Fathers Day!

My family did the Mothers'day brunch at the zoo this year and the was very good. The kids loved it and it was a great way to spend time as a family. I would suggest that as a Father's day event as it includes the zoo admission and is only $10 each for an adult.
As for the evening, I always try to find a sitter and add a little "mommy" time to his list of activities. I know my hubby loves the family together time, but it is the quiet, husband and wife time that we seem to struggle to squeeze in and it makes all the difference in the world for my hubby to add that in.

Good Luck

Pack a picnic with some of his favorite foods and drink. I know my husband loves food ( as do most men) and he doesn't love things as much. He did ask me to go easy this year for Father's Day as well.

S. -- I don't know if you are animal people, but the denver zoo is doing a bbq -- and you could spend the day as a family looking at the animals and then eat as they do live demonstrations and still have access to the zoo when it is a bit cooler -- 6:30-10pm.

Hey S., our first Fathers Day was really tight, I mean really really tight. So I had my daughter "write" on construction paper a thank you note to him and then I got a plain white mug from the dollar store, I put her little hand prints on each side and paitned a line between the two. Underneath I wrote I love my daddy this much. You could put one childs hand on one side and the others on the other, also you can bake the mug at 250 for about 15 min. to make it permanent. He still uses that mug and tells me how much he appreciates it every time.

Here's what I'm doing this year. I went online to www.dreamstime.com and downloaded a great photo (of cougars, his favorite animal) that I know he'll love. Actually, I bought enough credits for two large-sized photos for $10. Then I had them printed as 8x10's at Costco for $1.50 each. I found one frame at JoAnn's for $9, and I really need to go to another store to find a matching one (or two). So it's going to come out to be about $31 for two framed prints. I'm not on a super-tight budget, but still that's a bit much for us, so I'm going to save the coolest one for his birthday in September. So I'm looking at $16. And you can get much less expensive frames at Walmart, for about $3 each. I'm planning on having him take them to his office, and I needed them to be big (11x14 matted to an 8x10) so I wanted them to be nicer, and I paid more.
A few years ago, I bought him a neat foam baseball and bat set so he could teach his little boy how to play. He's really into sports. I've also bought him baby clothes from his favorite team shop (look in the clearance bin at MLB.com or appropriate web site). Or get a onesie and printable iron-on tee-shirt paper. Make a onesie for your baby that says something cute, like "Daddy's little slugger" or "I watch ESPN with my Daddy" or something else he'd like. I made one for DH that said, "My Daddy's the coolest" with a picture of our baby's head on it. Here's a link to the graphic I printed on it.
http://img58.imageshack.us/img58/4893/daddyjm9.jpg
And here's how it turned out.
http://img103.imageshack.us/img103/8995/p###-###-####ej4.jpg
I learned to trim off ALL the extra iron-on paper, and don't put the shirt in the dryer--hang it to dry. He thought that was a really cool gift.
Oh, the shirt cost $2 at Walgreens, but I maybe should have bought a thicker one. It was fine, though.
I've also gone and done a photo shoot of the kids and made a collage like this one:
http://img125.imageshack.us/img125/3056/littlediamondback...
Make it the right size to fit in a normal-sized frame. Or buy a frame that has a few openings and just print them as 4x6's. I've seen several at WalMart and Big Lots! that are inexpensive.
If you need help with graphics, I could probably give you a hand. Just PM me.
Good luck!

As for Mother's Day sucking, people have said it's not about the gifts, and that's right. But when a special day is just like any other day because nobody bothered to make it special for you, that sucks! I've had lots of those. In fact, when my first baby was just 3 months old (my first Mother's Day), I saw a look of panic hit my husband's face when they said, "And we'd like to wish all the mothers a happy Mother's Day today" at church. He hadn't remembered at all! And one Christmas, he gave me a cheese grater and a carbon monoxide detector. It wasn't about the cost of the gifts, it was the lack of thought and insight. A candle from the dollar store would have been sweeter than a carbon monoxide detector!

I would say to do a weekend of all his favorites. I love gifts that take thought and not always a lot of money! This is what I have planned for this year.

My hubby works in the yard every Saturday and so the whole family will make a special effort to help him. I am getting a babysitter for Saturday night and taking him out to his favorite dinner. (I know you have a new baby but you could stay in and make a great meal or just take the kids - its "Father's" day, right?!)

