How to reward the Bestest Daddy Ever?

June 14, 2007 2:52 PM

Father's Day is Coming. My partner is the "Bestest Dad Ever". I want to give him something amazing and cool, that shows how great a father I think he is, but we have no money and very little time. Our son is just under 1 year, so the gift will have to come totally from me - he's not really old enough to make a craft for dad. What awesome and memorable gift First Father's Day gift can I give for under $20?
posted by anastasiav to shopping (18 comments total)

I don't know about the gift off the top of my head, but trace the baby's hand on the card, turkey style. It might help to have another person help: one to hold the kid, one to hold the hand and trace.
posted by textilephile at 2:56 PM on June 14, 2007

Plant a tree? You can have one planted by lots of different places in your partner's honor. You could also plant one yourselves (with your son helping) if you have someplace you can plant it.

I know you said $20, but for $30, you can send a swarm of bees in his honor.
posted by ersatzkat at 2:59 PM on June 14, 2007 [1 favorite]

You could buy a small blank book, let your son "decorate" the pages with smeary fingerpaints, then let it dry and go back in later and mount photos on cardstock and then in the book. Not sure if fingerpaint is archival, though.

You could make a mix CD of his favorite music, and in between the tracks add some sound files of your son's babbles and coos.

God. I'm making my own ovaries hurt.
posted by ersatzkat at 3:02 PM on June 14, 2007 [3 favorites]

With a super tight budget, your best bet is something that shows how you feel, rather than something that looks neat. Something super personal is going to do the trick...

Something that is metaphorical about caring for a son, making a long commitment. I like the hand print idea, and I really like the smeary pages in a book idea. I think it would be really neat if you got a decent size book (say a hundred pages) and labelled as "Your Permanent Birthday Card" Every year, instead of a card, you and your son put your b-day wishes in this book. You're not just giing a gift, you're creating a family heirloom! All for under $20! You rock!
posted by schwap23 at 3:11 PM on June 14, 2007 [2 favorites]

A photo of him wearing his Dad's jeans. You then take one every year from now on
posted by A189Nut at 3:13 PM on June 14, 2007 [5 favorites]

I second A189Nut's suggestion and add: make a mix CD of songs by his favorite artists for their children. A whole bunch of examples here.

A friend did this for a baby shower and everyone agreed it would be a lovely gift for any parent.
posted by annaramma at 3:51 PM on June 14, 2007

When my sister and I were little my parents made a gift for our grandparents. It was just a photo of us with a handprint on some white paper and then framed... 20 years later and my grandparents still had it on their wall.
posted by missmagenta at 3:57 PM on June 14, 2007

take your son to one of those photo booths that prints out the strip of four pictures. have him hold separate signs reading 'Happy,' 'Fathers', 'Day,' and 'Dad,' in each picture. frame it in a panoramic frame. A friend of mine got something similar for her birthday and it was adorable - her favorite present that year.
posted by enaira at 4:16 PM on June 14, 2007 [3 favorites]

My wife gave me a cloth diaper with my daughter's footprint and handprint on it (when my daughter was asleep my wife painted the hand and foot with bright color fingerpaint and took the impressions) and then framed the diaper. It was/is awesome. (daughter is in highschool now, also awesome)
posted by stupidsexyFlanders at 4:26 PM on June 14, 2007

For my first mother's day last year, my husband got construction paper and some kid-safe paints, and got my daughter's handprints and footprints on a piece of paper (plus some adorable pix of her clad only in a diaper, smeared with paint). It's hanging in my cubicle now & makes me smile whenever I see it.
posted by mogget at 4:35 PM on June 14, 2007

I'm a newish father (two kids under 4). I like the tree idea, so I'll riff off that:

Get him a tree and plant it as a family. Then, give him the rest of the day off (presumably with a beverage or two of his choice).

It's a nice balance between quality family time and the gift of something he probably doesn't have much off -- time off.
posted by diastematic at 4:37 PM on June 14, 2007

Experiences turn into memories, where as craft becomes clutter. What if you tell him what a great dad he is and why and follow it up with an excellent blowjob? I'm guessing that with you two being relatively new parents, there hasn't been as much time as previously available for decent nookie.
posted by b33j at 4:37 PM on June 14, 2007 [1 favorite]

b33j, I am forced to adore you now.

In all seriousness, though: If your husband is the sort for whom sexual attention is the best way to make him feel loved, unsolicited and freely-gifted sexual attention is a wonderful gift.

You even get to keep the $20. ;)
posted by DWRoelands at 4:56 PM on June 14, 2007

I have a 3 year old and a 4 month old, every year I want a nice long sleep in.. anything else is just extra fluff :)

Maybe this year!
posted by lundman at 5:51 PM on June 14, 2007

I like to cook with the kids, (yes, even at 1 they can "help"), so my wife got me and the rugrat both aprons to wear together when we cook. Best father's day gift I've gotten so far.
posted by monkeymadness at 6:25 PM on June 14, 2007

Handprints are the way to go. For an everlasting memory you will need,

1. Plaster of Paris
2. One disposable pie pan, aluminum, purchased at the grocery store
3. A Crayola (or the like) watercolor paint set
4. Water
5. Vaseline
6. A short length of ribbon
Grease pan with Vaseline. Mix dry plaster and water in a bowl according to directions. Pour plaster mixture into pie pan. Place child's extended hand on top of plaster; as close to center as possible. Poke hole near edge of plaster, above child's handprint. Wash plaster off of kiddo. Allow plaster to dry. Allow child to paint away on the plaster with the watercolors (your child may need a bit of guidance due to his age). Thread ribbon through hole. Presto! You're done.

I clearly rememeber helping my mother mix plaster of paris for just this sort of thing when I was four years old. Twenty-odd years and four homes later, the painted impressions of my younger brother's and my hands still hang over the kitchen sink at my parent's house.
posted by kayzie at 6:27 PM on June 14, 2007

Dough handprints are even easier. You just need flour, salt, water. And a hand.
posted by girlhacker at 9:15 PM on June 14, 2007

For my ex's first Father's Day, I gave him a keychain locket with a photo on one side, and a lock of our son's hair on the other side. I had it engraved with something like "World's Best Daddy."

To build on the handprint idea, you could get one of those frames with a mat that has 2 ovals cut out, and put a photo of your child on one side, and a handprint on the other.

Or you could just dig through & find a really adorable photo of your son & his dad together, and frame it for him. A framed photo are always a nice gift in my opinion because a lot of people don't splurge on frames, and a nice frame makes all the difference in the world.
posted by Iamtherealme at 12:36 AM on June 15, 2007