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SilverSabre25 02:42 PM 04-25-2012
So I have this great Mother's Day gift idea...but am absolutely at a loss for Father's Day.

MEN!!!

You're all so hard to buy anything for! Most Father's Day things seem centered around sports or golf or alcohol or ties...but not all guys like any of those things! Men are much more...individual... in their tastes than women are. Women, you're pretty safe with flowers and soap and pretty stuff (even though we're individual...it's just easier). Men...just aren't that generic!

So, what sorts of Father's Day gifts have you guys done in the past? The traditional stuff won't work for most (ANY?!) of my kids' dads...
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bgmeyers 02:46 PM 04-25-2012
Are you on pinterest? There are tons of ideas on there. We will be doing the "my dad rocks" craft. It's spelled out into a plaster of paris type thing.
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Lianne 03:00 PM 04-25-2012
We're growing herbs in clear plastic cups and will decorate the cups with facial feature stickers.
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MyAngels 04:17 PM 04-25-2012
Last year we did popsicle stick picture frames that the kids painted and decorated. I had the moms bring a snapshot of the kids with their dad if they wanted - I took a picture of the kids who didn't bring one.

The year before we painted and decorated rocks to use as paperweights since all their dads that year had desk jobs.
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MarinaVanessa 05:22 PM 04-25-2012
We make our own baker's clay and we amek handprints or footprints with happy father's day enscribed and then we bake and paint paint them. These kinds of gifts are the kinds that my families like most because they can see how much their child has grown.
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familyschoolcare 05:48 PM 04-25-2012
We will be painting "coin catchers" They are small white shallow dishes that the children will use paint pens to paint. Still looking for a poem that says something about fathers empeting their pocket for the card.
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DCMom 06:17 PM 04-25-2012
I was just thinking about this today, too!

One of the biggest hits over the years was car wash buckets. Dollar Store buckets decorated with handprints and car shaped stamps. I put a big sponge, a roll of paper towels, a bottle of dish soap and window cleaner (all from the Dollar Store) in it.

They were like $5 each because I had all the paints and stamps, etc.

I just did them a couple years ago, so I can't do them again so keep the ideas coming ladies!
Attached: Carwashbucket1.jpg (40.2 KB) Carwashbucket2.jpg (44.3 KB) 
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DCMom 06:33 PM 04-25-2012
Last year we did photo paperweights. I got glass paperweights with removable bottoms (Discount School Supply, I think?) then had moms snap a photo of dad with the kids for me. I resized them to fit the paperweight, cut them to fit the bottom and put them back together. The dad's loved those, too.

One year was pencil cups; I used juice cans and hot glued craft sticks them, then the kids decorated them with paint pens. Then we filled them with "World Greatest Dad" (or something like that) pencils. Signed and dated on the bottom.

Change holder~start with small 6" diameter white plates (the Dollar Store), decoupage a photo of the child in the center then I used a label maker with clear tape and printed 'Dad's Keys and Change' and stuck it under the photo. Then I let them decorate the perimeter with paint pens. Seal with acrylic sealer. The kids signed and dated the back.

All the dads have been pretty pleased over the years, they usually are kinda forgotten in the daycare craft department.
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Sunchimes 04:46 AM 04-26-2012
I have 2 ideas, although after reading everyone's ideas, I may be thinking too small. My kids are just scribbling, so I thought I would take a page of their scribbles and cut out a bookmark, mount it on cardstock and laminate it. This way, they have something the kids actually made instead of something I made.

The other idea is to cut the letters DAD out of foam and put pictures of the kids inside the letters.

I thought about the handprint thing, but I did that at Christmas and I'm not sure that they would want the same thing. There is one exception. I have a baby that wasn't born at Christmas so they don't have a footprint craft. I may have him do one for his mom or his dad.
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Christian Mother 08:57 AM 04-26-2012
Originally Posted by SilverSabre25:
So I have this great Mother's Day gift idea...but am absolutely at a loss for Father's Day.

