1. Cowboy Camp
Who hasn't dreamed of being a cowboy? Watching Westerns is one thing, but if you really love Dad you'll let him live one. Send him packing to Arizona's Cowboy Camp, where he can learn to rope and ride with the best of 'em. You know he'll say "yee-haw!" 

2. Race Cars
Here's another classic dad fantasy: if he wasn't going to be a cowboy when he was a kid, then it was a race car driver. How about letting him do 20 laps around the Irwindale Speedway? Just think what a gift it would be to take a day off from telling him to slow down, and instead cheer him on, as he leaves the speed limit in the dust?

3. Flying Lesson
If your man's love of speed can't be satisfied on the ground, maybe you should let him take it up a notch. There is no splurge which would thrill my husband more than a chance to fly a plane. As an added bonus, if he takes off from Santa Monica Airport, he'll literally be following in Han Solo's contrail (yes, this is where Harrison Ford parks his flying toys). Two treats in one!

4. Tandem Skydiving
If flying isn't enough for Dad unless he gets to jump back down, you may want to consider the gift of skydiving. And if the idea of letting him jump out of a plane terrifies you, you may want to sign him up for tandem skydiving, which guarantees that he would be strapped to someone who knows what he's doing. Go ahead - let him fall from the sky. Best save any special meal plans for afterwards, though.

5. iFly Hollywood
If he loves the idea of skydiving, but the idea of him doing it will age you too quickly, forget the plane and buy him a round of indoor skydiving in iFly's wind tunnel at Universal City Walk. It's skydiving without the vertigo.

6. Benihana Chef's Course
There truly cannot be anything more masculine than cooking with flying knives, and if somebody in our household could master that fried rice, we would never go hungry again. Benihana will train Dad to be chef for the day, right down to the flying shrimp. How fun is that?

7. Archery Tag
Join forces with other moms to get several dads together for a completely unique interactive activity. Booking an Archery Tag session requires recruiting a few friends, but it will for sure give Dad a Father's Day to remember. Book a park or a gym, and let the slings and arrows fly.

8. Trapeze School
The most affordable of our splurge ideas, the Trapeze School on Santa Monica Pier is dedicated to releasing dad's inner aerialist. This super fun, fairly exotic treat is now right at the end of the Expo Line, for Angelenos who are looking for an excuse to take the train to the sea. 

9. Sunny Day Scoot
This one is a hoot. Is it a car, or a scooter, or something else? Whatever these zippy, three wheeled vehicles are, they have room for one driver and one passenger—and are not big enough to contain the fun that can be had, roaring through Griffith Park at high speeds. This is already a Mommy Poppins staff favorite (Read all about it) and could easily become one one of Dad's too.

10. Take him to the Track
Santa Anita has Father's Day all figured out with its decadent "Drams for Dads."  Dad gets to sip Scotch while he plays the ponies. It's a win-win whether or not his horse wins. Take him out for a steak afterwards and it's the whole Trifecta.

11. Let them eat steak
As it happens, in my house Dad’s ultimate luxury would be a day left alone to putter in his garage. At the end of that day, however, he'll surely want some red meat. Despite our propensity here in the Southland for healthy and vegan fare, there do remain several meaty, masculine meal options. Often, the best steaks are accompanied by boats, planes, and trains.  There's Santa Monica's oldest, The Galley on Main Street, or it's hippest, Chez Jay. Downtown has the Pacific Dining Car; Koreatown has the classic Taylors; Tiki lovers will want to go to Glendale for surf and turf at Damon's, and if the view is more important than the food, then The Charthouse always hits the spot. After a day of high flying, though, there can be no better place to land than the Van Nuys Airport's 94th Aero Squadron.

Photo credit: Greg Palmer via flickr