It’s the thought that counts when it comes to gifts, right? It’s easy to stop at a store and pick something up for Father’s Day, but nothing can beat a personalized gift. Get your children involved with creating a custom item for people this Father’s Day. Not only will these be sentimental, but you can create a lot of fun memories while doing it. Consider these 10 craft ideas for inspiration.
10 DIY Photo Frame
For a simple gift, make a homemade frame. Choose one of your family’s favorite photos featuring dad and allow your child to decorate a frame. You can glue popsicle sticks together to create a makeshift frame or buy a cheap frame from the dollar store that your toddler can decorate with paint and stickers.
9 Handprint Dish
For a personalized kitchen utensil, consider creating a handprint dish. Crafty Mama explains all you need is a ceramic dish and some acrylic paints.
Help your toddler put their hand or footprint on the dish. They can even decorate the plate further for a personalized touch. You can use a paint marker to write a sweet message to dad. Then, simply pop the plate in the oven at 350 degrees for 15 minutes to set the paint.
8 Sharpie Mug
In a similar vein, you can pick up a plain mug and have your child decorate it for a Father’s Day gift. You can do this craft with Sharpie markers, which will allow you to skip the oven. But this can become messy and hard to clean up for younger kids.
In such instances, you may want to stick with acrylic paint that can easily wash off skin. Just stick the mug in the oven to set the paint. Look up online instructions to get the timing and temperature right.
7 Homemade Trophy
Have your child show dad he’s # 1 in their books by surprising him with a homemade trophy, as Happiness is Homemade recommends.
Younger children will need assistance to trace and cut out the shape of a trophy. But then you can let your child decorate the trophy as they see fit. Use markers, glitter, and stickers to make the craft unique.
6 Scrapbook of Memories
This craft is great if you have multiple children wanting to take part. Collect photos of your favorite memories with dad and arrange them in a scrapbook. Each child can have a page or two to decorate on their own. Be sure to help younger children with gluing and scissoring, if need be.
5 Hand-Painted Tie
If the dad in your life always wears a tie to work, give him an extra special accessory. Simply pick up a plain, inexpensive tie and some child-friendly fabric paint. Then, allow your child to paint a design on the tie. Wait for it to dry before presenting it to dad. Beware this craft can get messy, especially with younger kids.
4 Paper Bag Puppets
Our Kid Things suggests making paper bag puppets to surprise a dad with on Father’s Day. Pick up a few paper bags from your local dollar store. Then, help your child create a puppet in dad’s liking. You can create puppets to resemble the whole family.
If doing this craft with younger kids, help them draw the puppet’s eyes and smile. Allow them to decorate the rest of the puppet as they like.
3 A Family Portrait
If your child is beginning to draw stick figures, encourage them to draw a family portrait for Father’s Day. Younger children may need help creating the outline of each family member. But you can let them color the clothes and hair of each person. Allow your child to frame their masterpiece (they can even decorate the frame!) Before presenting it to dad.
2 Handprint T-Shirt
If you know a dad who loves t-shirts, give him a unique one to add to his collection on Father’s Day. Pick up a plain, inexpensive T-shirt and some fabric paint. Then, help your child create a design.
You can have them put their hand and footprints on the T-shirt, so dad can remember how small they were. This is also an easy design for younger kids to do, so long as they have help. Or, allow your toddler to have free rein by creating an abstract design with the paint.
1 DIY Father’s Day Card
Finally, a classic craft for Father’s Day is to create a handmade card. This is a simple craft since you likely already have supplies at home. Fold a colorful piece of paper in half and write a message, like “Happy Father’s Day.” Then allow your toddler to personalize the card by decorating it with markers, stickers, glitter, paint, or whatever else you have on hand.
Sources: Happiness is Homemade, Our Kid Things, Crafty Mama,