Father's Day Gifts

We did this great idea last year, and my husband loved it. We bought a huge picnic basket from Pier 1, and filled it with all of my husband's favorite picnic foods. On Father's Day, I filled it with perishables (fried chicken, potato salad, wine) and we all went for a picnic, I did the driving...and he didn't know where. And we took him to this beautiful park, and had a picnic. He loved it.

funny you should ask. while at work today i found a decorate a tie kit.

i work at walgreens @ 180 & Burke. not sure if every walgreens has them but you could check.

it is just a white tie with fabric crayons. they decorate it- you heat set it.

--- my fav gift we gave my husband was a silver platter from things remembered that we had engraved with a globe and it said to the man who deserves the world on a silver platter.

always the hand prints on tshirts, cardstock to frame. you can even add a poem. -- i have a couple if you need some.

have fun!

Hi E.-

I am a kindergarten teacher with a 17 month old daughter at home. At school I just made the dad's t'shirts, I bought the Crayola fabric markers and on the top of the shirt I wrote:
Everyday I am growing up
And soon I will be so tall
That the handprints on this shirt
May be hard to recall.

Then I put the handprints in the middle of the shirt with the childrens' names next to their handprints and then I wrote the rest of the poem on the bottom:

So here are two of my handprints
On this shirt to stay
and show you how my fingers looked
This year on Father's Day
2008

Once you finish the shirt you can either iron the shirt for 4 minutes or you can throw the shirt in the dryer to set the color. The kids loved making them, and I made you for my dad and my husband with my daughter. I hope this helps, M.

My husband and 3 yr old son love to cook. I found this cooking place that they can go to together to take a class. They sell gift certificates so that is what I am getting. Here is the web site:
www.waycoolcookingschool.com
there is another one I found:
www.youngchefsacademy.com

All of the above were found on a great website:

http://playtimeplanit.com

Good luck!

Last year I took photos of my kids holding each one of the letters that spell out "Happy Father's Day." I am teacher and have big foam letters in my classroom and used those, but you could print letters out or make them out of cardboard and decorate them. I had the pics printed at Walgreen and put them all together in a according folded card and put it in a cigar-type box I bought at Michael's and then decorated with family themed scrapbook stickers. You could just pull out the photo banner and see the Happy Father's Day message. The cards were a huge hit and so cute. They took some time since I had to make 3 of them (one for Daddy and 3 for Grandpa's.) We kept our across the top of our piano for months and everyone loved it. I plan on bringing it out this year for decoration. Good luck!

funny! i had this link open in another window while i was reading your request:) i haven't looked at it yet, but family fun usually has some good stuff. http://familyfun.go.com/arts-and-crafts/season/specialfea...

Here are some ideas:
We made these garden stones for mothers day.
http://familycrafts.about.com/cs/steppingstones/a/040201a...

Here's a handsome pen holder - simple and inexpensive
http://crafts.kaboose.com/faux-leather-pen-holder.html

We're going to paint a rock for Dad this year:
http://crafts.kaboose.com/dad-rocks-paperweight.html

Last year the boys put their handprints and names on a pair of shorts for him.

My oldest son will be making the Fish Shirt for his grandpa for the 4th year in a row. My dad (enjoys fishing) loves these shirts and wears them often.
http://www.creativekidstuff.com/fiprsaju1420.html

Lots of ideas here:
http://familyfun.go.com/arts-and-crafts/season/specialfea...

Have Fun!
J.

I shared this on when someone else asked a similar question. Our daughter's daycare did a really cute Mother's Day gift. They painted the kids' feet and had them step on paper. Then they attached a poem that reads, "Please walk a little slower, Mommy," said (child's name) so small. "I'm walking in your footsteps and I don't want to fall." A magnet was put on the back.

For my husband I ordered a mousepad with our daughter's picture on it. I ordered mine when we had her 6 month portraits done but I know places like Snapfish also have them.

I purchased some iron on fabric (found in craft section of Wal-Mart) and printed out pictures of my children over the years and ironed them onto an economical tie. At the time my husband wore ties everyday and my father wore his to a family function. You could also do the same with a t-shirt, pillow, or anything fabric.

