Easy DIY Gifts for Your Favorite Dads on Father’s Day
Show the dads in your life how much you appreciate them this Father’s Day with a heartfelt, homemade gift. Giving a gift with sentimental value endears and charms for a lifetime, so connect with your fathers with a thoughtful, lovingly crafted, and unique keepsake.
The Benefits of DIY Gifts
We all know how hard it is to buy the right gifts for Dad. They’ve probably got everything they need, and they can buy whatever else they want for themselves.
Simple gift ideas go so much further than store-bought wishlist items. A homemade gift tells Dad that you’re not just giving him something tangible that you grabbed during a quick stop at the store, but that you wanted to take the time to express yourself with thoughtfulness, effort, and love.
Planning Out a Personal Gift
How do you want to specifically celebrate your filial relationship? Think of a memory you want your dad to remember forever – use a photo that will warm his heart the instant he sees it, add words that illustrate the best part of your experiences, and choose the right craft with a nod to who he is.
For a gift that really warms the heart, think about:
- What you want to say
- Which words to use
- Which photos to use
- Which skill you’re good at that will make the craft better
- Which craft represents something personal between the two of you
- What small things you need to buy to craft your idea
DIY Gift Ideas
What’s the right gift for Dad? Here are some creative Father’s Day gift ideas to help you start brainstorming:
- Personally crafted candle holders or lanterns with a candle (or electric candle for safety)
- Personally decorated boxes for a store-bought gift
- Pop-up cards
- Personalized coupon books for Dad’s favorite stores
- Clocks with a personalized face and frame
- Crafted or painted picture frames with a photo or a collage
- Posters, wall signs, or canvas cards that expresses your history or a specific moment
- Personally decorated baskets with sentimental keepsakes, inside joke gifts, and useful items
Make a candle holder from anything, including cups, ramekins, jars, or bowls. Fill them with corn kernels or beads to keep the candles in place.
You can easily make a pop-up card by folding a piece of paper in half and cutting two parallel lines on the fold. Unfold the paper halfway open, push the lane of cut paper the opposite way on the same fold so you have a standing section. There, you can paste photos or a stylized letter. Cover the outside of the closed paper so the slits and missing pop-up section are hidden. Then decorate to your heart’s content.
Take a picture frame to the next level. Make a clock. Find a cheap clock and picture frame. Remove the time-keeping mechanism and the minute and hour hands. Don’t worry about the store-bought clock face – make your own with the picture frame. Take the back off the picture frame and decorate the inside board with photos, messages, paintings, or drawings. When it looks good, drill a hole in the center of the decorated picture-support board for the main wheel to poke through. Reconnect the minute and hour hands, then place back in the frame with the backing board, and voila! A clock with a personalized picture in the center. (Just be careful about photos pasted in the center!)
Finishing Touches
Presentation is everything. Don’t just hand it over, but make or find a nice box for the big unveiling. Let the surprise of how much effort you’ve made be a memorable moment, too!
Happy Father’s Day! When you’re ready for more craft ideas, head over to read our other posts on the Milestone Retirement Communities blog page.