MEN!!!

You're all so hard to buy anything for! Most Father's Day things seem centered around sports or golf or alcohol or ties...but not all guys like any of those things! Men are much more...individual... in their tastes than women are. Women, you're pretty safe with flowers and soap and pretty stuff (even though we're individual...it's just easier). Men...just aren't that generic!

So, what sorts of Father's Day gifts have you guys done in the past? The traditional stuff won't work for most (ANY?!) of my kids' dads...
Ohhh!! I love the car wash bucket!! I am stealing that for this yr!!

Last yr Silver the kids and I bought bigger size white coffee mugs at the Dollar store and at Michael's I bought the paint pens for ceramic or glass. It comes in all diff. colors in a package all together. I had the kids rap their hands on it and I drew their handprint on it and then colored it in as a fish with bubbles all around the rim..Something like this...

http://funhandprintart.blogspot.com/...ish-mug-1.html

The father's all called telling me they LOVED it...made me feel sooo good!! But their children where really proud of the work they did on it also!! For young ones...I did most of the work for them but the older children they where able to decorate on their own.
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spud912 04:27 PM 04-26-2012
First off, I go all out for all holidays. I especially want to do something nice for Father's Day since it is what my children will be giving my husband (I'm lazy and don't do anything extra).

Last year I think will be hard to beat. I found a poem about children's hands and typed it into a kid-themed border. I printed it onto special fabric paper (that you iron onto shirts) and ironed them onto large white men's t-shirts (on the back). Then I had the children put their hands into different colors of fabric paint and put their hands all over the shirt (around the poem). I wrote "Happy Father's Day 2011" with fabric paint onto the shirt. My husband really loved it. The only problem is the fabric paper requires some finesse.

This year, I think I will do a scrap-book type of thing and combine several ideas.

Yes, these ideas require a lot of work from me, but again, I don't mind the extra effort because the ones my girls make go to someone special. For Mother's Day and Christmas, the gifts go to my children's grandmas.
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mom2many 07:36 AM 04-27-2012
Last year the kids mixed up a BBQ sauce and they decorated the jars with a label and tag. It was a big hit! The dad's all loved them!

They have also made BBQ aprons with hand prints on them. Another year they drew pictures with iron on crayons and I transferred the pictures onto tee shirts.
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AfterSchoolMom 08:26 AM 04-27-2012
When my son was in Kindergarten, they painted fist sized rocks, put their handprints on them, and the teacher painted "Dad Rocks" on them...we use ours for a paperweight. It's adorable.
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Recie 08:33 AM 04-27-2012
Originally Posted by DCMom:
I was just thinking about this today, too!

One of the biggest hits over the years was car wash buckets. Dollar Store buckets decorated with handprints and car shaped stamps. I put a big sponge, a roll of paper towels, a bottle of dish soap and window cleaner (all from the Dollar Store) in it.

They were like $5 each because I had all the paints and stamps, etc.

I just did them a couple years ago, so I can't do them again so keep the ideas coming ladies!
WAYYY TOO CUTE!!! GREAT JOB maybe my hubby will wash my car after this lol
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SilverSabre25 08:38 AM 04-27-2012
Hmmm...I think I like the car wash bucket idea. Or possibly a "Trunk tote" idea I saw somewhere...Pinterest? Basically a nice sturdy box with handprints all over it for containing stuff in the trunk.
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daycare 08:54 AM 04-27-2012
Last year for Fathers Day, this is what we did:

I went out to my garage and dug around in my husbands tool box and collected all of the odd and ends of screws, washers, bolts and what not. They were all small in size.

Then I went to Michale's Craft store and I bought these wood picture frames. I painted them all black. I let them dry for about a day or so.

Then I put all of the supplies on the table and let the kids go at it. They glued several screws, washers and bolts onto the picture frame.