Then on Sunday - he leaves early, early for church but I plan to have his b-fast ready for him with a special kiss goodbye. This is unexpected and he will love it. He doesn't get home until long after church and I plan on letting the kids decorate (steamers and such - they love to do it) and having one of his favorite meals waiting for him and a gift from the kids. (We don't do fancy gifts on Mothers/Fathers day because this time of year can get expensive and we show our love in other ways.) The gift the kids have planned is a 2 alarm clock - seems dorky but he really needs it and also the kids are going to make him cards and notes. The cards and notes are his favorite part. The gift is always nice but the personal notes from me and the kids are all he needs. Then, the rest of the afternoon is about taking care of Dad. He never gets a nap and so we will send him away to get some rest and make his favorite dessert while he is asleep.

Basically it is a whole weekend about him and what he likes to do. I don't think Father's Day has to be about a gift or anything that takes a ton of time but let your hubby know you love him and would and will do anything and everything for him.

Good Luck

One great idea is to make a picture using the handprints or footprints of your children and frame it, you can get a frame for $2-5 at Walmart. I have just dome the handprints and a simple message like "I love my Daddy". YOu could also put together a little photo album (you can buy a little photo album at a dollar store) of pictures of the children with their Daddy. My family has made candy bar posters for many occasions, you just take a variety of candy bars that you can use to make a message on the poster like Our Daddy is a "Big Hunk," he always makes us "Snicker". Just write in the words around the candy bars with a marker. Making a coupon book is a cheap old standby, a coupon book from you and one from the kids, of course the one from you should prbably include some "naughty coupons"! And of course you can always make a special breakfast in bed, that is nice for father's day as well as mother's day. We have had many "poor" holidays in my family but we have always been able to make them nice without spedning much money, it is not the ammount of money spent that makes a day special it is the love and creativity that went into that celebration.

Pictures of all of you are always a good idea. We have a photographer that I use that does black and whites and I've done that for a few father's day gifts. You could go about anywhere now and get black and whites, but it's very personable and thoughtful. If you are trying to save money, maybe someone that you know could take the picture. And, you can get personalized gifts or blown up prints on snapfish that are very reasonable.

I take a lot of pictures so one year I decided to make a little 8x8 scrapbook for my husband. The first page said "Dad is..." then each page had a picture on the right side and something like, "always good for a lift" "my hero" "the one I look up to" "our home improvement specialist" on the left side. I was able to come up with a cute saying to go along with each picture that I wanted to use and he loved it. The last page said "my buddy, my pal, my friend." It still gets looked at and I made it 5 years ago. I think I had about 25 pages so if you need any other good saying ideas let me know!

K.

You could print some pictures off your computer or Sam's Club or Costco are pretty cheap in printing 4X6 pictures. You don't have to do much but you can create a scrapbook for your husband of the kids or family outings you've taken pictures of. It doesn't have to be extravagant just a little something you can give to him. I have done it for my husband and mothers and they all have loved it. My friend did this garden stone she purchased from JoAnn's and I am sure you probably could find at any other craft store but they made a flower or something like that and then put the kids names and the year made. It looked like a lot of fun. There are so many things out there you can do for very little. Oh, you also could do a calendar from your computer with the kids pictures on them. That is a lot of fun as well. I hope you find something that you will like. Good luck.

It might be sweet to get a picture of the kids for his desk or work area done professionally and do breakfast in bed to start with a card signed by the 2 1/2 year old...and maybe a home made coupon book for a one hour massage? a weekend camp out? some activity of his choice...the home made coupon books are great because they can cash in on things that stretch his special day out and doesn't break the bank. :) (movie night together, dinner of his choice, 30 minute back rub, etc.)

Go to Burger King and pick up a crown. Make him king for a day. Make his favorite foods, go to the park and have a picnic or watch his favorite sporting event or movie. Let him do what he likes to do. Go walk around Home Depot and make plans about your house. Go to Garden of the Gods and make him feel like a god by climbing rocks. Do something he likes and plan the whole day around him.
Have Fun and be creative.
C. B

Hi S.-I just wanted to say that as a wife to a great husband and a mom of two beautiful boys-one being fairly new as well, I understand your feelings about mother's day "sucking!" Mine did as well and yes-I am a good wife and he is a good husband-I am happy when he comes home and do have clean clothes on-so......keep that in mind! Sometimes men are not the best of givers-not because they do not want to but it is not in their nature. I know that it isn't about the gift receiving as it is about the gift giving-but, I do know that getting a gift is a nice gesture to show that they just took a few seconds out of their busy days to think about you and that means the world-right? So just know that you are not alone in this-even with your happy smiles, your grumpy frowns, your commenting and complaining-a nice gesture would be great on a special day!!!!

On the other hand-ideas for father's day-what about a coupon book from the kids (a breakfast with dad, a walk with dad, a bedtime story with dad, etc)things that daddy can do with the kids. This will give him the time with the kids AND you a break from exhaustion.