Or you could also purchase a small unfinished wood box from a craft store, stain if you wish or leave it natural and then use hodge podge to apply pictures of the children or drawings they have made. Could also just have the children paint them with craft paint and then apply a sealer over it.

Have fun!

I made photo books on Shutterfly of my boys to give to their grandparents. I did the same thing for my husband's birthday a few years ago.

Check out Heritage Makers at http://www.frommemoriestobooks.com You can make custom hardbound books as gifts (much better quality than Snapfish and Shutterfly and archived for life!). They have great pre-done templates for Father's Day or you can start from scratch and do complete digital scrapbooking! It's all online so there's nothing to download into your computer! If books aren't your thing, they also just came out with make your own playing cards! They have lots of other products too. If you have any questions just ask me--I'm a consultant! I can also set you up with a free month of digital scrapbooking if you want.

Hi E.,
I'm a huge Snapfish.com shopper when it comes to the grandparents. My Dad loves the coasters and notepads. Check it out. Good luck!

This year my girls ( 4 and 6) are going to make containers for dad and grandpa to put their loose change or whatever else in. I am having each girl take a cool whip container and we are wrapping paper around it. They will then decorate the outside of it however they like...paints, stickers, markers etc. I am going to cut a hole in the top so the items can be dropped in. It's a very inexpensive idea and the kids will love it.

The cutest gift I saw for Father's Day was a gift my husband got from the YMCA for preschool. The teacher had the kids use finger paint and they made a copy of their hands 5 times on a thick piece of paper. She then laminated them, cut them out in the handprint, and tied the five hands together at the bottom and made coasters out of them. They were adorable.

We always bake cookies. It's a hit every time and the kids love doing something hands-on. (Dads and Grandpas never tire of cookies!) Have the kids color a page from a coloring book and add a love note to the bottom. Simplicity rules!

SAHM of seven

Decorate cozy covers for cans of pop, or even get cheap BBQ tools and let the kids color the handles. The cozy covers however are really cheep and supper easy to get done. foam stickers and sharpy markers work best!

How about homemade fishing lures, hand painted golf balls or golf towels, or even baking cookies or treats and putting them in really cool personalized lunch boxes or picnic baskets. I like the other suggestions about the t-shirts with hand prints. I know my four year old would not have a very long attention span and would have fun just putting hands on a shirt. You could also just have a family bowling day or something. I know my dad hates to get gifts, as he would rather we just come see him. He likes hand made cards of course, but hates it when anyone spends anything on him. My husband would rather just have us make him breakfast and do something fun than get a gift too. Have fun!

Don't know if you want homemade or not. A few years ago I purchased a recordable picture frame for my son's dad and grandpa. I recorded him saying I love you daddy/grandpa. It is so precious to play that back 5 years later and hear his sweet little beginner words. They loved it.

How about a hand-made picture frame with a photo of the 2 of them? You can find lots of simple things to put together at Michael's...

Hi E.,
When my children were about the same age as your two, we painted a t-shirt for their dad. We bought a colored t-shirt and some contrasting fabric paint. I helped the kids make handprints all over the shirt and then we wrote "Let's give Dad a hand!" on it. He loved it.
G.

T-shirts with handprints, home made cards, coffe mugs that you can color, handprints for the walls etc.

My daughter is a teacher at an Air Force base here in the states. She came up with a gift idea last year for the kids in her classroom that worked well. She wrote up a little poem on the front of business cards and had the kids sign the back with their name, age, and the date. This was an easy gift to give to dad at home and the ones that were deployed because they were small enough to keep with them. Everytime dad opens up his wallet, he could see the little card and know how much he was loved and missed.

I am getting a "Paper Album for Him" from Creative Memories. It comes with all the sticker/embellishments so all you have to do is add the pictures and journal. My kids ages 7,6,4,and 2 will all add their personal touch. Fast and easy!!! They also have minute albums that are easy to make into a desk calendar that I have done in the past. www.mycmsite.com/rtesser

I have done the stepping stones, T-shirts and other things in the past also.

Good luck,
R.

