In an ideal world everyone would know how great they are. We should show people how much we love them every day, but in reality that doesn't happen. When you have a new baby it can be particularly hard to make time for your partner and thank them for being a brilliant parent. Father's Day is a great opportunity to show them how much you appreciate them.
The first Father's Day is extra special so I've been looking for some extra special gifts. G is brilliant with my older daughter M, but it was only in January this year he properly became a Daddy. I am so grateful to him for all the help, love and care he has given to me and to Little and I want to make sure he feels it on his first Father's Day. Of course there is the risk that he's going to read this post (Hi G, Love you), but I've pulled together some great ideas and I wanted to share them with anyone looking for inspiration.
Father's Day Present Ideas Under £5
Father's Day Cupcakes
Mmm cake. Who doesn't love cake? Cupcakes are tasty and cheap to make. If you aren't a confident baker you can even buy packets from the supermarket where you just add eggs. To make them special for Father's Day you can get themed rice paper cake toppers (I got these from Amazon (affiliate link).
Salt Dough Footprint Heart
Little hands and feet get big quickly so recording them is a great way to celebrate and record the first Father's Day. Before about 6 months it can be difficult to persuade babies to open their hands so footprints are much easier to do.
I made this footprint heart using salt dough. Salt dough is really easy to make you just need equal parts salt and water and twice the amount of flour by volume (eg I used 1 cup flour, 1/2 cup salt, 1/2 cup warm water). Knead it for about 5 minutes before use. I rolled it out, put on a baking tray, stood Little on it one foot at a time then used a knife to cut round it in a heart shape.
The salt dough needs to be fully dried out before painting and baking is recommended. Everywhere seems to have different recommendations on baking times and temperatures, but I baked mine for about 3 hours at 120 degrees celsius.
To make the heart last it needs to be completely dried and then sealed. I painted mine with a metallic acrylic paint so it looks like a metal cast then covered it in Mod Podge. You might want to finish it off by adding a picture hook.
Personalised Chocolate Bar
A number of companies will make you personalised chocolate bars, but to save money, make it more personal and to ensure the chocolate is super tasty you can buy a good quality chocolate bar and make a new label to wrap around it.
I used Canva to combine a cheesy photograph with a message. If you haven't used Canva before it is a brilliant online tool which allows you to design anything from a logo to a poster. You can do similar with various apps if you prefer. I exported my design as a PDF and took it to the local print shop to print out (of course if you have a printer you can save even more money).
Father's Day Present Ideas Under £15
Hand/ Foot Print Pottery
More expensive that salt dough, but even easier to create a brilliant looking item. There are a number of pottery places which allow you to paint your own pottery and then they will fire them making them shiny and making the picture permanent. Near me there is Creative Biscuit in South Woodford (E18), and Pots of Art with shops in Enfield, St Albans and Hitchin. Each place has a range of items you can choose from including plates, mugs, clocks, jugs and animals. I chose a large coaster.
Simply paint your child's hands or feet and place them on the pottery. If they smudge you can even wash the paint off and keep trying until you are happy. To finish them off you can write the message of your choice (pro tip: pencil burns off in the kiln so you can use it to provide guidelines). If you aren't happy with your handwriting everywhere I have been to has offered to do the writing for me. You leave the item with them and a few days later come back to collect your finished shiny item.
Daddy and Baby Experience
There are lots of fun classes on weekdays that you get to experience when you are on maternity leave and while men are welcome too, but they are normally at work. Fortunately around Father's Day some of these classes run special weekend sessions for Dad's. Ask at local classes what they have or look on Baby Sensory for local sessions as they often have them.
Personalised Coffee
Similar to the personalised chocolate, but for a good coffee it will probably cost over £5. I think the coffee is a great idea with a small baby where you might not be getting enough sleep. Again I designed the label on Canva and I took it to the print shop to get printed on label paper so I could stick it on the coffee bag.
If your partner doesn't like coffee or chocolate you could do the same on a bottle of wine or spirits or anything they do enjoy.
Photo Gift
There are lots of options of photo gifts online and in supermarkets so if you have a picture you love you can easily get it printed on a range of items. I chose to take a special series of photo's and get them printed on a place mat. M and I wrote out cards saying "We", a heart, and "Daddy" and then I took pictures of the girls holding the cards. I put them together in an iPhone app called PicFrame and produced a placemat on the website T Shirt Studio.
Personalised Marshmallows
Mmm marshmallows. There are a range of companies which will print pictures of your choice on to marshmallows making a tasty and personal gifts. I ordered from Boomf because they had a discount offer and they have some ready made Father's Day images. They normally cost £15 for 9, but I have found another site which makes a similar product for £10.
Father's Day Present Ideas Over £15
Fingerprint cufflinks
There are lots of options of personalised jewellery in shops like Etsy and Not On The High Street. They make a great present if you can afford to spend a little bit more. Make sure you leave plenty of time to order them as they need to send you the kit, you need to send it back to them and then they need to make the jewellery. Being on maternity leave these are a little out of my price range, but I have previously ordered these fingerprint cufflinks from Button and Bean for M's Dad and they were pretty great.
A Special Meal
A meal can be any price depending on your partner's favourite food, but add in some alcohol and a few courses it's probably going to be over £15. If you are short on time due to the baby demanding attention you don't need to make it from scratch. Most supermarkets will be doing meal deals for Father's Day weekend or there is my personal favourite for ready made meals Cook which makes homemade tasting frozen food. If you have a Cook shop near you and you haven't tried them yet I strongly recommend them.
It may be cheaper and more impressive to make it from scratch and the key to this is food you can make it in advance (during nap time) and just heat up once the baby is asleep. This also means you can spend more time together on the Sunday. There is also the option of take away or eating out.
As children get older you can hand over the planning and present preparation to them so I think the first Father's Day is the perfect time to put the effort in and to say "Thank You".
All great suggestions I'm sure any new daddy would chuffed with Lucy
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