On another note-for you to give him something, what about a candy gram, a stepping stone of your hand with the kids hands, or even something like a mug, mouse pad, tie, etc that has a picture of you and the kids on it? I was searching on the internet and you can download pictures to Walmart (if you have one close?) and have the pictures uploaded to one of those things? I thought that would be cute too!

Good luck-and also congrats on the baby!

Another really good idea is making a computer screen cover. (I found the idea on line). Get the foam sheets at Hobby Lobby. Measure his computer SCREEN and cut out the inside of the foam square. Then get pictures of the kids and make some small frames for aroung the frame of the computer. They also have some really cute cut outs you can get in the same isle. The foam is great, colorful, and it will remind him of his kids and family everyday at work. I think I am going to do this for my hubby....it really brings out the creative side. You may even be able to do a little extra...with glitter stencils. We created mothers day cards for grandma and aunts with the foam and they turned out sooo cute! Just and idea! Good Luck!

What is his favorite thing to do ? Make plans for a family outing and then in the evening spend time over a nice dinner maybe a romatic movie . Of course don't forget to buy him a gift .

(1)If you want your husband to get something special for you for Mothers Day, Christmas, Valentines Day, birthday, etc. --- you need to s-p-e-l-l it out for him. Men don't get it. And if he still doesn't get what you want after you were explicit... then get it for yourself.
(2)Each year for fathers day I have my kids make him a gift. The first year it's foot prints. The second year it's hand prints. Etc. Then I also get him a gadget because that's what guys like. Also, do a fun activity together as a family. Tell him how you feel about him as a father.

How about some sort of photo gift from Snapfish or someother site. They have lots of options.. For the slide show idea, you can also use Memorie Disc Creator 2 (by HP, I think you can download it free). You can create right on a CD that will play in a DVD player. You can do stills, short video and music. I've done them most years for my son's birthday but that would also be a very fun (time consuming -- it's a simple program but doesn't have instructions really, so there might be some learning)
L.

lol. I had a mothers day when we got to church and they said I hope your husbands all brought you breakfast in bed--and my husband and I both looked at each other and laughed, I had taken him breakfast in bed that am...we'd both forgotten it was mothers day. that is what happens when a holiday bounces around! sheesh. I'll tell you the next year, he hit mothers day hard! lol. So--game plan...
fav. breakfast in bed? I make my dh crepes for Fathers Day. we have a recipe I use every year (if you would like it just send me a message I can email it to you) he looks forward to it and since he has that constant he is more likely to remember mothers day. Home made card. can't top it. and usually we do some fav. meal for him and a dessert of his choice for dinner. Sometimes we do a big gift, other times not. Giving my dh a day where I say Thank you for being such a wonderful husband and father, not that I don't appreciate all year but this is the day to celebrate that aspect of who he is. Notes around the house, on the mirror even on the wall in the shower can be fun. YOu don't have to spend any money and he can still walk away from the day feeling like he is the greatest person ever!!
as for mothers day, well laugh it off this year and don't hesitate to make suggestions for next year...(just not on Fathers day...you don't want him to feel guilty that day, just special) I often say "you know what would be nice for mothers day? some flowers/pans" whatever I am thinking of. I really like knowing what my husband is thinking/feeling and I am no mind reader so I like if he gives me suggestions and ideas. I do the same for him. Mine isn't hardwired to do the little things--but he is GREAT at doing them...I think because I don't have a problem letting him know what I would like. during the year even if I am thinking I wish he would buy me flowers, I will say, "as a friend, I thought I would let you know your wife could use some flowers" I get the flowers and I thank him profusely and you know...the flowers come when I don't ask now too.
My dh was in Iraq this mothers day. I got a vase of flowers and chocolates delivered to me on Sat. before. I had forgotten it was Mothers day again. lol. He is the one who has raised the bar for this year.

I'm all for the photo gift, but this year I'm trying something different. I am not big into lingerie and have only worn it maybe three times in our marriage, and those three times it was something very classy and nice, not very playful, if you know what I mean. So I'm getting up the guts to go out of my comfort zone and put on a little something that will delight him and catch him completely off guard.

Maybe with an 8 week old baby, you're not ready for something like that. Instead, just pamper him. Make a nice dinner or go on a picnic. At bedtime ask him to put the kids to bed, and while he's busy with that you can hurry up and clean up the bedroom, put on some music, light some candles. Then when he comes in after putting the kids down you can tell him to lie down for a massage.

Just ask yourself what you wish he had done for you on mother's day? People don't need elaborate gifts as long as they are made to feel important and special. Focus on him and he will feel loved. What more could a daddy want?

Look for ideas on websites:

www.FamilyFun.com

www.orientaltrading.com (look for finger painted handprints next to a cool poem or foam picture frame or bookmark).

