Looking for Father's Day Ideas for a New Father!

What about going and getting your and your daughter's pictures taken together! Portrait Innovations has a special for 1 pose (tons of pictures) for under $10. You can visit their website for details on it (www.portraitinnovations.com) and then put it in a cool frame.

I took the following poem and printed it and framed it with a recent picture of my husband and our two boys. . .
My Daddy’s Hand

Daddy, take my hand in yours,
and you will plainly see,
How very much I need you now
to love and care for me.
As my little hand grows,
I will need you even more
Everything I do in life,
I have never done before
Teach me to be kind and loving,
sharing and forgiving,
Show me through your acts of love
the pure joy of living.
The years will pass by quickly,
and one day I will be grown,
I will pass what you taught me
onto children of my own.
Hold me always in your thoughts
and remember when we are apart,
The special love between a child
and a daddy’s heart.

For Emme's first Father's Day present I did the following:

I bought a book with like 500 things on why being a dad is great. I went through and picked the ones that pertained to my husband or something that would make him laugh. Then I tore them out and glued them to the poster board. Then I took a bunch of pictures of Emme (she was only 2 1/2 months at the time so there weren't THAT many) and cut out each picture into the shape of a letter and spelled, "I love you, Daddy!". Then I wrote a special letter on the back with my opposite hand and had the whole thing laminated. Kinda' cheesy but he loved it.

I did a photo collage for my husband for his first Father's Day. It had pictures of he and I together while I was pregnant, pictures of him at the hospital holding our boys and pictures of him after we brought them home. It was really simple, but he loved it. It hangs in our bedroom now for him to look at every day. The heartfelt gifts mean the most.

Hi B.,
For my husband I have bought one of those father's day t-shirts and then taken fabric paint and done thier hand prints and the other year I did their footprints. Another year I took a picture frame that had 3 different spaces in them and put a picture of each of them doing something cute and then put it in there.

This year for all my daycare dad's and my husband we have made a Father's Day card with the poem "footprints" on it and then their footprints on the inside, we did something like this for mother's day and all the moms loved it, so we are doing it for father's day also.

I found that the simple, inexpensive things are the ones that mean the most, W.

B.-
Last year for Father's Day I had some pictures of just our daughter taken and then some of us taken together by a friend. I went and picked up some frames with mats, and picked some pictures to be developed. I then took her feet and hands painted them and on the mats put the prints of her hands and feet. I picked 2 of us together and 1 by herself and he loved them. They hang above our bed. This year I think I am going to make a dough that you can put their hand/foot print in, bake it and have a mold. It is out of food items. If you want the recipe let me know. I am going to try it tomorrow to see if it works. Hope these ideas help or give you something. Use your imagination and make it fun. He'll like it no matter what you do.

A.

I bought by husband a ring that had his birthstone & our daughter's birthstone incorporated into it. He loves it. A memento that he can wear every day and think of her.

Good Morning B., for a gift I have an idea. Years ago my mom got all the gr kids together and made hand print sweat shirts for us. We still have them mine says Mom's little helpers with their names, hand prints and some foot prints on the back.
They have kits at craft stores or wal-mart, wash off skin non toxic. Your little girl might be a tad bit wiggly but that would make it even more precious.

You could also take some of the pictures you have of her and make a calendar for him. New picture each month.

As for something you could do together since he doesn't like outside activities & she is so young yet, its a tough one.
Hopefully other mom's will come up with some great suggestions.
Hope you had a Wonderful first Mother's Day!
Whatever you decide your hubby will like it cause it came with love and thoughtfulness.

K.
Wife, Mom, Nana of 5 gr kids.

Does he have a favorite pic of her or of the 2 of them together? Or maybe you can still take one.....candid shots are the best for this.....while he's playing with or holding her, take a picture of the 2 of them together...in the moment. THen turn it black and white and have it printed up for him. Also, if you wanted something you all can do together? If he likes to relax outdoors, a pop-up tent for sun coverage then you can play in the grass in the shade, a new cooler filled with his favorite drinks. Is he a grilling guy? Get some new grilling tools and then go to your local meat market and find some great steaks, seafood and all the fixings to have a great cookout. (Not too sure what you mean like he doesn't like outdoor activities, whether it be just hanging outdoors at all or just the "sport" thing).

Good Luck!

On my husbands first fathers day... I shopped around and bought him a really nice watch. I had the back of it engraved... "Happy 1st Fathers Day, We love you". It was very speacial and he will have it for years with the message on the back. :)

i don't know if he'd be into it, but the deanna rose childrens farmstead is a blast - and your daughter would love it.

also for my husband's first father's day i got a plaque online that was personalized, it had a poem on it about being a dad, it was really sweet. my hubby doesn't quite "get" the sentimental stuff but i liked it :P just a thought!

Last year was my Husbands 1st Father's Day, so I gathered all of the pictures of just him and our son and made a photo album. I made a cover for it titled "Hangin out with Daddy!!". Then I took our son to a pottery place and put his feet prints(feet are easier than hands when they're so little) on a plate and painted the plate. My Husband loved it!

My husband really loves the 'Best Dad, Hands Down!' shirt I made for him. It is a preprinted shirt that I used t-shirt paint to put our son's handprints on.

