For those of us with young kids, we know that one of the best parts about Father’s Day is letting the kids participate in making DIY Father’s Day gifts for their dads and grandpas. And because we don’t expect them to be hand-stitching an eyeglass case, forging their own iron tools in 112 easy steps, or drawing his name in perfect calligraphy (can you tell we’ve looked through Pinterest?), we’ve put together tons of ideas for realistic DIY gifts for Father’s Day from the kids.
Related: Don’t miss our updated guide to creative DIY Father’s Day gifts kids can make
Sure, you may have to help a bit — or plonk down your credit card for a few supplies — but these are gifts for dads that kids can proudly sign their names to, maybe even on their own homemade cards. (Sniff.) We hope you love them too.
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Printable cassette tape gift card boxes ($4.99, Claudine Hellmuth)
We are so in love with these printable cassette boxes, especially for…shall we say a dad of a certain age? (Don’t worry, we’re that age too.) Insert a USB with a great playlist that the kids help put together and throw a family dance party. Or include an iTunes gift card and let him pick out his own favorites.
Home-baked cookies in a jar with a Father’s Day label (free printables, Lia Griffith)
We love Lia Griffith’s beautifully designed, printable Father’s Day labels for everything from soda pop to barbecue sauce. But it’s the jar of cookies we think kids will spark to best, especially when they get to help back them. Our tip: Take a look at our roundup of homemade Girl Scout cookie recipes, and pick his favorite. Like these Samoas from Jaclyn of Cooking Classy. Hopefully he’ll share.
Related: 14 brilliant last-minute gifts for Dad. So many ideas! | Father’s Day Gifts 2019
Portrait of dad from the kids (free download, Tried and True blog)
There are plenty of free coloring pages for Father’s Day, but I don’t know if I’ve seen one as adorable as this one from Tried and True. Our kids would totally go to town on it with watercolors. The best part: The portrait of Dad the kids will get to make. However it turns out.
DIY Happy Father’s Day banner (tutorial, Modern Parents Messy Kids)
Whether this is hanging on the door when he gets up in the morning, or the card in the envelope that greets him with breakfast in bed, this is such a fun craft activity that kids will have a great time making. You can use colored card stock or for a great money and time saver, try paint chips! Note: Whether or not you want to reuse the hole punches as confetti depends on your love for vacuuming.
Related: 10 free Father’s Day printables that make great gifts all on their own
My Dad Can Do Anything DIY board book ($8.73, Amazon)
We first featured this clever, affordable Father’s Day gift a while ago, but we keep coming back to it. It’s filled with hyperbole about a superhero dad, and kids will love drawing their own illustrations and even embellishing the story on their own. What, your dad can’t pick up a car by himself to retrieve a lost toy?
Color-Your-Own Best Papa Ever Apron ($24, Cafe Press)
Whether his domain is the grill, the microwave, or the entire kitchen like some of our favorite dads, we love the idea of getting him a white cotton twill apron, then handing the kids some quality fabric paints or Sharpie fabric markers like these we found at our affiliate Amazon — perhaps with a little supervision, of course. The apron is cute on its own, of course, but with the kids’ personal touch it becomes a keepsake.
DIY Decoupage Photo Frame (tutorial, Modge Podge Rocks blog)
This one is best for a crafty tween or teen — or a kid with some adult help. But actually it’s not all that hard, and the result is so adorable. All that’s missing is your favorite photo of Dad with the family or portrait of the kids.
Related: 30 amazing Father’s Day gifts under $15: For when the thought counts, but so does the gift
We love dad shadow photograph (tutorial, Crafty Gator)
A couple of years ago, we shared this awesome idea: Instead of grabbing a favorite pic of the kids off your phone to frame, make your own special photo using a piece of poster board with a message cut out with an X-Acto blade. Then, hope for a sunny day.
Related: 9 creative kid portrait ideas that make sweet Father’s Day gifts
DIY Things I Love About Dad photo book (This version, Pinhole Press, $29.99 plus 15% off with code COOLMOM)
We featured this in our roundup of 12 of the coolest personalized Father’s Day Gifts, and it was such a hit, we’d be remiss not to include it here, too. Our editor Kate made this Daddy & Me book through Pinhole Press (the sponsor of our previous gift guide post) and they has a great template that makes it super easy to DIY. Even the littlest kids can answer the simple prompt: Why do you love Daddy? There’s no wrong answer. Psst…it’s fantastic for Grandpa too.
