Father's Day is TODAY!
Well, in our family, we celebrated yesterday. I like to call the Saturday before Father's Day "stepfather Saturday" because Jake is an amazing stepdad and deserves to be celebrated, just as much as any biological dad.
The Saturday immediately before Father's Day, for two years now, we have had both of our dads (plus last year some extended family) over for a cookout so that Little Man can celebrate all of the men in his life on this side of his family. Then, at 8 PM on Saturday night, he goes with his biological dad for the more traditional Father's Day holiday.
(Technically, we probably won't always be able to celebrate the day before - the past two years, the weekend of Father's Day has fallen, on the custody rotation, on "our" time with Little Man. If, some year, it does not, we will have to just celebrate the weekend before or after instead.)
Since we have already gifted Jake with his presents from our little guy, we can now share this DIY gift idea! It's a quick one, so if you're needing a last minute gift from your kiddo to their dad, stepdad, or grandfather, this will be a good one!
You'll notice that Little Man made two - one for Jake and one for his father. I'm in the business of raising a thoughtful young man - and that includes helping him to think of people that may be outside of my comfort zone. It'd be wonderful if I could say "that's just how we coparent," but that's not really true; coparenting has been challenging, and holidays are no exception. I have very seldom been remembered on holidays or celebratory days by the other side of my son's family - and that's okay, because that's not my purpose for helping him be thoughtful toward his father. My goal is to make sure that I raise a boy who is thoughtful and who loves giving more than receiving. (I should note that I am very fortunate to have a husband who makes sure that I am always remembered on special occasions and who fully supports and participates in my endeavor to raise AJ with thoughtfulness and selflessness as key character traits.)
So I want to share what we made as a Father's Day gift with each of you! I got the supplies at Dollar Tree, so it's very affordable - and it's easy for a little one to do with guidance. For reference, my son just turned four a few weeks ago, and this project was definitely age appropriate for him!
Here's what you need:
- Canvas board (or paper)
- paint (green, brown, red)
- paint brush
- Q-tip
- sharpie
- paper plate
First, I poured green paint onto the paper plate. Then I dipped my toddler's hand in the paint, and then positioned it on the upper center of the canvas to create a full green handprint. The green handprint will serve as the top of the apple tree.
Then, after washing the green off of his little hand, I showed my toddler how to make a streak of brown paint under the green treetop to serve as the trunk. After one example swipe of the paintbrush, AJ was able to mimic it a few times to complete the tree trunk.
Next, I dipped the Q-Tip in red paint and showed my son a few example dots in the green paint to look like little apples in the tree. Again, he was able to do this easily after a couple short examples.
As the paint dried, I used a sharpie to write on the canvas - I jotted a Father's Day message, the date, and a to and from. I let my son write his own name, since he's been working on this already and doing a fairly good job!
When they dried, we wrapped the gifts accordingly. AJ gifted Jake's to him today, and then took the other to his father for their Father's Day celebration.
(If you need the paint to dry fast for a day-of gift, I suggest using your hair dryer!)
Here's the final result!
What do you think? Have you done any recent DIYs or projects for Father's Day? I'd love to hear from you in the comments below!
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