Stuckey doesn’t do Santa with her three kids.

On this episode of “Relatable,” Allie presents a compelling case for ditching the man in the red hat and putting Jesus back on the throne of Christmas where He belongs.

Santa invites confusion

While Allie acknowledges that Santa is a “Christian liberty issue,” meaning “we have freedom as Christians to disagree,” she feels personally convicted to forgo the tradition to avoid confusing her children.

Santa “is a form of deceit,” she says.

“We want our kids to trust us ... and it can cause this kind of dissonance or confusion in a child when we tell them that someone is real, is giving them gifts, is watching them ... is taking a tally of the good deeds they do, the bad deeds they do ... and then allocating gifts in accordance to their behavior — and then to tell them one day that that system of morality around Christmastime doesn't exist,” she argues.

“I do believe that that causes, even if just for a moment, mistrust between the parent and child” and “confusion about what is actually true ... about the mysterious and supernatural realm.”

But “causing mistrust through deceit” isn’t even the biggest issue, she says. Santa can also cause “theological confusion” in developing children.

Santa and God have a lot in common, Allie explains. Both see us when we’re sleeping, know when we’re awake, and know if we’ve been bad or good, but the key difference is Santa takes his gifts away when we fail to be good, whereas God, infinite in grace and mercy, does not dangle salvation as a carrot in front of us to keep us behaving.

Santa “is a legalistic form of Christ” and a “counterfeit form of God,” says Allie.

And then there’s the flip side of this pitfall. Children might view God as a kind of Santa Claus, who gives them material gifts in exchange for obedience or good deeds, turning Him from the perfect and holy king of kings and the savior of humanity into a “feel-good” bringer of happiness.

In either case, the similarities between the two figures can deeply confuse malleable children who are still learning to distinguish between fact and fiction, while simultaneously sowing distrust between them and their parents.

Santa distracts from Jesus

Allie’s second reason for ditching St. Nick is that he draws the focus away from Christ.

“Santa Claus is the one who will give you all of your immediate desires and will fulfill all of the temporary pleasure that you long for because he is giving you something in the form of a tangible gift. ... It's no wonder that we as people, but especially children, have such a hard time actually focusing on Christ — the real gift-giver,” she says.

To Santa sympathizers who argue that his mysterious nature “makes Christmas really magical” and stimulates children’s imaginations, Allie says that we can still foster imagination in our kids without lying to them.

And further, “The reality is that there is already a beautiful mystery of Christmas that no one truly understands,” she says. “We are natural people who were intersected by the supernatural when Jesus became Emmanuel, God with us, made flesh. That is the mystery of Christmas.”

“And so why would we create a counternarrative to that? A cheapened narrative, a legalistic narrative that gives all of the wrong lessons about morality and about what saves you and about what satisfies you and about what fulfills you?” she asks.

But Santa doesn’t just distract kids from the true Christmas story; he also distracts parents, who are stressed and spread thin trying to maintain the Santa narrative through elaborate gift displays, Elf on the Shelf, staging half-eaten cookies, and dodging pesky questions from their kids.

“It seems like when that starts to be the taker of our joy or the source of our stress and our energy and not discipling our kids and telling them what the advent, the coming of the Lord, actually means in their lives, well, then we have veered into idolatry,” Allie warns.

To hear the rest of her argument, as well as ways Christians can still incorporate Santa into their Christmas season without losing focus on what matters, watch the full episode above.

Want more from Allie Beth Stuckey?

To enjoy more of Allie’s upbeat and in-depth coverage of culture, news, and theology from a Christian, conservative perspective, subscribe to BlazeTV — the largest multi-platform network of voices who love America, defend the Constitution, and live the American dream.

Do You Know The Worst Christmas Song?

If you’re at all like me, you may be rediscovering your true hatred for certain Christmas songs.

5 Last-Minute Gift Ideas That Show You Still Care

Something small and simple can make the most memorable gift precisely because it's not what's always expected.
Your Comprehensive Guide To Streaming These 25 Christmas Classics
play icon

Your Comprehensive Guide To Streaming These 25 Christmas Classics

The fire is roaring and hot cocoa is almost ready. Here’s how to navigate all the endless streaming services to see these 25 beloved Christmas classics.