Father’s Day will be here before we know it — it’s on June 21 in 2026, BTW! — and it’s time to start thinking about what to get the special dad in your life. Whether you're helping the kids make a gift for their dad, giving your husband something special, or creating a present for grandpa or another special dad figure in your life, there are plenty of heartfelt and sentimental ways to show your love.
Sure, store-bought cards can be sweet, and who doesn’t like going out to lunch? But if you want to make Father’s Day extra special (and stay on a budget), you’ll just need a few craft supplies. With paint, rocks, super glue, and other items, you and the kids can make a memorable present that will make any dad feel the love.
Handprint Art
Help your kids show their dad how much he means to them with one of these handmade gifts.
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When the kids are little, making a handprint craft is a heartwarming way to honor dad and create a meaningful keepsake that will always remind him of how small his child's hand once was. (These are great to pull out a few years later when your kid hits the tween and teen years.)
Home Is Where the Art Is shared several ideas for handprint crafts you can help your children make. Some of the ideas include painting your kid’s hand in yellow and having them put their hand straight on a blank piece of paper. Then, paint yellow handles and a brown base, writing, “World’s Best Dad!” like a trophy.
Or, have them paint their hand in orange and place it sideways on the paper. Add googly eyes, blue waves, and a fishing pole, writing, “Dad, you’re the best catch in the sea!” Another cute idea is to paint their hand green and press it upside down on a piece of paper. From there, draw a green head, neck, and tail, and add dots and spikes to turn it into a dinosaur. “Dad, you are roar-some!” you can write on the paper.
Rock Crafts
Pinterest contains a treasure trove of great craft ideas for Father’s Day. The Cozy Creator shared a picture of an easy (and adorable) craft that kids of any age can make. Start by having your child paint with their favorite colors on a small canvas. While that’s drying, they can work on decorating two stones to look like a dad and a kid. Add googly eyes, draw with markers, decorate with glitter or feathers, and let your child make it their own. Once the rocks are decorated, glue them to the canvas and write “My dad rocks!” on it. So cute!
Sweet Memento
Help Dad remember a special moment by making him a personalized photo frame. Kids can paint wooden frames or make their own out of popsicle sticks. If your dad loves tools, try this idea by Happiness Is Homemade instead.
A personalized gift is a great way to show Dad you care.
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Start with any plain frame or a craft frame (like this one from Walmart for $5.48) and paint it. When it’s dry, use super glue or other strong crafting glue to attach various-sized nuts around the frame. Leave enough space to write, “We’re nuts about you, Dad!” Then, add a picture of your child with their dad. It’s such a cute gift that he will love displaying at home or in the office.
For the Golfer Dad
Give Dad a gift he’ll actually use by making DIY golf tees. Merriment Design shared instructions for how to make these, which is super simple: just grab a mix of colorful Sharpies and a bag of all-white golf tees and let the kids go at it. They can write sweet messages, draw tiny pictures, or simply sign their names on the tees.
Then, when their dad goes out golfing, he’ll smile every time he pulls out a new tee and thinks of his sweet kids who made them. Even better — plan a Father’s Day outing for the kids to go golfing with their dad and share one of his favorite hobbies with him.
Unique Father’s Day Craft
Want to do something extra special for dad this year? It’ll require some special tools, but this gift idea from Michaels is so worth it! Make wood-burned coasters by purchasing the wood-slice coasters from Michaels ($3.49 each) and a special hot tool to write on wood, leather, fabric, and more ($31.99). Sketch out a design, like “Dad, est. YEAR” followed by your child’s name, then trace over it with the hot tool.
Dad will love the rustic look of this gift and the fact that he can actually use it as a coaster.
Building Memories
One of the sweetest — and easiest — gifts to make for dad requires just three things: several of your child's Lego Duplo bricks, a mason jar, and your imagination. This idea, shared by The Seasoned Mom, is to write fun activities on the bricks that your kids can do with their dad. You can write anything from “movie night” to “camping” to “building Legos” or whatever else your kids can think of.
On the outside of the jar, write, “Building memories with Dad” to complete the sweet gift, which can lead to wonderful experiences throughout the year.
The image featured at the top of this post is ©FamVeld/Shutterstock.com