Frugal Father's Day Gift Ideas

With Father's Day approaching, I thought I'd share some gift ideas for Dad that won't break the bank.

Scrapbook-This may not be the first thing that comes to mind when you think about gifts for Dad but I assure you he'll love it. One year I made a "10 Things I Love About My Dad" scrapbook for my dad. I gathered pictures from when he was a little boy all the way through recent pictures. I made the cover for the book from corrugated paper and bound it with jute twine. The book was very rustic looking and I printed all the pictures in sepia. Each layout included one of the reasons and a picture from his life that best matched that reason. It was a huge hit. Several years back I started an ongoing scrapbook for my husband from my daughters. Each year we add a 2 page layout. One page includes a picture of my husband and our daughters with a quote about dads. The other page includes an individual picture of our girls and something they've contributed to make it personal like a handprint or a quote from them about why they love daddy. Both of these are inexpensive gifts that are packed with meaning for the recipients.

Personalized T-Shirts-We've given my husband a couple of these over the years. These are a lot of fun to make. You can use iron-on printable paper to put a picture of the kids or a phrase about dad onto a shirt. Another fun idea is to paint the shirt. You can give your kids fabric paint tubes and let them go wild or you can put handprints our footprints on them. My husband's favorite shirt is one that has our daughters' footprints going up the front with the words "My kids walk all over me."

Coupon Book-What parent doesn't love these? You can use this template from Family Fun or have your kids create their own. Any dad would be thrilled with a day off from taking out the trash, cleaning out the garage, washing the cars or mowing the lawn.

Photo Gifts-Dad's love pictures of their kids. Even if you're not handy with photo editing software, photo websites like Kodak, Shutterfly, CVSPhoto, WalMart, and Walgreens make it easy for you to create a photo collage of your kids to give to dad. If a collage isn't what you had in mind there are plenty of other gift ideas to choose from including travel mugs, puzzles, mouse pads and photo books. These 4x4 books from Shutterfly are reasonably priced and would be a very handy way for dad to show off his kids.

Personalized Gift Baskets-Another way to show dad how much you love him is to present him with a gift "basket" filled with things you know he'll love. Decide on a theme, find a container and fill it up with items that relate to that theme. These do not have to cost a lot of money. Reuse boxes, containers or baskets you already have or pick them up for very little money at yard sales, flea markets or dollar stores. You can also use coupons to purchase many of the items included in the baskets to save money as well.
Some ideas are:
-Favorite Snacks Basket-Fill your container of choice with the things your dad loves to snack on. For example one for my husband would include Snapple Green Tea, diet Dr. Pepper, Lays Sour Cream and Onion chips, Fritos, Almond Joys and Reese's cups.
-Car Cleaning Bucket-Get a bucket and fill it with car wash, tire cleaner, wax, Armour All, a wash mitt, a chamois cloth and air freshener. All the things dad needs to keep his car clean and shiny.
-BBQ Basket-If the dad in your life loves to grill out present him with a BBQ basket. Get a plain canvas apron and you and your kids can personlize it for dad. Place the apron along with grill spices/rubs, barbeque sauce, a grill brush, grill tongs, and a spatula in the basket.
-Golf Basket-Fill a basket for the golf lover in your life with any combination of the following: golf balls, tees, glove, visor, hat, or towel. Here's an inexpensive travel mug set that you could add along with a few snacks.
-Spicy Foods Bakset-Fill a container with hot sauces, chili mixes, spicy cheese spreads, hot and spicy nuts and salsa. This will surely be a hit with the dad who likes his food hot and spicy.

Dad and Me book-Have your kids write and illustrate a book that tells all about what they love about their dad and the time they spend with him.

Dad's Dream Fund-Is there something dad really wants but can't afford. Start a dad's dream fund for him. Decorate a jar, empy oatmeal container or coffee tin and have the kids contribute some of their money to start Dad's fund.

Making Dad's day special doesn't have to cost a lot of money. Just be sure to fill it with lots of love and gifts from the heart.