THE BEST GIFT FOR NEW DADS; SOUTHLAND CELEBRATES BONDING OF FATHERHOOD.

Byline: Eric Wahlgren Daily News Staff Writer

Cradling the newborn with blue eyes and a tuft of blond hair who made him a dad, 24-year-old Brett Bonecutter spent Sunday in a Glendale hospital room marveling over his quietly snoozing Father's Day gift.

The first child of the Santa Clarita resident and his wife, Gina, 1-day-old Blake Bonecutter was wrapped in a teddy-bear-pattern blanket, oblivious to the proud family members huddling around him.

``He's probably the best Father's Day present I will ever come up with,'' said Gina, who was packing up to go home after the Saturday delivery at Glendale Adventist Medical Center.

Brett Bonecutter, a regional manager of a restaurant chain, agreed with his wife, adding that he had already picked up on a striking father-son similarity.

``He's sleeping a lot,'' Bonecutter said. ``That means he definitely got my genes.''

The Bonecutters, like the 10 other couples who had babies at the hospital over the weekend, were given four tickets to Los Angeles Dodgers games in one of the many gestures marking Father's Day across the region.

Dads on Sunday got ties. They were treated to champagne brunches. Or like Chuck Dickerson, a 47-year-old father from Reseda, they awoke Sunday morning to cards and hugs from their children.

``That's all it takes,'' said Dickerson, an insurance salesman, who on Sunday afternoon was hitting golf balls at an Encino driving range with his 15-year-old son Christopher.

For Dickerson and other dads, the day offered a chance to hang out with the kids and reflect on the institution of fatherhood.

``I like living vicariously,'' said Dickerson, grinning as Christopher searched his golf bag for the right club. ``My son has done so much more than I ever got to do.''

Sons and daughters, meanwhile, seemed to use the day to pause and think about just what they liked best about dear old dad.

``He's funny,'' said Christopher, a high school junior, whose sports involvement ranges from football to roller hockey. ``And I can talk to him about anything.''

Aside from the countless informal gatherings of family members, dozens of organizations held Father's Day celebrations including a Western-style extravaganza for 700 little and big ``brothers'' at a Malibu ranch.

In the Sepulveda Basin, Jessica Day honored her father by sitting in the cheering section for his baseball team, Grumpy Old Men.

While Tom Day, the 37-year-old father of three from Tarzana pitched speeding hardballs, the 13-year-old cataloged all the reasons she thought him the very best of dads.

``He's sweet. He's funny,'' Jessica said, perched atop the bleachers next to her mother, Janie. ``He's always the life of the party.''

Although Jessica grumbled that Sunday's heat was a little too much for comfort, she said it was important that she observe this day by coming down to root for her dad.

``Father's Day is very important,'' she explained. ``They have President's Day. Fathers are as important as presidents.''

CAPTION(S):

2 Photos

PHOTO (1) Gina Bonecutter puts a Father's Day gift cap atop husband Brett's head. Brett's other gift, son Blake, lies cradled in dad's arms.

(2) Glendale Adventist Medical Center gave parents of babies born over the weekend a Father's Day gift package that included tickets to a Dodgers game.

Evan Yee/Daily News