There are a few tried-and-true giveaways that go with Father’s Day. Tickets to sporting events are popular, as are barbecue-related prizes. So clearly, the best possible Father’s Day prize would combine sports and barbecues, right? The Palms Shopping Centre tested that hypothesis out earlier this month, and the results were downright promising.

The grand prize draw for the center’s Father’s Day per-spend promotion was a big one, with three big parts. Part one was a new barbecue—a six-burner beast of a thing. Part two was the first big meal cooked on the grill: steaks, with salads on the side. Part three was the chefs: Canterbury Rugby players Sean Maitland, Dominic Bird and Ben Funnel. The fellows popped by to cook for winner Justine McGuire and 23 family members and friends.

“It really was an amazing time – the CRFU players were all so lovely and did a great job cooking the steaks on the new barbeque,” Justine said. “My sons invited all of their friends over, of course, and the players were so gracious answering their questions and generally having a good time. One of the players said they felt as if they were at a barbie with one of their friends, being in Christchurch and all, and they even remembered some of my son’s friends’ names!”

The Palms Shopping Centre manager Simon Carter shared his delight in being able to award the package to a family both grateful and deserving of such a prize.

“The Palms is very focused on providing the best experiences possible for the local community, and I feel this is exactly what the Father’s Day BBQ Bash has achieved,” he said. “Not only have three Canterbury rugby players been able to visit some of their biggest fans, but Kmart has also been able to reach out and provide a great barbeque to a family that really needed it. I am glad the McGuire family had a great time and wish them a great summer with their new six-burner barbeque.”

The center has a close relationship with Caterbury Rugby—it’s also a sponsor of the organization’s Take a Kid to Footy initiative. The program encourages ticketholders to bring a child with them to a game at greatly reduced prices, and gives those kids a great experience to go with the game: goodie bags, snacks, and limited edition collector’s cards.

Ah, the Man Cave. That little space in the home that can be dedicated a shrine of manliness, and something many men dream of. Conveniently, Father’s Day is just around the corner in Australia. A match made in heaven, no?

Stockland Merrylands brought the elusive Man Cave to life this month, fully stocked with a couch and bar fridge, a home theatre system complete with an Xbox 360 console, and all the pub classics: a pool table, a foosball table and a dart board.

Center manager Daniel Buchanan said the promotion is a way to reward and entertain local dads this Father’s Day.

“We have set the Man Cave up in-centre so our fathers can come and experience the major prize whilst their families shop at Stockland Merrylands,” he said. “Men are notoriously hard to buy for but this in-centre experience will entertain the whole family during their shopping trip.”

Prize? Oh yes, did we forget to mention? The entire set-up will be won by one lucky shopper, whether to be used to set up their own man cave, or as one truly unexpected gift for Dad. Along with the items already mentioned, the prize pack includes a year’s subscription to Foxtel, and a year’s worth of Crust Pizza, Coca Cola and Smith’s Chips. The whole shebang is valued at $9823 AUD.

To enter, shoppers must spend $50 or more at specialty stores or more than $100 and major retailers. In exchange for proof via receipts, they’ll receive scratch-and-win cards that could instantly win them one of hundreds of prizes from center retailers. One of the instant winners will be doubly blessed; they’re all entered to win the ultimate prize.

So many dads are heroes to their families, a fact we try to recognize each year on Father’s Day. But one center does a particularly good job of communicating it: Eden Shopping Centre takes a father’s day opportunity to remind everyone that Dads Are Heroes with a superhero-themed event.

Take a peek at the center’s website, which is all dressed up for the event: that’s the kind of thematic stuff we’re looking at. Dads and their little ones will find lots of fun to be had, from superhero face paint to a trip Back to the Future in a souped up DeLorean. Captain America will stop by, as will a few Stormtroopers, kid-favorite Fireman Sam and Titan the Robot (some of those might stretch the definition of “superhero” a bit, but it’s all in the name of a good time).

Speaking of superheroes, Krispy Kreme and Cineworld will be heroes to one family, as they hold a draw for a year’s supply of donuts and movies. And House of Fraser might just be the hero moms need, as they offer them mini facials, hand massages, and nail painting in the season’s hottest colors.

We all need a hero some of the time—sounds like Eden Shopping Centre will be full of them this weekend.

Moms and Dads are often superheroes, especially to their little ones, so how awesome is it that Eden Shopping Centre celebrated Father’s Day with a Superhero Family Fun day?

The center brought together all kinds of super-hero goodies for the day. They brought in Titan the Robot (not strictly a super hero, but who doesn’t like robots?), Spiderman in full costume, and fantastic models of the Batmobile and Kit from Knightrider.

The little ones could make their own superhero masks or get their faces painted like their favorite heroes. Customers could also get involved by having their photos taken with the heroes or the cars and the win prizes by tagging themselves in the resulting online gallery.

The action-packed day was a big success, with a double-digit increase in sales. Car park dwell time showed an increase of 19%, too. To pull this off, the center held a number of superhero-themed contests on Facebook during the lead-up, and courted members of superhero fan sites and Facebook groups. The main competition (to win a TV from Eden retailer Sony Centre) attracted a record breaking 18,500 entries online via Eden’s website.

A couple of great causes are benefiting from this year’s Father’s Day.

Greenstone Shopping Centre in South Africa is giving one lucky dad the chance to win a Harley Davidson prize package including a cruise on a Harley Davidson bike, a Harley Davidson T/Shirt and a lunch at East rand Harley Davidson. To get in the draw, shoppers can donate necessities or non-perishables for the centre’s Gift in a Box campaign. In return, shoppers will receive a certificate
to give to their dads, telling them that for Father’s Day, they donated to someone less fortunate.

Speaking of Harley Davidson, Polo Park hosted an event for a fantastic cause: the Motorcycle Ride for Dad. 31 cities across Canada hold the ride, and Polo Park held the starting line in Manitoba. Riders collected pledges for the ride, all of which went to research for prostate cancer.