Father's Day Ideas
We asked Kansas City Parent Magazine readers on Facebook to share their BEST ideas for Father's Day! From celebrating at the Zoo or a Royals Game, to wonderful homemade projects the kids can make, Kansas City Parent readers know how to make Dad feel special! Here are a few of the great ideas you shared:
Father’s Day Things to Do and Places to Go in Kansas City:
Debi Midkiff Brown, “Every year we go to the Kansas City Zoo for Father's Day. There is always something fun going on there and such a wonderful day. We end it with a cookout and ice cream!!”
Kristina Light, Web Editor www.KCParent.com, “We typically celebrate on Saturday, starting the day with Blueberry Pancakes (made with the fresh berries we pick in June at The Berry Patch). Then we spend a Day at the Beach! We swim at Longview Lake Beach, pack a picnic, build sand castles, take photos, and play all day! After a long day at the Beach, we order Pizza or Chinese delivery to arrive at home when we get there! On Father’s Day, Dads and Grandpas open gifts made by the girls… our favorite gift was Ice Cream Dishes painted at Paint, Glazed and Fire and packaged with their favorite Ice Cream toppings and a carton of their favorite flavor! See our Guide to Father's Day in Kansas City for more ideas!”
Helen Ransom, “A couple of years ago I secretly arranged for a bunch of his guy friends to go to a Royal's game with him. He was quite surprised when I gave him his ticket and told him his friends were going too!”
Karen Anderson Swalwell, “Father's Day is ALWAYS spent on the lake in our family. The one day dad can guarantee that his whole family will go fishing with him!”
Crystal Paugh Tucker, “This year we will be camping and going canoeing for the first time! We are very excited, especially about the pictures that we will take!”
Bonnie LaBelle, “Of course a little spoiling for Dad, lunch of his choice, homemade gift from child, and relaxing family time together.”
Kristina Hiles Carlson, “Fathers Day this year will be a multigenerational affair for my family. My husband, 2yr old son and I are also taking both our our moms and dads to the Kansas City Zoo! To see all of the men in my life running around the zoo, likely acting like wild animals themselves, will be priceless! Then a home cooked dinner and movie at home for the best dad in the world!”
Kelly Epperson McConnell, “I like to arrange some me time for my husband - golfing with his dad & brother (if they're both available) and the girls get to hang out at home and wait for the guys. Once they're done dinner!! It's a fun time for everyone!!”
Sarah Weese Shay, “We always spend the day outside doing things my husband loves! Fishing, swimming family fun!! Always finish the night with homemade ice cream.”
Cristy Win, “I just browsed the KC Parent website and there are a lot of great ideas for Father's Day. My favorite is having each child do a one-on-one activity with dad. This is something that can be really special for the kids to. This is something that we will definitely try this year. It might become a tradition!”
Ann Lytle Moore, “My husband is a pastor, so we celebrate the whole weekend before Mothers/ Fathers day. We let him pick where to eat, and what to do the whole day on Saturday. Money is an issue, but special family time is what we enjoy the most anyway.”
Susan Bernstein Luetje, “We spend the day with grandparents and then relax at the pool - daddy gets to pick the dinner of his choice (usually Mexican food)!”
Mary Collura-Aldaco, “Breakfast in bed and homemade gifts from the chikdren. I surprised my husband last year with royals tickets too! A surprise game with his buddies in the bar seats. He had a great time!”
Vicki VonHolten, “This year we have friends of the zoo passes and hey dad(son in law) gets a free brat. What more could you ask for?”
Father’s Day Gift Ideas:
Jeanine Bussjaeger Myers, “We paint a t-shirt for him. Micheal's has a craft class for this. You supply the shirt, they supply the paint.”
Crystal Miller Renz, “This year I am going to have the kids each paint a picture especially from them for their dad on canvas we purchase at Michael's or the like. They will each be able to create whatever they want to for daddy and he will get special gifts to hang in his office. We'll give them to him while we give him breakfast in bed to let him have a small break from the chores only a daddy can do!”
Samantha 'Potts' Dietz, “Last year I uploaded pictures of my husband and our son to picnik.com. It's a free photo editing web page that uses easy functions to embellish your pictures. I made three collages (two for hubby and one for my dad) for them to hang up at work. Simple print to Walgreens or Walmart and I spent next to nothing for a great personalized gift. It was a big hit and an easy gift from our 1 year old son.”
