Cheap Father's Day Gift Ideas (continued)

Baked Goodies
I find that baking cookies is very kid-friendly. Although cookie dough isn't expensive, you could make several batches of cookies with a recipe and the right ingredients. Plus, why let the kids miss out on the pleasure of baking them from scratch.

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Breakfast in Bed
With a little careful planning this can be left to the children. Provide supervision but, let them make this their own personal gift.

• Instant oatmeal is easy. Let your child microwave the water and mix the ingredients.
• Let your child make dad a peanut butter and jelly sandwich with a glass of milk. Dads love peanut butter, too.
• A bowl of cereal with dad's favorite fruit and two slices of toast is great.

A specially prepared breakfast served to dad on a tray will make him feel very loved. He'll look forward to bragging on Monday morning about what he got for Father's Day.

Father's Day Art
This is perfect for even the smallest of children. A 2-3 year old is capable of scribbling dad a masterpiece. Moms can help by having their young child tell about the drawing and labeling important figures, like Me and Daddy. Then, when the child presents her art, mom can encourage her to tell daddy about the picture.

Older kids can get more creative by drawing their favorite day with dad or making a Father's Day collage of family pictures with dad. They may even choose to decorate a shoe box and fill it with special memories of time spent with their father.

Star of the Show
Help your kids to go through old home videos and set several to parts where dad is actually in front of the camera. When you're done, have the kids find things around the house that will set the stage. The idea is to set the tone of a movie awards show.

• Use a red sheet or comforter and fold it to make a red carpet into the viewing room. You could even use rope to tie off areas.
• Make sure dad has a seat marked "Reserved for VIP.".
• Have the kids make him a special award that you could present to him after the show.

King of the Castle
The main point here is that dad is waited on like royalty by the kids. Of course, you can't exactly expect young kids or even most teens for that matter to keep this up all day. That's why I recommend designing dad a coupon that gets placed inside his lovingly, homemade father's day card. Let the kids use whatever they have to create this. Put something cute on the coupon like, "This coupon grants you royal status for a day!" Then, in fine print put a humorous note below it, "Note: In kid time that is approximately 2 - 4 hours!" Choose whatever amount of time you feel is appropriate.

You may opt to let the kids decorate a crown for dad. This can be made from construction paper, glue, and glitter or whatever is handy. Get with your kids beforehand and discuss what small touches could be added to make dad feel especially royal.

There are lots of ways to show dad that he is special and appreciated. Let the kids have fun coming up with their own ideas or work together as a team. However you choose to honor the dad in your life this year, make it personal, sincere, and from the heart.

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