Kids love to make crafts as gifts. There are many great hand or footprint crafts that can add a nice personal touch and are perfect for younger children (and even babies) who may need help making a gift. A tie is a traditional gift and a plain tie can easily be personalized with a handprint stamped with fabric paint. If dad has a favourite hobby, you can personalize an item for them with a handprint or two. Gardening/work gloves, tool belts, a thumbprint on a guitar pick, a bookmark, a barbecue apron, a baseball or other sports ball – a handprint can go on almost anything to make it special.

A plain photo frame with a picture of dad and the kids can be decorated with white glue and anything you might have on hand, like construction paper, glitter, buttons, jewels, screws or dry pasta. This is also a great gift to give to the grandparents or other father figures in your children’s lives. They will be so proud to give their craft to dad.

A great gift from the older children is a jar filled with all the things they love about their dad. On small strips of paper, have them write one word or sentence about dad and put them all in a decorated jar or bag for him to open. If they are feeling extra ambitious, they can write 365 – one for dad to open on every day of the year. I’ve seen awesome jars of favourite treats as a gift, or a jar full of nuts that says “nuts for dad.” Even a basket filled with their favourite treats will be a huge win for the dad in your life.

A fun tradition you can do every year for Father’s Day is a short questionnaire about dad, answered by each child. You can include questions like: My dad’s name is_, My dad is as big as_, His favourite colour/game/food/activity’s , My favourite thing to do with dad is, My dad is the best at_, and I love my dad because. You can have the older children write in their own answers and you can fill one out for the young ones. For an extra treat have them colour a picture of them with their dad on it. Kids can come up with some very creative answers, and it will be great fun for everyone to look back and see what was written in years past.

Don’t forget to let our dad’s rest – make them breakfast, lunch or supper. Try and do their favourite thing with them, whether or not they love a campfire, a bike ride, play a round of golf or reading the newspaper peacefully. In my extended family my oldest sister is always the barbecue chef while the boys sit back and relax from the cooking.

It is also special to take the time to remember our fathers who have passed. An old tradition is to wear a white rose on Father’s Day in memory of a father or grandfather who has passed on. Take some time to participate in an activity with your children that your father enjoyed, and talk with them about the special memories you have together.

Have a fun family day together with dad and happy Father’s Day to all the great dads out there.

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