Meaghan Johnson, “Have the kids draw a picture of what their father means to them and the activities that they love to do with their father.”
Rachael Baker Grant, “We write a poem with little pictures my kids draw on the bottom, take him to do an activity of his choice (Dave & Busters) grill out and my kids make him a basket of goodies and his favorite snacks and cute homemade cards to make him feel extra special!!”
Diane Clark-Royalty, “Make Dad a Grilling Apron. White canvas apron, in Dad's size, available at craft stores, Fabric markers work best for smaller kiddos. Prewash the apron. Kids can sketch out ideas on paper beforehand or go straight to canvas. Themes might include food on the grill, family or self-portraits, traced hands, names or Dad's favorite things.”
Mary Vanhooser, “We make concrete stepping stones with all the kids' hand prints. We have one for each year and it is so neat to see the hand prints get bigger and a baby's footprint added. We have them all out in our front garden. The kids love making them and Daddy loves the reminder of time passing by.”
Michelle Clark Kaufman, “Last year, we uploaded a pic to www.kodak.com and created a travel mug for him. He used it all year to see those sweet little faces while he has his morning cup of joe on the road. We also always make sure daddy gets a nap on Father's Day!”
Jaymie Schmidt Huffman, “I do a mini-scrapbook with an interview about dad that the kiddos fill out.”
Stacy Handley Corbin, “My husband is a HUGE football fan, so every year for Fathers Day (well the past 4) I dress the kids in their football jerseys & get their pics taken for him playing football..and do a cook out!
Amy Creason, “This year I am going to write a letter to my husband from my son's perspective- he's 19 months and loves waiting for Daddy to come home. My husband in leaving for 8 months in just a few weeks for the Army National Guard, so I want him to be able to take it with him and remember that Jackson loves him so much!”
Amber Miller, “I always make my husband's favorite foods for breakfast, lunch, and dinner on Father's Day. We spend the whole day as a family, with him not having to do any chore or clean anything up. This year I think we will end up at the Johnson County Arboretum since my husband loves to be outdoors!”
Amy Carranza, “Get pictures taken for dad and surprise him with framed prints and pics for his wallet. Ours likes to fish, so we will pack a lunch and cooler and go hit Shawnee Mission Park. At night, we will make homemade sundaes with all the fixin's!”
Korinne Anderson Armour, “Nothing makes my husband beam more than doing a project with my son so we think of something fun and get the supplies. I provide drinks and snacks while they have boy time.”
Heather Sophy, “We do a treasure hunt in our house for his gifts. My three year old will draw him a picture and to give him a clue to where it is, i.e. she will draw a washer or dryer where we hid his new shirt. We always make him a personalized gift, i.e. Michael's has coffee mugs with permanent markers, or we will get a picture taken and personalize it. Also have our daughter draw a picture of him and we write all the things we love about him, i.e. we will draw an arrow pointing to his arms and say how much we love his big hugs. I make his favorite food for breakfast and we go wherever he wants that day!”
Heather Preckel, “I always make my husband a scrapbook page and it's fun to look back on all the different pages I have made him throughout the years.”
Rayna Allin, “Breakfast in bed for daddy made by his daughter!”
Heather Tindle Barnes, “We make a t-shirt with the kids hand prints and feet on it.”
Karen Kennedy, “My (now) 2 yr old son and I make daddys favorite breakfast for him (muffins) and he makes daddy a homemade card also :) playing video games 2gether, dads favorite way to relax!”
Brigeete Fenstermann Kurtenbach, “My three girls made shirts last year. My youngest's said My Dad Rocks, the middle said I Love My Dad and ghe oldest said My Dad is the Best. They wore them on Father's Day everywhere!”
Kim Woirhaye-Reid, “This year I am going to have my 4 year old draw a picture of himself and daddy doing a "favorite" thing. After he's done I am going to frame it for Father's Day. There is just something about a child's artwork that can bring a smile to a face!”
Amy Bell Beecham, “My 4 year old son and I make a photo book of the two of them from the previous year. My husband then usually goes golfing and then we plan a dinner for him (usually involves grilling) and sit on the deck to eat and play in the back yard.”
Chelsea Wyss, “I read an idea of making a Dad's "Fan Club" t-shirt. Thats what the kids and I are going to make for my husband this year!”
Read our Guide to Father's Day in Kansas City for more ideas!