Father’s Day is an opportunity to remind your little ones of all the amazing things Daddies do. Doling out cash from the bank of Dad. Scaring away under-the-bed monsters at night. Driving the Dad taxi service from football practice to piano lessons and beyond. Fixing that broken toy.
Doing those funny impressions that make everyone snort with laughter. Yes, we think Dads are pretty great. And while they should be championed and celebrated all year round, Father’s Day (coming up on Sunday 18th June) is a time to really lavish them with attention.
Here are five brilliant gift ideas you can make with your children. Time to get crafting!
Why not make Dad’s tea break extra special with a personalised mug? You will need a plain white ceramic mug, some star and letter stickers and a set of coloured markers. Help the children apply the stickers to spell out ‘Dad’ or whatever message they choose. Then let the kids run riot scribbling and colouring the mug. When they’ve finished their masterpiece, peeling off the stickers will reveal the words and motif. Magic.
These marshmallow pops are a really sweet gift. And they couldn’t be easier to make! You will need: marshmallows, 2 candy eyes, chocolate chips, white candy pearls, moustache sprinkles, white candy pearls, some white cookie icing and lollipop sticks. The children can start by sticking the marshmallows onto the lollipop sticks (gobbling a few as they go). Then comes the really fun bit: decorating! Use a pearl candy to create the nose and then whack on the moustache and eyes. Icing will help everything to stick. Display the pops in a glass container (with some blue sweets to hold them in place) and add the final touch, some chocolate chips for Daddy’s hair.
Get your kids to think about what they love most about their Dad. Then they can create an award to celebrate their Dad’s storytelling skills, piggy-back prowess or hearty belly laugh. This rosette will no doubt take pride of place in Dad’s office and make him smile every day. To make one you will need 2 paper plates, glue, scissors (please help little fingers), ribbon and some stickers. Decorate both sides of your plate. Affix the ribbons to the inside of one of the plates, then stick the other plate on top of this – sealing the ribbons in place. Easy peasy.
A lot of Dads love nothing more than turning sizzling steaks on the BBQ during a long, languid summer evening. If this sounds like the Daddy in your family then maybe he might like a personalised apron to cement his chief chef status! You will need a plain white apron and some fabric markers. Let the children’s creativity run wild – they can doodle and write messages all over it to create something truly one of a kind.
Could Dad’s desk do with some cheering up? This pen holder should do the trick. You will need an old tin can with the label taken off (a beans or soup can would be perfect), some material, white felt for the shirt collar, buttons and a little ribbon. And a glue gun to secure everything in place. Then it’s just a case of moulding the pieces around the can and sticking everything down. It’s a little fiddly so children may need adult help.
And for something you don’t need to make, why not get Daddy some fancy toothpaste for that winning grin of his or some shampoo for his everyday hair care? We’ve got you covered.