My husband is hard to buy for because he usually just buys whatever tool or electronic thingy he wants throughout the year, so this year for Father's Day we are getting creative. I am going to get a stepping stone kit and let the kids put their foot print on them instead of hands. My husband also told me he really wants 3 large black frames with 3 specific pictures in them. One of each of the kids, and then one of him with the kids. He is going to hang them in our home office above his desk. I also just want to comment on what you said about your Mother's Day sucking. Although it is fun to give and get gifts for Mother's Day and Father's Day, it really isn't about the gifts. The gift is that you have a great husband(I'm assuming)and 2 beautiful kids who all love you. Also, was your husband a big gift giver when you were dating? If so, you may want to think about how you may have behaved toward your husband lately that made your Mother's Day suck. Unless he is not a nice man, there must be some reason he didn't go all out for you this year. I know that when I had two very little ones, I was sometimes grumpy and feeling sorry for myself for all of the laundry, cleaning, diaper changing, and being spit up on all day, and I snapped at my husband a lot when he came home from work. I realized he didn't deserve that, and I changed my attitude. I learned to not complain to him when he came home. I made sure I looked nice (changed the spit up on shirt) when he came home, and before long, my husband's attitude changed too. He was happy to come home and loved to play with the kids and me instead of retreating to the computer. He still does. Men are simple, treat them nice and it is amazing how wonderful and happy they can be.

Well I have a suggestion, with your 2 1/2 and 8week old, theres nothing cuter and sweeter than there little feet and hands, maybe purchasing a small canvus(you can pick them up at wal-mart for around $5.00, and pick up some paint, also pretty cheap at Wal-mart and have the kids due some hand and foot prints with there names under them, that away when Dad is having one of those "days" he can look at his artwork and always remember his kids small little hands and feet. And Mom, maybe you could come up with a nice little poem or just a little love note reminding him how much you love and adore everything about him. I know all of this sounds cheezy but it totally worked for me, my husband is not a sensitive, show his feelings type of man, but this totally touched his heart. and whats nice is he always remembers that day everytime he walks through the hallway, I did go as far as to go ahead and purchase a frame to put it in, but the canvus alone would work wonders. If you wanted to do a little bit more, maybe plan to hire someone(a teenager off for the summer and looking for a little extra cash) to do yard work that weekend while Dad gets to relax and maybe watch his favorite show or go out and enjoy a day of fishing. Remeber to keep it simple, try to relate to what you would have liked to have for Mother's day, the reminder of how your appreciated, told that your a wonderful mom and your adored. and maybe avoid a chore or two. GOOD LUCK!!

I don't remember how much they cost but if in your budget (I think walmart carries them) they have a ceramic heart mold that you can put your childs handprints in. Maybe do one of those with one hand from each child? It could be very cute. And maybe you could make him his favorite meal or cookies and let the kids help? You could use cookie cutters and let the older one cut out some of the cookies? Good luck. I am having a similar dilemma of my own. I have an almost 1 year old (next week is his first bday!) and have been away from hubby visiting my fam for 3 weeks and since I was gone over mothers day I got nothing done for me. Kinda makes me sad but I want to do something really special for him for fathers day anyways.

One sweet gift both of your kids can make: trace both of their 2 handprints on red construction paper. Use a piece of ribbon to measure their arms outstretched from hand to hand. Attach each end of ribbon to their paper handprints. Write on one handprint, " I love you THIS much" Put the date and the child's name on it and you have a keepsake forever!

My husband is outdoorsy, so anything we do outdoors will make him happy. As long as we leave our house, he will consider it a great day!

Have fun and just be thoughtful.

I've had several crappy mother's days. And I had to tell my husband about it. He totally understood and has taken great pains to improve upon the years that sucked! Oh, and its definitely not about gifts, but about thought...and advance thought at that!!!

Hi S.,

For my husband's first father's day, I had a t-shirt made with "world's greatest dad" and a picture of our 1st son on it. This year, now that we have a 3yr old and a 3 month old, I'm going to give him a picture mug that I know he will use every day! What could be more personal and inexpensive....

What ever you do, I'm sure he will appreciate it and understand.

One of the best gifts I have ever gotten for my husband (his vote was for this gift) was I made him a slideshow of photos of our kids and our family with great music on it too. Of course the music was sweet and made him very sappy - it was great, and we all enjoy watching the DVD still to this day! Very cheap to make, but can be time consuming... definitely his favorite gift so far (9 total Father's Days).

Michael's, the craft store, has a picture frame that has this putty/clay stuff that you roll out, put in their hand or foot prints and then bake...super easy, not too expensive. Then you put a 5x7 picture on the other side. I did it last year for the 1st Father's Day. It's very cute!