This month’s UPSTATE PARENT magazine features Mauldin City Council member Taft Matney discussing Father’s Day.

If you’re still fortunate enough to have your dad with you, don’t forget him this Father’s Day, and if you’re trying to figure out what to get him, remember that it’s the little things that really matter.

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Father’s Day: Local dads share favorite gifts

By: Jennifer Weaver
UPSTATE PARENT — June 2015

Another necktie? It’s a Father’s Day cliche, but for Spartanburg dad Chuck Miller, a very special necktie was the best gift his daughter could have given him.

“Two years ago, my then-4-year-old daughter, Olivia, came into my bedroom and with great pride handed me my Father’s Day present,” Miller said. “It was a tie that she had cut out of poster board and colored with crayons. I bragged and bragged and said that I couldn’t wait to wear it.”

Later that morning as Miller was getting ready for church, he set his real tie on his bed.

“Olivia walked in and saw what I intended to wear,” he said. “She quickly grabbed my new Father’s Day tie and said, ‘Here you go, Daddy.’ Then she walked over to my bed, grabbed my real tie and said, ‘Let me help you put this back up, Daddy.’ So, with great pride, I wore a beautiful, homemade, poster board, crayon-colored tie to church and loved every minute of it!”

For Upstate dads, Father’s Day need not include extravagant gifts.

Kevin Harrison of Spartanburg, said that his favorite gift was a picture frame with his daughter’s picture and a button you could push with her voice recorded saying “I love you, Daddy.”

“I still have it on my desk,” he said.

Miller said another particularly meaningful gift was a coupon book that reminded him of a book he had given his own father.

“When I was a kid, I remember sitting down and making a list of coupons to give my dad,” Miller said. “I cut out little pieces of paper and on each one I wrote things for my dad to redeem later — get a free hug, wash your car, take out the trash without complaining. I was so proud of my idea.”

This past year on Father’s Day, Miller got a present from his two daughters: freshly made coupons for things like free hugs, car washes and taking out the trash.

“It was pretty neat to be able to experience a situation from both angles — a son and a father,” he said. “And now, being a father, seeing how much I love my kids has helped me get a better understanding of how much my dad really does love me.”

For many dads, a gift is just a bonus. The real present is spending time together.

“I’m just hoping to have the day off and to be able to spend it with my whole family,” said Greenville dad Reggy Batson. “Maybe I will get a cool coloring or even a smiling picture. Whatever it is, it will not take much to make it a great day together.”

Mauldin dad Taft Matney agreed.

“I’m not complicated and don’t need a lot of stuff,” he said. “For me, the greatest gift is time. It’s a priceless commodity. My wife jokes that when it comes to Sundays, I’m like Clark Griswold. A couple of years ago for Father’s Day, after church we went home, changed clothes, and drove to Spartanburg for lunch at The Beacon before catching a Greenville Drive game. It was an incredible day that just let me spend time with the family.”

Matney is hoping for a similar gift this year.

“This year my wish is pretty simple.” he said. “Don’t turn on the computer, don’t answer the cell phone unless it’s an emergency and just hang out with the family. There’s no telling where I’ll drag them for mandatory family fun day this year.”