Related: 5 great photo book ideas for extra special Father’s Day gifts
Dad, You Rock Cupcakes (recipe, Oh Happy Day)
The way to many men’s heart is through cupcakes. To make them more fun, remember those candies in your grandmother’s living room that you were never sure were real candies or real rocks? They make fun toppings for homemade cupcakes and lend themselves perfectly to a “you rock” message like this fun tutorial at Oh Happy Day. You can even spell out the word YOU if that would make Dad happy. We know a few who are sticklers that way.
Related: Fabulous Father’s Day breakfast and brunch recipes for dad
Sweet treats Father’s Day printable (free download, Make and Tell)
If baking isn’t on the agenda, with just a little bit of effort, you can pack his favorite little store-bought treats in a fun bag like this one. For Liz’s dad it would be Red Hots, Fireballs, Mary Janes, or Goldenberg’s Peanut Chews. For the dad in your house…whatever he likes. Champagne truffles? Sure. It’s his day, right?
Fill-in-the-blank Father’s day card from the kids (free download, Make and Tell)
The same designer also created this sweet fill-in-the-blank card that pairs perfectly with the treats, but we think it’s so sweet on its very own, whatever age you are–and whatever age Dad is. Because he’s probably not making coffee for the four-year-old. Or hey, maybe he is? No judgments.
DIY Father’s Day coupons in a jar (tutorial and free coupon downloads, Catch My Party)
We’ve seen lots of printable coupon books over the years, but we like the idea of putting them all in a mason jar that kids will have tons of fun decorating. We especially like the fill-in-the-blank coupons which let you customize them to suit him perfectly. Hey, there are dads who don’t have lawns to mow (hi, city dwellers!) or who would rather trade in a coupon towards delicious homemade brownies than cookies.
Related: 14 easy ideas for last-minute Father’s Day gifts that also happen to be cool
We also have two sets of our own free printable coupons for family fun which might fit the bill perfectly. Plus, they’re all activities that are free or very close to it. We know quite a few dads who would be happy to just stockpile the musical veto cards.
Alternatively, we are still cracking up at these free printable Father’s Day vouchers from Moomah, which are so clever! Actually, we might be inclined just to take this one, copy it 20 times, and leave it at that.
Father’s Day printable checklist from the kids (free download, The Girl Creative)
It would be so great for a dad to wake up to one of these surveys, filled out by the kids, framed…on a breakfast tray. Or just tuck it into a Father’s Day card.
DIY Comic Book Magnets (tutorial, Crafts by Amanda)
These are actually so easy and the result is fantastic! You basically need some old (or new, whatever) comic books, magnets and Mod Podge.
Breakfast in bed with superdad printable cupcake toppers (free download, Catch My Party)
Clearly we love the superhero theme for Father’s Day. So here’s a fun one: If you’ve got surprise breakfast plans in mind for Father’s Day, let the kids decorate his pancakes, frittata, or bowl of granola with these very cute free superdad printable flags. Of course you might know them better as cupcake toppers, and we imagine they’d work just great there too.
Related: Father’s Day recipes for breakfast and brunch the kids can help make
DIY Father’s Day Medals (tutorial, And We Play)
We know our kids would have a blast making these for every dad, stepdad, and granddad in their lives. Proof it doesn’t have to be fancy and it doesn’t have to be perfect to be very, very special.
Other 2015 Father’s Day posts:
12 of the coolest personalized Father’s Day Gifts
The coolest gifts for Grandpas
17 very, very cool Father’s Day gifts under $25
Or visit our 2016 and 2017 Father’s Day Gift Guides for even more great ideas!
Super Dad printables are oerfect for my hubby!! He’s such a hero to the kids and I. And he woyld gwt a kick out of it, he’s into comics. Love it! :–)
For Father’s Day I love to make my dad breakfast! I also have some IOU coupons in mind, like the one above about one hour of undisturbed toilet time..;) love your collage of ideas!
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I love the board books because they’re easy to personalize!
I love the photo book!
The Color-Your-Own Best Papa Ever Apron is definitely my favorite. My dad almost never cooks, so with this apron, he will!
Love the comic book magnets!!
We are doing the Fun Facts for sure. Can’t wait to share with him!
The sweet treats printable. We might actually do it – it would be fun for the kids to pick out the candy (that they like!)
He would love the cookie jar wItch chalkboard printable and homemade Coconut Delights, after all Girl Scout Cookie a Season should last all year!
The printables! They are adorable and will keep our gal busy making something her dad hasn’t already purchased for himself 🙂
i really love the We Love Dad Shadow Photograph! So unique and cool! I just have to get my littles ones to hold up the sign and stand still somehow 😉
The printable because I think my son would have some really cute answers to the questions about his daddy!
