30 Ways to Celebrate Father's Day

Father’s Day doesn’t have to involve expensive gifts or extravagant outings. Quality time with family and homemade gifts are often what dads crave over material things. Read on for ideas on how to celebrate Dad’s big day.

• Breakfast in bed. This is usually associated with Mother’s Day, but Dad might enjoy this special treat, too!
• Have the kids cut out pictures from magazines and newspapers that represent their father and arrange them in a colorful collage.
• Homemade T-shirt. Use fabric paint or permanent markers to design a fun shirt for Dad.
• Make a video. Before the big day, record your kids describing what their father means to them. Surprise him with the video on Father’s Day.
• Picnic in the yard. Local mom Stacy Taylor has this simple, yet fun, suggestion: Spread a blanket on the grass, pack your family’s favorite foods and enjoy the great outdoors close to home!
• One-on-one time. Carving out individual time with children is important yet hard to do sometimes. Make a point on Father’s Day weekend for Dad to spend time with each of his children one-on-one, doing what they like to do together.
• Gridiron Glory. Take Dad to Union Station to see the best of the Pro Football Hall of Fame at the Gridiron Glory exhibit, now open!
• Take a journey through old photos and revisit favorite family memories.
• Make Dad “king for the day.” The kids can decorate a crown for him and spend the day getting him snacks, giving him backrubs and doing what he wants to do.
• Have a backyard campout. For families who love the outdoors, Father’s Day weekend is the perfect time to go camping, and you don’t have to venture far from home. Pitch a tent in the yard, tell stories in the dark and look for constellations.
• Treasure hunt.Buy or make a few small gifts, hide them throughout the house and have Dad hunt for them. The kids can draw a map or provide clues.
• Celebrate all the men in your family by inviting them over for a cookout and games in the backyard.
• Pitch in with a project. Local mom Stacy Green says, “My husband loves cleaning the vehicles as long as he has the time, so how about an afternoon helping Dad clean the family car?”
• Coupon book. Create “coupons” for chores Dad normally does. Whenever he desires to kick back and relax, he can turn in a coupon and let someone else do that chore.
• Write a letter. Tell him how much he means to the family. Mom and kids can each write their own notes or combine their sentiments into one big letter.
• Get outdoors. Get some fresh air and exercise together by going for a hike or bike ride or visiting a park for the afternoon.
• Turn the driveway into a canvas. Use sidewalk chalk to turn the driveway into words of endearment for Dad and illustrate with colorful drawings.
• Make Dad his favorite dessert. Apple pie? Chocolate cake? Whatever his sweet tooth craves, get the kids in the kitchen to help create it.
• Candy letter. Here’s a unique take on a letter to Dad: Include wrapped candy (glued to heavy stock paper) in addition to words to tell him how much he means. For example: “You are ‘Extra’ special to us and we would be ‘Airheads’ if we didn’t tell you the ‘Mounds’ of love we have for you.
• Draw a picture. When our kids were ages 2 and 5, they used markers to make colorful pictures for Father’s Day. Those drawings meant a lot to my husband and are still hanging in our house.
• Interview Dad. Children can learn more about their father by asking him questions about his childhood.
• Photo album. Local mom Tracy Goodall says, “One year I made a photo book with pics of the kids and their dad from birth on. I let the kids pick the pictures, so they helped too. He loved it.”
• Kid chefs. If your kids are old enough, have them create a smorgasbord of Dad’s favorite foods for lunch or dinner.
• Trivia time. Did you know that the first Father’s Day was celebrated in 1910, but it wasn’t a nationwide holiday until 1972? Find more fun facts about the holiday at History.com and quiz Dad to see if he knows the answers.
• Start a tradition. For example, if your kids are younger, take a photo of them each year holding a “Happy Father’s Day” sign. Keep the photos in a small album; Dad will like looking back through them to see how the kids have grown.
• Play a favorite sport. Does Dad like shooting hoops or playing catch? Make a family game out of it.
• Fill a jar with love. Kids and Mom can write lots of little notes describing what they love about Dad and put them in a decorative jar for him to read on his special day.
• Mad libs. Write a story about fathers, leaving blanks throughout the story for different parts of speech. Example: “My dad is so _______ (adjective). He likes to _______ (verb) …” Without letting him read the story, ask Dad to supply verbs, adjectives, nouns and adverbs to fill in the blanks. Then read the story aloud—the results are bound to be hilarious!
• Decorative picture frame. Take a photo of the kids and put it in a frame they’ve decorated. Be creative—you can glue twigs, pebbles or Lego pieces around it, or let the kids write a special message.
• Dad’s choice! Ask Dad what he wants to do. Maybe an afternoon of golf, a movie marathon or a family trip to the zoo is how he wants to spend the day.

Tisha Foley’s two children love to make homemade cards for their dad on Father’s Day.