Making a Memorable Father’s Day
Making a Memorable Father’s Day :
Creative Activities & Gift Ideas for Dads
“Dads are most ordinary men
turned by love
into heroes, adventurers, story-tellers,
and singers of song.”
~Pam Brown
Making a memorable Father’s Day shouldn’t be all that hard, right?
There are so many great ideas to be found online for every theme, season, and holiday! There are cute cards, crafts, and activities galore! What did we do before Pinterest ?
But this year I am found myself out of fresh ideas to make the whole day special.
Maybe it’s the age of my children (or too much time on Pinterest lol)…but I wanted to celebrate the dads in my life with more than a cute card. I thought maybe some of you might be in the same boat too! So I’m sharing some ideas from of the most memorable Father’s Days we’ve celebrated and some of the fun NEW ideas I found this year !
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*A Father’s Day Idea for Families with Littles*
Make Dad King for a day !
This is one of the “treasured memory” ideas…we did this one Father’s Day when all three of my children were small. Both my husband and my children still remember what a fun & special time we had.
Here are a few ideas to get started:
* Prepare the king’s throne-
Decorate a special chair in the house, just for Dad.
Cover it with soft blankets and pillows. You could hang homemade cards or fun family pictures above the throne on the wall. Use a milk crate or even a sturdy box to create a footstool. Be creative and let the kids go craft crazy creating the perfect royal “throne”.
* Make dad a crown….I mean every king needs one, right ?
Here are a few free printable crowns:
Dad Crown or Printable Father’s Day Crown
You could also order a pre-made King Crown Kit complete with gems,
OR you could order this regal Royal Crown !
* Make the king’s cup-
In our house, this meant a giant DIY personalized coffee cup
(similar to THIS one) because our King loves his coffee! Choose whatever fits your king & his interests best!
Some other ideas might be a personalized metal travel mug , a super cool water bottle , or this bejeweled King’s Goblet !
* Feast for a King-
If you are surprising dad on the morning of Father’s Day , there’s nothing like a special royal breakfast that everyone can help prepare .
Think Pancake Palooooooza ! Yum!
If you’d prefer to make a royal dinner feast, you can find
some really fun ideas & recipes HERE and HERE .
And don’t forget the table ! Get creative with the table setting too!
Be sure to make Dad’s chair and place setting at the feast extra special !
* Court Jesters-
Every court needs jesters! I’m sure once you explain what a jester is to your kiddos, you’ll have yourself a room full of pro-jesters in the matter of minutes! Set up a Photo Booth and take lots of pictures of the king and his court. 🙂
If you want to go all out, you can add in some Medieval Photo Props or you can make your own with this free printable HERE !
Have the kiddos act as the royal servers and entertainers while dad awaits the meal served in style. Perfect for all the littles to entertain the king!
* Make it Meaningful-
My kiddos loved the whole entertaining the king part of the morning, so I remember kind of just going with it. I had Dad sit in his chair and the kids sit at his feet. They took turns “entertaining the king” by telling stories about their favorite times they had with him. Some of the stories were quite silly (the crazy jester antics kind of continued a bit long !)
But there were some real treasured memories mixed in. It was a sweet moment. We also made up a little song to sing at the end of the morning. There are lots of ideas to be found online, but we just made up one set to the tune of “Our God is an Awesome God”-
Our dad is an awesome dad!
He’s the best dad a kid could have.
He plays and prays with us!
Our dad is an awesome dad!
Be sure to snap a few pictures of this special time. You could also record some of the antics to add to this Recordable Picture Frame! I think it would make the sweetest gift !
*A Father’s Day Idea for Families
with Older Children*
Gone are the days of the handprint cards and hugs (sniff, sniff). Older children usually have a different idea of gift giving. And after several years of ties, shirts, cologne, and golf tees (cliche but mostly true!) our hero, adventure loving, story telling, singer of songs dad might just like a change up for his special day!
So… it’s true.
There just aren’t that many cute Father’s Day ideas on Pinterest for this age group…but that doesn’t mean dad is doomed to a dull day if we think outside the box a little bit!
Here are a few ideas for making a memorable Father’s Day for families with older kids~
What creates family memories better than spending time together?