Love the rock cupcakes. He’ll move boulders for us!
Love the my dad can do anything board book. Because he can!
I love the shadow photo, and I know my husband will too!!
The Dad can do anything board book. My baby is too young this year, but I’ll have to keep it in mind in a year or two.
My daughter loves rainbows, so the DIY Happy Father’s Day Banner will be great because she’ll love making it. Plus, my husband will love it even more because we always think of her when we see anything rainbow!
As an avid baker with a toddler who loves being involved in the cooking, favorite idea is the “Dad rocks cupcakes” nobody can hate cupcakes!
My daughter is SO excited about the Dad, U Rock cupcakes and the superhero printables! We’ll have to figure out a way to do a mash-up of both 🙂
I am definitely going to do the Banner with the string and maybe the shadow picture. I’m a teacher and it’s the end of the school year… so a little burned out! lol
I love the BBQ apron. My 3 girls call their dad ‘Papa’ and its always hard finding gifts with that instead of ‘Dad.’ Stoked!
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I love the all about dad sheet to fill in. It is so fun to see what the kids say at each age. My boys did Mother’s Day ones at school for me and I loved them.
I love the Fun Facts about Dad – so easy and usually so funny! One year, our son said his dad is really good at “eating noodles” which is an important skill to have.
The father’s day printable checklist rocks!
The daddy board book – LOVE!
I love the printables!!! We will definitely be doing one of those this year! Thanks! 🙂
Love the free printable Fun Facts About Dad. I’ve gotten something similar from preschool since Mother’s Day is still during the school year. Great for dad to see the fun answers.
I love the printable vouchers–so adorable and funny, especially the free music veto and being boss of the house for an hour–hysterical!
My fave is the My Dad can do Anything DIY board book. Can’t wait till the kiddos are old enough to do stuff like this! It’s my fave because nothing is cuter than your kids art!
I Love the photo book! Cute, personal and will make for great memories down the road!
I love the “Fun Facts About Dad” and the shadow “We Love Dad” picture. I haven’t seen either before. I always get such great ideas from your blog so thank you!!!!
My husband would love the superhero toppers – our two little girls always make him breakfast in bed for Father’s Day and he would get a big kick out of the toppers!
I absolutely LOVED the We ❤️ Dad shadow photograph. I will definitely do it for Father’s Day.
I love the comic book magnets!!
Thank you SO much for featuring my Fun Facts About Dad questionnaire! I’m seeing some nice traffic from it! XOXO
Thank YOU Diana for being so generous, and creating something wonderful, fun and free for so many families. We hope it makes a lot of dads happy out there!
Oh, it’s such a cute printable!
My favorite is the shadow photograph! That’s so creative and my dad would love it.
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Shadow photo or cookies
The survey printable is great for us. Our 5 year old will come up with the best answers!
I love the “we love dad” shadow photograph because it is a keepsake that could melt any dad’s heart!
My favorite Idea is the My Dad Can Do Anything DIY Book… If there was one thing that I learned over the years – My dad valued cards/ drawings/ and books we made more than any flashy gift. He still has a box in his closet to this day full of our Art and scribbled words.
My 2 faves are the silouhette photo & the rock cupcakes. Too cute!!
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The Happy Father’s Day banner because we love banners in our home. Every special moment should have a cheerful banner!
I love the shadow picture of the “We Love You, Dad”. Absolutely going to try that one!
I love the idea of the charger. A useful treat with a great memory of the kids.
My favorite is the shadow photograph, I’m going to give it a try!
It’s our first Father’s Day! Thanks for the awesome ideas!! Will be making cassette boxes and Pinhole Books for sure!
A book that is everything about Daddy is the best gift!
The cassette boxes are the best! We used to exchange mix tapes when we were dating. And family dance party is a favorite of ours. What a great idea!
I love all the crafty things and can’t wait for my 1 year old to be old enough to help make these! Great ideas!
My favorite is the My Dad Can Do Anything DIY Book. (We’ve already ordered it!) I also love the shadow photo idea.
The shadow photo. Will do that with my girls along with the dad rocks cupcake!
We love the fun facts and the DIY Fathers Day Medals!
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Love the shadow pic!
I really love all the DIY ideas. My favorite is DIY Things I Love About Dad photo book because it can capture of the dad and child memories.
