My heart warmed when I snapped this picture.
Dressed up and all ready for their special daddy daughter date night, our girls spent time with a devoted father. A daddy whose desire to cherish his princess daughters, and model just how a man should treat a lady is at the forefront of their time together.
This is a powerful example of the lasting affect a loving, caring father has on the life of his daughter – a foundation of strength, value and confidence.
Yet I understand that the absence of that legacy can have an equally powerful affect. A legacy of insecurity, fear or worse, all of which are difficult to overcome.
Father’s Day comes with such a myriad of emotions.
With this holiday just around the corner, may we pray specifically for the men in our life?
I pray for our husbands, that they would lead our next generation of sons and daughters, and that we, as their wives, would lift them up, encourage them, and support them in this calling to build a generational legacy for our children, and our children’s children.
That’s an overwhelming responsibility, yet there’s no better time to encourage the Dads and grandfathers in our lives than this Sunday.
Father’s Day is meant to be a celebration of thanks to our dads, but often we fall into a typical “card and clothes” present rut. Why not tap into the power of the five love languages, and speak love to him in ways that matter most.
In our hustle and bustle of every day life, people rarely take the time to write down encouraging words, and yet for many men, the need for affirmation through this love language is crucial.
The written word feeds the soul, and on those days when dad has had a discouraging day at work, he can grab these ” I love you” cards and be reminded of what really matters.
Read more about how we implement a creative tradition idea by hiding these cards, as well as print them here: “I love My Dad Because…” printable.
Show your dad just how special he is by giving him the gift that keeps on giving. This Father’s Day Coupon Book is filled with ways to make his day extra meaningful. This speaks to those dads whose love language is best communicated through Acts of Service.
Most of us don’t have time to scrapbook, but a great way to let Dad know how much we love him is to create an ABC book. This is a perfect activity to do with children learning their ABC’s, but I did it with older children, and it was so special. We used a Dollar Store album and collaborated on 26 quick pages.
We thought of character traits, inside jokes, and activities we loved to do with Dad, as well as bible verses that we interspersed through out the album. Each item corresponded with a different letter of the alphabet. We let go of perfection, and didn’t try to create the next Mona Lisa. For instance, the Letter P “page” might have GO Packers, Patient Father, Penny Pincher, Peaceful, and Predictable, while the Letter “J” might have a silly joke that Dad always tells (a groaner). This might seem too involved for a last minute gift, but we completed ours in only two hours and not only was it a blast for the kids, but Dad loved reading over every page.
Laughter is good medicine, and we all need to laugh more.
On Father’s Day, plan a joke telling party with the kids. This belly laugh picture came from a spontaneous evening where our family read jokes out loud to each other. I am sure they weren’t that funny, but when one person got going, we just couldn’t stop. I know the Lord must love seeing His children embrace life like that, but unfortunately, we don’t do it enough.
If you don’t have a good repertoire of jokes, feel free to use some of my conversation starter questions.
Traditionally, we begin our Father’s Day morning with breakfast served in bed.
Why don’t we take it up a notch and declare Dad “King for the Day”. The dads in our lives deserve no less than the royal treatment for this Father’s Day. Give him a present he’ll never forget. Remember that this can be as easy or elaborate as you want to make it based on your dad’s personality and preferences.
Since Dad has been King all day, he’ll enjoy ending his evening with this adorable Papa Pizza and Father’s Day Cake.
This cake is not about the food or a recipe. It’s about sharing special words of blessing over Dad at the end of the day in such a simple, yet meaningful, manner. A few days before Father’s Day, gather pictures of Dad at all ages.
Have your children or guests write words of affirmation or favorite bible verses on the backs of the pictures. Take turn reading these out loud, and honoring dad over dessert. (More specific directions here.)
Hopefully, some of these simple tradition ideas sparked your creative juices. The most meaningful gifts are often those that money can’t buy.
Are there special ways that you celebrate Father’s Day?
I’d love to hear your plans for this Sunday.
(Ideas shared by Jen from Balancing Beauty and Bedlam. One mom, who is just trying to keep her head above water today.)
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Great, great ideas. Men are so incredibly pulled in a gazillion directions. My husband was once told he couldn’t be great at his job if he wanted to be a great “family man” (implying he needed to step it up at work and devote more extra–hours). It’s tricky to navigate through when you’re really trying to do everything as an act of worship to God.
I love the practical ideas of this post – I think we need to include grandpa in these, too.
Absolutely, all these ideas would apply perfectly for grandpa or any father figure men in our lives. 🙂
Yeah – for some reason I try to make Father’s Day special for my husband but don’t put enough effort into celebrating my own dad and father-in-law. Thanks again for this post. I think we’ll try the photo/cupcake tree this year. 🙂
If only such thought and as much planning were put into Mother’s Day!! (wink, wink) Maybe I need to step it up this year for Father’s Day and use your wonderful ideas! Thanks!
