Article - Low Cost Father's Day Gifts
Father's Day provides a great opportunity for you to show children that gifts don't have to mean going to the shops and spending
lots of money, and the best gifts are not necessarily the most
expensive. Here are a few ideas for cheap, low-cost and even
no-cost Father's Day gifts for Dads, Granddads, and favourite Uncles.
If you are doing this as a group activity, ensure that you expand "Dad"
to include grandfathers, uncles and other men who play an important role in
the children's lives.
Low Cost Father's Day gifts
- Mugs. Get a mug, fill it with his favourite
sweets, nuts or chocolates from the supermarket, wrap in cellophane/tissue
paper/ self-decorated paper, and tie with a ribbon. If you wish, you
can take it a step further with a personalised mug, or even a mug
your child can decorate.
- Plants. Buy seedlings from the nursery or if you
have time, grow a plant from seed. Pot it yourself in an inexpensive pot
or jar. The child can decorate the pot.
- Novelty Gifts. Consider cheap novelty gifts for
hours of shared fun. See some
silly
Father's Day gifts on the Silly Gifts website.
- Afternoon Tea. Make or buy some special cakes
or scones and have an afternoon tea. Let the child wait on the
table.
- Gift hampers and baskets. Use a shoebox, shirt
box or any other leftover box. Leave plain, glue wrapping paper
around it, or have the child decorate it. Use shredded paper or
similar to half fill the container. Add an assortment of small gifts
eg sweets, biscuits, pen, notepad, mug or novelty gift. If you
choose a theme you can match the decorations and the gifts - eg
gardening hamper could include seeds, gardening gloves, a small hand
tool, and office hamper could include stationery items and a coffee
mug.
No Cost Father's Day Gifts
- Bake a cake or biscuits together, let the child
decorate it. Take a step further by putting it on a new plate
or in a tin.
- An artwork. Let children to draw or paint a
picture. If you can't think of a subject, check out our
templates for a topic that matches his interests.
- Party decorations. Make a Father's Day banner
Make Your Own Father's Day Cards
There is no right and wrong size or shape for greeting cards - be
creative and flexible. Envelopes are optional.
- A card can be as simple as a folded piece of paper, card or
cardboard, with a message and decorations. Practice some ideas
on scrap first and let your child choose which one suits them and
their Dad.
- The words - print a Dad or
Daddy template as the basis for
your card, or if the child is old enough, let them write the words
and sign the cards themselves.
- Decorate the card - with drawings, strips of bright wrapping
paper, cut photos from magazines and
glue them on
- Not sure what to write inside? Suggest a list, for example...
- 3 things I like about my Dad
- 3 things that Daddy does that are funny
- 3 ways that I am like my Dad
These activities can develop the following:
- Self-esteem by producing, not consuming.
- Imagination and creativity.
- Self expression and emotional outlets.
- Fine motor skills and the pincer grip (when using pencils,
brushes etc).
- Language - talk about what they think and feel about their Dad.
- Interest in how things are made and who makes them.
- Problem solving and flexibility - looking beyond the
commercially supplied options.
Serious Father's Day Gifts
See our other sites for more serious Father's Day gifts.
Templates
By using our
templates
and activity ideas you can make developing
these skills fun and interesting. All of our templates have simple lines and
shapes suitable for use with young children to use as a base for drawing,
colouring, cutting and painting. Children should be free to use or "misuse" them in any way they wish.
More Ideas
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resources are added and ideas to use suitable for professionals in childcare centres as well as parents and other carers of young children.
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