This is your best father’s day gift guide yet! We were already doing something similar to the Fun Facts page (according to my 3year old son, his dad is made of “hair”!!). We are now adding the GIRL SCOUT COOKIES and top them with the superdad toppers!!! And now I also know what he’s getting for his birthday in July…. the We Love You Shadow photo, adorable!!! Thank you!
I love the photograph of the shadow – such a unique idea! Hoping for a sunny day!
My favorite would have to be the board books and the superhero magnets. Both of our boys love playing superheroes with him. The board books are great because looking back at pictures is always a great memory and the boys could personalize it the way they want.
I love the printable checklist because you never know what sweet or funny thing the kids will say about dad!
I LOVE the comic book magnet idea! excellent and I will use that!
Cassette tape box (with personal family dance jams) and the dad checklist are adorable. Gotta love a dance party and kids say the funniest things (especially about their dads). The bathroom voucher was a close runner up. Thanks for the inspirations and giggles.
We printed out the Fun Facts About Dad sheets and had some laughs filling them in. Thank you!
The shadow picture with the “We Love Dad” words. We’re allows looking for clever ways to take pictures for Father’s Day. Thanks for the idea !
I love those Super Hero Magnets!
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Olive the shadow photography, such a great idea
Love the My Dad Can Do Anything DIY board book. Great gift and keepsake item.
Love the printables because it’s so nice to have as a keepsake when the kids are grown and out of the house one day!
I like the home made cookies with the printable about the sweetest dad because my daughter and i like to make cookies together and dad would be thrilled with them.
I love the coupon jar idea… my kids will definitely want to do that for their father 🙂
We are going to do several of these, so great! I especially like the comics related items — he’s a big comic book nerd.
Thanks!
I love the shadow photograph idea-so unique!
I love the “We love Dad” shadow sign! It’s personal and fun to do!
Love the personalized cards and the shadow photo! Hoping to do the coupon jar too!
Love the Shadow picture!!!
I love the fun facts checklist. I think the idea is super cute and the design of this one is nice!
Love the shadow photo …original
Father’s Day Printable Checklist b/c it’s always fun to get the kids’ perspective on Dad!
I like the “Things I love about Dad photo book” great idea!
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The shadow photo idea and the checklist are so sweet!
The coupon for an extra hour of bathroom reading is my favorite! I thought my husband was the only one who would disappear in there for extended periods of time!
Love the shadow photo! Looks tricky but so cool!
I love the shadow photo! I may try to get all the grandkids together and use that one for grandpa this year. Thanks for sharing all these great ideas 🙂
The shadow photo is an awesome idea! The DIY magnets are a great idea for anytime of the year – – – a good last-second gift for those days when we get blindsided by the kids….
The shadow photo is the cutest. You could do so much with it. Thanks for the great ideas!
I like the Father’s Day on a string!
Love those cassette tape gift card boxes! Fun idea!
The Dad can do anything board book, for sure!
The comic book magnets are my favorite. It would be easy to get my son involved since he is really into scissors at the moment. Plus we could use some of his drawings as well.
The printable checklist is great–the kids can do it every year and it would be fun to see how their responses change. Then the checklists from each year could be saved and made into a book!
I LOVE the color your own apron idea and the Dad checklist. I think both might be coming from my little guy to his Daddy this Father’s Day!
I love both the shadow picture and, of course, breakfast in bed!
The Things I Love About Dad book. We did this last year and my husband got completely choked up!
Love the dad u rock cupcakes!
I love the Papa apron for my kids’ grandfather – he’s a great cook and they love when he cooks for them, so this is perfect!
I love the superhero magnets and printables. My daughter LOVES the superheroes!
We love to give Father’s Day coffee!
I liked the photo of the 2 kids holding up a sign which had cut-out letters. What a cute idea and something I am sure most dads have never gotten for Father’s Day or any celebration.
Love the “Things I Love About Dad” books…so cute! It’s a great way to show the interaction between dad and the kids at their different ages!!
The fun facts is great; always interesting to view someone through the kiddos eyes.
I love any Father’s Day idea that is hand-made by the kids– I especially love the fill in the blank ones. Kids are so funny and they are great to look back on every year. My son is now 8 and we’ve done one for the last 3 years for Dad on Father’s Day.
I think I’m gonna choose the Lia Griffith printables. My husband is all about Diet Coke and cookies, so this is pretty spot-on for him. I guess I’ll need to get to baking… great roundup, by the way; we may do a few of these.
I love the shadow cutout. I think I’ll do that tonight, actually. My husband would LOVE the jelly beans, as long as he didn’t have to share.
The breakfast in bed idea with the cupcake toppers looks like a winner for my husband…anything to satisfy his stomach is a winner!