Trust me, every time I write the Mother’s Day ideas post, I think, “Now if only our children would implement a few of these, I’d be set. :)”
Thanks Jennifer. This came at a much needed time. I lost my own father a few weeks ago and have been having such a hard time with all of the Father’s Day radio and television ads, internet promotions and store displays. I just want to hide! But then I feel TERRIBLE because my husband is such a great dad and I don’t want to take away his special day in my grief. Thank you for these ideas (LOVE the ABC book – my kids are older – 12 and 15 – but we have hundreds of private jokes and stories we will be able to come up with because they are so much older!). They gave some much needed structure at a time when my creativity is a bit muddled. Hope your husband’s day is wonderful.
Oh Cynthia – I can’t even imagine having such a fresh loss. I am glad if this gave any small sense of structure.
I pray that the Lord will wrap His loving arms around you on Sunday as you balance celebrating your husband, but also grieving for your own dad.
Great ideas jennifer. I try almost everyday to tell my hubby that I love him and how special he is to me. I thank him for even the little things he does for our family.
My dad turns 87 this year and I will celebrate father’s day by going to church with him & I have 2 small surprises for him. First I will be doing 2 songs “Between Jesus and John Wayne” by Statler Bros. and “Plan of Salvation” by Perrys. I will be doing sign language to both of them while someone else plays guitar and sings.
My second surprise will be 3-5 plates of food for him to take home. I have chicken breasts, s tuffing with gravy and cinnamon apples for dessert. Living alone and on a limited budget it is hard to decide what to eat.
Loved the ideas!
Oh Beth – those are such precious ideas. I know he will just be delighted. What a great idea to send homemade food with him. So practical, yet so appreciated, I know.
What a day to celebrate! Father’s Day has always been very special to me. I am the only daugther with 7 brothers. Both my parents passed away in 2008 only 7 weeks apart from each other. This left a huge void in my life. Although I have 7 brothers, it was always that one daddy that made a difference. Yes, I was a daddy’s girl no doubt but how could I not have been? We had a very special bond. I would rather have been out in the garden with him than inside cooking with mother. She was a very sweet lady but when you have an amazing Daddy like I did, it was a blessing. This kind, gentle man was all that a wife and daughter could ever want. He was a man of God. He knew his duties and obeyed. I use to tell him how I thought of him as Today’s Noah. He was gifted in prophecy and tried telling people to get on the boat. To change their ways and get right with God. Of course, he was rejected by many of those closest to him but now he is in heaven rightfully sitting where God has placed him. The very first Father’s Day after his death was just as difficult as it was the day he passed away. I remember asking myself just how I was going to honor him. A soft spirit came to me and said the best way would be to honor my heavenly Father. As I did just that, I remember having a very peaceful thought – not only do I have a heavenly Father but I also have a daddy who is in heaven. How heavenly!!!! Since their passing, I always place something on their graves that would be honoring to both of them. Mother was a wonderful wife, mother and homemaker. She loved to quilt and read so I usually use a theme of her favoritie hobbies. This past Mother’s Day I placed a breakfast tray next to her grave which included a coffee cup with saucier, a family picture, flowers, empty bottle of her favorite perfume inside a trinket dish along with a pearl necklace. This represented the woman she was. Last year for Father’s Day, I placed a poster frame filled with pictures of Daddy’s garden, family, and lyrics to the song “In the Garden”. I also placed a 5 gallon bucket with plants from my own garden along with a small basket which held a few vegetables. This also represented the man he was. He gave of himself completely. In saying this, I plan on a much smaller scale, framing a beautiful Father’s Day card that tells of his many attributes. I am so thankful that God allowed me to be the daughter of a man who was so Christlike. Honor all Dads but don’t forget the one true Father, God.
LARhonda – it was just amazing to read about your father. What a legacy he left you. Thanks for sharing.
Also please take a moment or the time to include some children who do not have a dad in your celebration. For some this is a very hard day too and to sit at home and smell bbqs and fun and realize that this is missing from your lives or your children’s lives makes it even harder. So if you are having a party and know some one who has no dad or a dad in their life include them. Its a small random act of kindness that shows so much, so shine your light
Rebecca – absolutely! Thank you so much for sharing this. It is a painful time for many, and a time we can definitely be reaching out to others. He calls us to be a father to the fatherless, and my prayer is that men will rise up and stand in the gap for those families.
Wonderful ideas, Jennifer! I will use a couple of them; however, with our son’s graduation party the day before, we will have to save the more involved ones for next year. I especially love the ABC memory book! Thanks.