Lloyd Lofthouse

I think that Father’s Day is another state sanctioned consumer holiday, without a day off from work, to profit corporations, but it isn’t as profitable as Mother’s Day.

Why do we spend less on Father’s Day than Mother’s Day asks the BBC.  The BBC reports that the average amount spent on Father’s day is expected to be $135 per person vs $186 for Mother’s Day or $15.5-billion vs. $23.6 billion.

Does this mean mothers win and fathers turn to their trusty six-pack of beer to forget how unimportant they are and squat in front of a TV screen to watch the latest popular sporting event to help them forget?

In fact, of the nine major holiday seasons, according to the National Retail Federation (NRF), Fathers Day is ranked #6 above the Super Bowl, Halloween, and St Patrick’s Day.  The Winter Holidays are lumped together as one and bring in about $600 billion annually. Mother’s Day, Valentine’s Day, and Easter all beat Father’s Day.

The NRF explains why “Mother’s Day is so much bigger than Father’s Day: the types of gifts people typically buy mom tend to cost a little more, and dad even admits that he doesn’t like all the fuss anyway.”

If the Super Bowl and Father’s day were combined, since more men watch the Super Bowl than women, maybe fathers would move up in the rankings to tie with Valentine’s Day.

What about Parent’s Day instead of one for mothers and another one for fathers, or we could cheat and move Father’s Day to Christmas?

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Lloyd Lofthouse is a former U.S. Marine and Vietnam combat veteran with a BA in journalism and an MFA in writing, who taught in the public schools for thirty years (1975 – 2005).

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