My husband is a great daddy, and works very, very hard.  He asked for a day to himself, to do whatever he wants. I’m going to do something special for dinner, and have the baby make a card. It’ll be a nice, laid back Father’s Day resulting in a rested father.

My husband is one of those rare men who has degrees in both engineering and theology.  He now works at a church, and everyone there always asks him for technology help.  My gift to him (shh—it’s a secret!) is a T-shirt that says, “No, I Don’t Know What’s Wrong With Your Computer.”    I was pretty psyched to find it. 

Other than that, we’ll be kicking back and being mellow ... exactly how he loves to spend the day!

Funny you should ask . . . my husband just said to me last night: “Do you know what I want for Father’s Day? A coffee cake, and 2 1/2 hours of peace and quiet so I can read.” The coffee cake I can deliver, the peace and quiet is going to be a challenge!! Although he may just stay home from the graduation party we are going to. That’ll give him the whole house to himself   I am going to check with my mother-in-law to see if her grape leaves are ready—so I can make him stuffed grape leaves—a Lebanese favorite!

My DH is heading off to spend time with his mom- only his second without his dad. We bought him a Red Sox shirt. He’ll come home to see the end of a baptism of a favorite niece.
I actually want a gift for my son who will become a godfather for the first time Sunday.

My son and I are going to the library to make some kind of a Father’s Day project.  We’ll start the day off by going to 9 am Mass, and then hopefully my mother will come babysit so my husband and I can go out to lunch.  Having a Sunday off from grilling will be my husband’s favorite present!

We’re spending the afternoon at Lake Michigan (and I’m not going to make a single comment about all the sand that makes it’s way to the car and eventually into the house).

I’m bringing my husband’s car to Mister Car Wash for a mega detail clean.    He always requests a Father’s Day nap as well, and he greatly deserves the rest!  We’ll enjoy spending the day as a family!

My husband has been working long hours lately so I planned a weekend away from the house. We are going to a train museum he hasn’t been to before and some other places. The kids are making him chocolate chip cookies and I bought him an angle grinder.

For my own dad, I made him a canvas log carrier.

I bought new floor mats to replace the original and very worn out ones in his 1997 Honda Civic.  Since he is off this week, I gave them to him already and it inspired him to spray paint the beat up hubcaps and replace some interior light bulbs that had blown.  Very little money spent, but he really feels as if he’s driving a new car.  Hoping to wash the exterior on Sunday afternoon for him.

Last year we had a crab feast and invited his brother and family.  It went so well that we are doing it again!

Last year we made a “King of the Grill” apron. I bought a black apron at Walmart and the kids decorated it with fabric paint. Then we also gave him special wood chips for the grill.

This year I want to let my kids make Father’s day plans since they are old enough.  I will celebrate MY father and they can treat THEIR father. I like the idea of some peace and quiet for him (he’s an introvert). So I’ll recommend it to the kids and let them figure out how to make it happen. As you may have guessed I have older kids who don’t need my help facilitating a special day for daddy.

Gwen mentioned her kids were old enough to facilitate their own Father’s day gift.  My kids are too, but getting them to do it is another matter.  They have a great Dad, but I guess I am saying they don’t appreciate him very much.  Now I am wondering if maybe I am partly responsible for not making a big deal enough in the past.  We have always been of the “make gifts” category, but as the kids are older they don’t really want to do that anymore.  I like the service ideas with the car.  My husband will be out of town for Father’s Day, so we are postponing the celebration for a week later when he and all my kids will be here.  Maybe I’ll get his car in for service while he is gone.  He would love that!

This’ll be my husband’s first Father’s Day. I’ve made a Shutterfly calendar for him with photos of him and our daughter. I’ll also make him a big breakfast (his favorite meal) Sunday morning and we’ll go to a family cookout that evening.

My girls and I (4 1/2 and almost 2) colored some shrinky dinks circles to turn into a keychain. This was my first time ever using shrinky dinks and they are really fun, easy AND Made in the USA! Then with the help of my 4 year old we wrote a silly song about their Dad that we then made an amateur recording of. I’m still trying to think of ideas for MY Dad!

Alas, my wonderful husband always seems to get the short end of the stick when it comes to Father’s Day. My father’s birthday is on the 18th so it’s always a double celebration.
Most of our 21 years of marriage we’ve traveled to see dad. He’ll be 94 this year and we keep saying “this could be his last….”(not mean, just realistic!), so we always go…gladly. My dad gets a party with all of his children and grandchildren and he loves it. That’s the thing that makes him the happiest, seeing us all together. So, for now Father’s Day in this house is a movable feast!

I’m with you, Susie. I liked Michelle’s post above about the car. I, too, don’t always make the effort to create a special day. I take the easy way out 95% of the time. I’ve decided that we’ll go to Saturday night mass and I’ll let him sleep on Sunday. I’ll get the kids organized early and we’ll go outside and wash & vacuum his car. It’s been a long time since we’ve cleaned it and I think the kids will feel really good about doing something special and hands on. They will clearly see their efforts and his gratitude. I’m really excited about the day, now!

My husband is always putting everyone else first.  I’ve asked him what he wants to do and his reply is, “Whatever you want.”  While that’s really thoughtful and selfless (as always), I’m trying to make this a special day.  We were supposed to go to my in-laws, but they had to cancel.  That’s what my husband really wanted to do :(  The other option we were considering before the invite to the in-laws was a pro-life fundraiser shindig with live Irish music (we listened to this family group of singers on our first date).  However, my wanting to go doesn’t feel right if it’s not something that he wants to do.  I could also try to have my dad (whose bday is also on the 22nd) down to our house, but I don’t think his parents will make it (not feeling well and having a wedding to go to the day before).  I hope he’s thought about it some more so we can make a plan soon…or no plan is fine, too.  I just want to know…you know?  Lord, help me be as selfless as my husband in celebrating him on Fathers’ Day.

Seeing your post reminded me to kick the kids who haven’t done anything yet a little harder.  With a little pressure - they’ve come up with an idea:  A “Box of Fun” for Dad - a beach chair (His is outdated), a book he wants, coupons from the older kids to take the same weekend day off from work so we can play, tickets to a bucket of golf balls at a local driving range and an ice cream at the same place so the kids and Dad can ride their bikes (they just gave him a new one to replace his 25 year old dinosaur of a bike that we all make fun of for his birthday), a ticket for a family movie night:  kids will make pizza, serve popcorn (we’re buying a big plastic bowl and they will write “Dad’s popcorn” on it, and soda (we’re buying plasic cup on which they will write “DAD” on it), and they are making a photo collage on cvs.com of us having fun in the last year to put on the top of the box! I think this will be fun to give Dad!  My kids seem to work well under pressure - we are off and running to pull this together…