God Bless!

how about something representing the generations, allowing for you to add if you have more children? So, the collage would include: your husband & your daughter, his father & grandfather, etc. I don't know if this applies to your situation, but as family archivist...that's where my focus always leads me!

I'll tell you what I do for my husband every year for his birthday, but it's a good idea for any occasion. I take a close-up pic of each of their faces, and blow it up to 8x10 size. On the bottom of the photo, I add text, like "happy birthday daddy" and the year, and put it in a frame. Every year, he puts the new pic in the front, but keeps the old ones in the frame. He also likes to keep one of their socks with their picture!:) Congratulations, and best wishes. I have 4 girls!!!
Lasy year, I made a photo collage of 1 pic of him smiling, and a great pic of the girls together, and printed it onto iron-on transfer paper. I ironed it onto a t-shirt, and he loves to wear it. It's just as nice, and a lot less expensive than paying someone to make a graphic shirt for you. You can get iron-on transfer paper at Wal-Mart.

One of my husband's favorite things is a Christmas ornament that has our daughter at about 9 or 10 months saying "Merry Christmas, I love you Daddy". Maybe you can find one of those little picture frames that records messages, I think Radio Shack has them, and he can take it to work or mount it in the car. If she can say "Happy Father's Day" or "I love you" and the word "Daddy", I bet he would be tickled and play it all the time.

Melanie in Swansea, IL

Get a make-your-own garden stone kit and press your daughter's hand into it. Then decorate it with the little glass stones that come in the kit. We did that for the grandparents for Chrismas and it was a big hit. It can be in the garden or inside, and he'll always have her little hand. Or you could do footprints too.

On my husband's first Fathers Day, I found a frame, which held a 5x7 photo on one side, where I placed a picture of our son, and on the other side was a place where you could make a handprint of the child made with some type of clay/concrete. The frame was made like that and everything came together in one package, so it was simple to do and a great memory of when he was young.

Good Luck!

What are his hobbies? What images do "father" and "Father's Day" bring to your mind? Think of those things and design an idea around that. I always think of ties at Father's Day; I know it's a cliche. But I did something different last year. I got a nice tie, and dressed my children (ages 2 and 4) individually in Daddy's white dress shirt and the tie, no shoes and bare legs. Then I created a photo studio in our basement and took tons of pictures of them. Got my favorite 2 pics developed and mounted them in a shadow box with the tie, and gift card on the tie that said, "Daddy, You're "Tied" To Our Hearts Forever" and the date and year posted in the corner. It wasn't an expensive gift, but he loved it nonetheless.

i had my husband's favorite pic of our son put on a mousepad so he could have it at work. i used snapfish.com. if you hurry you can save 20% i think with the coupon code THANKSDAD. it's really easy and you can share pics on-line for free using their website.

for my hubbys first fathers day, i ordered a picture frame with a lil poem about wanting to grow up and be just like daddy. i then found a picture of our daughter "helping" him work on the car lol. i got it from a place called the lakeside collection i believe. if u search for them, they have a website, and quick delivery. just a thought.

Hnad Prints are my favorite thing. you can incorporate the outdoors too. make a steppping stone with her feet or hands, and name. than take him on a picnic in a place thats yours so you can put the stone by a tree, pond, ? when you are close let him notice it.

Hello, all the ideas you received are wonderful (we've done the handprint t-shirt. Does your husband have a favorite sports team? Dad's and daughters don't get to dress alike often, but there is always an exception when it comes to sports wear. You could get them matching jersey's or something...www.fansedge.com is offer $4 shipping and it ships the day you order (it's their fathers day special) While this is not creative, maybe somebody will find it helpful. :)

Searsportrait have a father's day special for 2.99
Check out their deals online

have her foot prints and hand prints put on a t-shirt or have one or the other put in plaster and he can put it in his office if he has one. i know we love having the kids hand and foot prints around to see how they've changed.

K.

Make it homade! Get some non toxic paint (think crayola from walmart) and some construction paper. Let her go to town (tape it to her highchair) and get messy, kids LOVE this, and DONT FORGET TO TAKE PICTURES! Her first (and his first) homade card! Fold it in half, and on the inside, write a cute message about how much fun she had making it, and inclose a couple of the "messy girl!" pics! You could even put a hand/foot print on it.

I agree with the idea of giving him a "Daddy and Me" book. For my hubby's first father's day, I used shutterfly and made him a leatherbound book of him and his little girl during her first year. I put in pictures I saved throughout the year and placed funny captions on them. I also gave him a mug with his favorite picture of the two of them on it. He loves his coffee in the morning and still uses the mug everyday to this day. Have a wonderful and memorable father's day!

Hi B.,

On the line of pictures, Wal-mart has a photo key chain next to the digital frames. It holds 180 digital pics. I bought one, and will be putting lots of his favorite pics on it. They also supply the USB cord for the computer.

Have fun! L.

As far as a gift, how about a daddy and me picture book. Through snapfish or shutterfly (if you belong) you can select pictures of your daughter and husband together, and they will create the book for you. If you don't belong to either one, you can select photos and take them to Kinko's and have them make a book. You can include captions for each photo. The book will last forever, and it is great for him to take to work, family outings, etc. to show off his little girl.