Father’s Day is coming up on June 20th – what are you going to do to celebrate the father figure in your life? Money is tight all over, but that doesn’t mean you can’t show your love and gratitude. Presents aren’t about money spent, they’re about thought given.
Even if you’ve got no budget at all, there are lots of ways to show dad (or the person who does the “dadding” in your life) that you care. Try organizing the family to reenact a scene from their favorite television show or film. You can tape it, if you’ve got a video camera, or you can put it on live for dad’s enjoyment. The memory of your six-year-old reenacting the training sequence from “Rocky” will keep dad entertained for weeks and years to come.
Also, you can never go wrong making your own cards. Hallmark type Father’s Day cards are notoriously weak anyway, and there’s no reason why crayons and construction paper should be restricted to the elementary school set. The kids can make cards for dad, and so can you. He’ll hold on to them a lot longer than he will the store bought variety.
No eating out budget? Making dad’s favorite dinner can be fun for the entire family, in some ways a lot more fun than eating in a stuffy restaurant where you have to spend the whole evening keeping the kids in their seats and quiet.
If you’ve got a present buying budget, think about ways that you can allow dad to splurge on himself. A lot of fathers, and father figures, out there are giving things up right now so their families can have more. On Father’s Day, give them a little extra luxury. Movie passes so that the film loving father, who has been spending his movie budget on things like “Shrek” and “Toy Story 3,” won’t think twice about seeing ”The Expendables” or “Inception” without the kids. Sushi making classes for the dad who loves sushi, but has been skipping grown up dinners out so the kids can go to Disneyland. Day passes on the golf course, tickets to a baseball game, even a set of poker chips and a promise to have the house to himself for a night with the guys.
Most of all, remember to take the time to tell the person in your life that most deserves the title of ”dad” how much you appreciate what they do. There’s nothing like a dad.