I love the “Dad Can Do Anything” book! Clever!
Super Dad toppers and comic book magnets are wonderful! Perfect for the comic book man in our house!!
I love that photo with the shadow of I love Dad. What a unique idea!
I love the cassette tape boxes! Perfect for all the dads in my life.
The We Love Dad shadow picture is cute! It looks easy to do!
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The shadow phot is my favorite because it’s different. I would add a second picture of my son holding the sign as well to capture his face at the same time.
The shadow pic is awesome! Also love the magnets.
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The father’s day coloring page is awesome! Can’t wait for my kids to make one for their dad : >
I love the little survey so much. Definitely doing that this year! This list has great ideas. 😀
Love the we love Dad shadow photograph!
I totally love the cassette box printable! I’m going to use for my son’s Guardians of the Galaxy birthday.
My fav is the custom photo book, because it captures so many everyday moments that are at the core of our lives.
Oh I LOVE those Fun Facts about Dad printables – kids always come up with the BEST answers!
Love the fun facts about dad – always funny to hear what they say!
I love, Love, LOVE the cutout shadow photo with the kids holding the sign. ADORBS!
Love, love, love the board book idea and the fill in the blank card where the kids can write all of the things they know about Dad. I got one for Mothers Day and it was hilarious what the kids wrote…something I’ll save and look back on as they grow up.
I’m kinda partial to the Coloring Page! (Thanks for sharing!) 😀
We can’t say we blame you Vanessa! We printed a ton of them out this weekend for some brunch guests and they were a huge hit! Thanks for always making so many beautiful things and sharing them with the world.
I loved the” My Dad Can Do Anything DIY board book!” So sweet and true! A great list of ideas Thank You..
The Portrait of Dad coloring card is the best! It gives my 7 year old a craft to do without the pressure of what to create from scratch.
Thanks so much for such a great list of d.i.y. Father’s Day suggestions! Think my toddler and I are going to try our hands at the decoupage photo frame/canvas – and definitely one of the “fill in the blank” cards/lists about her daddy. Can’t wait to hear what she comes up with. 🙂 Thanks again!
I love the ease and of the Father’s Day printable checklist and how it gets into the minds of kids.
I like the DIY decoupage photo frame the most. I feel like this one is the most personalized one and good for all ages. It also would be one of the most meaningful ones because it would have a picture of what he cherishes most.
I’m love the shadow cut out card photos, but we are also going to do the checklist printable. This year we are adopting our 4 year old grandson, so fathers day has a whole new meaning again. It’s been a longs time since doing these, thank you for the amazing gift ideas.
We are loving the portrait and the “fun facts”…and one you posted last year (I think) that was a painting with taped off letters (love you dad).
The questionnaire for the kids to fill out is my absolute favorite!
I’m a huge fan of the photobook gift idea!
I like the printable sheets – my kids will love filling in the blanks to personalize them!
The shadow photograph really made me smile! Such a creative gift idea for dad! Thanks for all the great ideas!
The questionnaire is my fav…I think our 3 year old will have some really funny answers this year!!!
I love the Bathroom Reading coupon!
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I love the idea of “fun facts about Dad” printable questionnaire for the kids to fill out. Going to try that this year. Also the superhero magnet ideas I passed along to my sister. Great list! Thanks!
I love the Fathers Day printable checklist because it is personal. When the kids are grown and gone he will still love it!
I think the my dad can do anything book would be perfect for my kids to do for their dad. Fits him perfectly!!! The cookies look sooooo good too Tho lol.
My favorite gift idea is the “About Dad” Sheet. I love doing these with my kids each year, and enjoy hearing what they think their daddy likes.
the printable is RAD!!!! Love this post!
The Superhero Comic Book Magnets are absolute fantastic. That is completely brilliant. Not to find some of his old comic books and some Mod Podge.
My favorite idea is the board books, but since I am in last-minute territory here, I will be printing off the About My Dad printable. 😉 (And possibly trying to make the shadow photograph happen, because it’s so cool!)
I love the printable questions to ask the kids. I think hubby will love how the kids answer these!
I love the My Dad Can Do Anything board book – what an amazing and creative idea!!
Nice!!
Fun Facts About dad!! I printed this for the kids in our Sunday school class to fill out for there dads. I know how much fun it is to hear my kids answers to questions about me (or my husband). And being able to read them years later when they are all grown up – is precious!
As a person of – that certain age – I have to say I liked the idea of printable cassette tape boxes. Putting in a USB music mix makes it just that much better.