Hi E.
In the past I have made a poster board with my kids hand and footprints on it with some nice pictures of my husband with the kids and poems about being a father.I have also made t-shirts with the kids hand prints on them. Or decorated a jar and had the kids tell me all the reasons they love there dad and them put them on slips of paper in the jar. Good Luck :)T.

Every year Creative Kidstuff in Edina has a free Fish Print activity for kids of all ages. This year it's being held June 14 from 11-2pm. We did it last year and will do it again this year since it was such a big hit with the kids and my Dad and husband (the recipients of their masterpieces). You bring a washed cotton t-shirt and the kids paint a real fish that is then stamped onto the shirt. It's really neat.

S.

My sister once wrote a story about her and Dad when she was young. She entitled it "I Love You My Father." She is now 27 years old and my dad is 65 and he STILL keeps it displayed on his dresser! Talk about a special gift!

Here are a couple of cute, fun, and easy ideas..... You can make t-shirts, I've done 2 different ones. 1)Use fabric paint and put "Best Dad (or Grandpa) Hands Down" then you have the kids dip their hands in paint and put it on the shirt. 2) Use paint and put "My Kids (or Grandkids) Walk All Over Me" and then dip the kids' feet in paint and put on the shirt.

I have found that most grandpas like anything from their grandchildren. We have done the hand prints on a t-shirt, a picture on a t-shirt, the mug with a picture, a scrapbook with grandpa and me pictures, a cute book about grandpas and a jar that said grandpa's goodies with his favorite candy inside. All have gone over well!

I do the same thing every year for my husband and my dad. I get a picture of me and the children taken together. My husband and dad love the gift. My husband puts it on his desk at work. This year we are also doing hand print art work. Hope this helps.

G.

I see you have a lot of ideas so far and I actually got a few off here for us this year too. Last year I had taken a picture of our kids at the beach and framed it in one of the frames you can write around like at weddings of graduations and each of the kids wrote a little message like "I love you dad" or grandpa on it... they all loved it and dad and the grandpa's keep them on their computer desk! Plus it was fast and simple for me to help with. Good Luck!

Are they interested in going to a spa? I know it's not anything that the kids could make but they may like that. My husband always talks about doing something like that.

here's my idea. go to wal-mart craft department and get two small craft boxes; they are very small and cardboard, and come in a few different shapes and sizes. very inexpensive. have your kids each paint one and then go outside to find a special rock to paint and put inside their boxes. you can line each box with a small piece of felt if you like.

i just helped my own son 2 yrs old to make his own treasure chest out of a half-size shoe box. he's a little young, but kids your age like the concept of special treasures and they probably will like the idea of selecting a special treasure for the special males in their life. if your girl doesn't like the rock idea, the craft dept has small plastic flowers too, she could find one their to put in her box.

Last year for Mother's and Father's Day I made these WONDERFUL color page bound photo books from Kodak Gallery. They are great. We ended up making them as an entire family for grandparents too.
The kids could pose different ways for special pictures or they could pick which picutures to include in the book, or you can include script and they could say whatever to narrate the book.
I think these would even be great yearly because as we all know kids change so fast. This is the most special gift I have ever done for anyone they all loved it. My father in law was in tears. (Not something he is prone to.)

Good luck,
A.
Email me with any questions or let me know if it works for you!!!

Hi E. !

When my son was almost 3 and my daughter was just born, I took washable paint, put their hand prints on a T-shirt (each of their left hands on the left side, and their right on the right side) and wrote in the middle.... WE LOVE OUR DADDY THIS MUCH !!!! It was a big hit with my husband and fun to look back and show the kids how little their hands were. (He's almost 7 and she's 4) And your kids are the perfect age to sit down and make a homemade card for their dad.... (with stickers, crayons, markers, glue and glitter) It's fun to watch them be creative and so proud of their own work !!
Good luck !!!

D.

Taking a good picture of the kids and putting it in a frame is usually what I do. Good luck!

I bought those glass coasters at a gift store that are clear in the middle for your own photo. Pick out some cute or crazy photos or photos of your dad and kids together. They were a big hit.