Think The Griswold’s and their trek to Wally World… hmmm… ok, so maybe that’s not the best example.
While this day is really about honoring dear old Dad,
I bet that he would be thrilled to spend the day with the people who ushered him into that job title. 🙂
*Go on an ADVENTURE !
Go somewhere you’ve never been before. Do something you’ve never done before !
Whether you live in a very rural area or the middle of a large, busy city, there are great expanses of unexplored territory right in your own town I’m sure! National parks, tunnels, train trips, lakes, waterways, roof gardens, canyons, caverns, food trucks, dude ranches, art museums, old cemeteries, lighthouses, and swimming holes all awaiting an adventurer and his crew !
* National Park Finder
* State by State Bucket List
* Join the Treasure Hunt and try Geocaching
You could also add some gadget type gifts related to your adventure-
* Try Letterboxing also read more HERE (so much fun!)
* Google ” Things to Do Near Me” (for example)
* Find a restaurant that specializes in a type of cuisine you’ve
never tried before !
*Be tourists for the day! If you live in a city, take a city tour if you’ve never done that.
You might be surprised by some hidden gems you never knew existed!
* FUN RUN! Sign up for a family friendly fun run ! You can sometimes find local races
HERE or HERE
*Be SUPERHEROES with Dad!
Some of the most fulfilling and memorable moments of life are those when we are able to give back a bit of good and help others. If your Dad (husband 🙂 is a superhero, maybe your family would like to give back to the community in some way to honor him. Let Dad know that he is your favorite superhero ! Tell him how you’d like to honor him on this special family day. You could include a Superhero T-shirt for him (or even one for each family member to wear!)
* Visit your local superheroes–
My Son-in-law is a firefighter. I know that many first responders, fire fighters, police officers are fathers too. They are spending their day (and many other holidays) helping others. Make some plates of cookies, or buy some gallons of ice cream and the fixings to make sundaes, make some cards, and pop in for a visit! They’d LOVE it !
* Go on a Food Scavenger Hunt in your neighborhood–
Food pantries are always happy to receive donations. Contact a local center and ask them for a list of what they need most. Print out a list, divide into 2 teams, and STRIKE OUT! See which team can get the most items in the given time.
* Visit a Homeless Shelter-
What is your family’s favorite activity to do together?
Do you love to play family baseball games in the backyard?
Or boardgames around the table?
Purchase some games/toys that represent the kinds of things your
family enjoys doing together and bring them to a local shelter.
* Write some letters to the soldiers serving our country overseas–
There are lots and lots of dads who are far away from their families this Father’s Day. Maybe take an hour or so as a family to make a few cards, or write a few letters telling them you appreciate the time they are missing with their own families so you can enjoy all the freedoms you have at home.
There are many ways to do this. HERE is one such group that facilitates letters and packages to our troops.
(NOTE: I have never submitted a letter using this organization, but they have a great mission and recommendations).
*Be Songwriters & Story Tellers-
Every family has a story to tell…and every memory creates another chapter. Tell the stories. Retell the stories. Make up new stories that are just being written.
* Write a play about the unique history of your family … this could be pretty amusing depending on your kiddos 🙂
It could be around a funny event that happened, how your family came to be (how mom & dad met, etc…) or even about what your family will be like in 10 or 20 or 50 years!)
Think costumes, a narrator, and a whole lotta memories.
You can find some simple steps to get you started HERE
* Have a family talent contest with Dad as the judge !
You can find some ideas HERE and HERE (not all appropriate 😉
Need some gifts to go along with this idea?
How FUN is dad? What about Karoke ? Or playing your own version of the TV show “Chopped”?
* Camp out!
Even just in your own backyard. Or find a local campground you’ve never tried before ! Download a star gazing app and map out the constellations. Pick out a cluster of stars and map out your own family constellation. You could even create the legend behind it and retell it for years to come. Check out this Sky Map Online !
You could gift dad with a map of the sky on the day he was born or a Stellarscope Handheld Star Finder !
I hope this post will give you some ideas to make this Father’s Day something memorable for your whole family for years to come !
HAPPY FATHER’S DAY !
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