Good Homemade Gifts For Father's Day

I don't know about you, but I love homemade gifts. Regardless of what it is-mix tapes from a boyfriend, a candy necklace, artwork using my old nail polish bottles-there's just something about the fact that someone went to the effort to make something for me that makes me appreciate it more. Since Father's Day is coming up, I thought it might be fun for your and your children to get together and make something to honor Dad. If you agree, here are a few ideas.

-An edible Father's Day card. If your husband enjoys cookies or cakes, you could always make him an edible Father's Day card. Make some dough for his favorite cookie, spread it out into a rectangular shape and arrange M&Ms or chocolate chips to say, 'Happy Father's Day!' If you don't want to use the M&Ms, you could also write it in frosting. Having your kids sign their names in frosting or the edible 'gels' would be a nice touch. To make it even more unique, make the cookie in the shape of a tie or screwdriver. Just remember that the cookie dough is going to expand a bit as it bakes, so you don't want to make the shapes too complicated! If you don't want to use one big cookie, you could make smaller cookies, put letters on them and arrange them to spell, 'Happy Father's Day!' or something similar.

-Paper weight. Find a large, flat-ish stone. Cover it with scraps of fabric and have your kids write on it in ink or marker. They can sign their names on it if it's big enough but, if not, something like 'Dad' or 'We Love You' would work. If it's a smooth rock, you can also paint it and write on it using paint pens. They aren't very expensive, and are things you can use again. You will definitely need to supervise this one so they don't make a huge mess or (if you use fabric) burn themselves with the glue gun.

-A painted Christmas ornament. Many craft stores sell flat scraps of cardboard or wood to make homemade Christmas ornaments.. Take one of these-maybe one in the shape of a man-and have your kids paint it to look like him. My father still has the wooden Navy man that we made for him more than 30 years ago! You could also just have them sign their names, write 'we love you!' or draw other things.

-'Man cave' snack basket. Take a large basket and fill it with his favorite snack foods. Find a wide ribbon, have your kids write on it in marker and tie it around the handle. This way, he has some things to munch on while he's working in the garage.

-'Hand-made' poster. Many craft and big-box stores (Walmart, Target) have stiff poster board and frames. Have your kids make prints of their hands to make a cool shape-maybe a tree or a peacock-and frame it. They can do this in markers or paint.

As you can see, there are all kinds of cute and fun gifts your kids can make for their father on Father's Day. He'll get a huge kick out of them, and they can also be put to good use. This way, the kids know they are giving him something he doesn't already have! Have fun!