I also took a snap shot of each kid doing an activity. It went into the frame, along with a message that was typed onto the photo that read, Dad, You're the best! Happy Father's Day 2011.

The kids also made a card to go with it and we put them in home made lunch bags turned into a really nice gift bag. Everyone gushed over them.

Oh I forgot to add, that when the kids were done gluing the hardware on, I went over it with Modge Podge glue. I let it dry for 2 days before it was done.

Now I just need to think of what to do for this year....lol
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MizzCheryl 09:36 AM 04-27-2012
We took a picture of the kid and used an old block form our collection. They used modge podge or puzzle saver to paint the picture on the block. I printed of this saying, "A Chip off the Old Block". They were cute and the dads loved them.
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Countrygal 05:19 AM 06-05-2012
I'm resurrecting this thread to see if anyone has any new ideas.

So far I think we are going to bake. Most men like homemade sweets. So I think we'll make the dads and grandpas a care package of goodies. I also like the idea of the homemade BBQ sauce, and may make some of that as well....

But I was really wondering if any new ideas have come up?
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cheerfuldom 09:17 AM 06-05-2012
Originally Posted by mom2many:
Last year the kids mixed up a BBQ sauce and they decorated the jars with a label and tag. It was a big hit! The dad's all loved them!

They have also made BBQ aprons with hand prints on them. Another year they drew pictures with iron on crayons and I transferred the pictures onto tee shirts.
how do you mix up sauce??? I LOVE this idea!
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Hunni Bee 10:26 AM 06-05-2012
I always have a problem at this holiday.

I can't be sure who has a dad and who doesn't. A good few of them have dads I see fairly often, but some I can't be sure. I dont want to guess, and then they never get to give the gift/card to them. But then I don't want to not do anything, because I have some really nice dads in this group.

Any advice?
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EntropyControlSpecialist 11:53 AM 06-05-2012
Originally Posted by Hunni Bee:
I always have a problem at this holiday.

I can't be sure who has a dad and who doesn't. A good few of them have dads I see fairly often, but some I can't be sure. I dont want to guess, and then they never get to give the gift/card to them. But then I don't want to not do anything, because I have some really nice dads in this group.

Any advice?
Do it anyways. Even those without a father have a father figure that they can, USUALLY, give the gift/card to.

My own husband had a deadbeat dad and would give the Father's Day gifts to his Uncle.
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Countrygal 01:05 PM 06-05-2012
Originally Posted by LCLC:
Do it anyways. Even those without a father have a father figure that they can, USUALLY, give the gift/card to.

My own husband had a deadbeat dad and would give the Father's Day gifts to his Uncle.
I agree. DGS has no grandpa or father that are active in his life, so we're sending it to a friend who has taken him some places and made an effort to do things for him.
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GretasLittleFriends 03:46 PM 06-05-2012
Not sure how you would do this with kiddos who may not have dad's but saw a cute footprint poem. You could take the word daddy out, I suppose. The feet were painted with a glittery paint (blue). The sheet went:

Happy Fathers Day
(Feet Prints)
Here is my little footprint
One day it will fit your shoe
I watch what you are doing
Because Daddy I want to be like you.
(Name - Year)
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Lyss 09:27 PM 06-05-2012
Originally Posted by GretasLittleFriends:
Not sure how you would do this with kiddos who may not have dad's but saw a cute footprint poem. You could take the word daddy out, I suppose. The feet were painted with a glittery paint (blue). The sheet went:

Happy Fathers Day
(Feet Prints)
Here is my little footprint
One day it will fit your shoe
I watch what you are doing
Because Daddy I want to be like you.
(Name - Year)
That's so cute!!!

Most of my kids are fairly small so we are going to do this:

http://pinterest.com/pin/120400990008155969/

("Happy father's day to the best dad..." Handprints facing downward "Hands down!!")
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Tags:fathers day, fathers day - ideas, mother's day ideas
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