Father’s Day List: 20 Ideas for Under $5

Father’s Day will happen in June whether we are ready or not. Here are a few ideas to get you started.
1) Tell him, “I love you every day of the year!”
2) Stop by his workplace on the Friday before Father’s day, just to deliver a hug.
3) Take him to play putt-putt.
4) Give him a piggy bank marked “new golf clubs” and make the first contribution. At $5.00 a pop, that would take you about 60 Father’s Days into the future, so better plan to make other contributions throughout the year.
5) Make him a “card” out of an old cigar box and fill it with old pictures of you with him.
6) Snuggle into his recliner with him.
7) Rent his favorite old western and pop pop-corn.
8) Take him to a matinee. Pick a time when you can be the only ones in the theater.
9) Wake up early and surprise him with a doughnut run, but only if he’s a morning person. If he’s a night owl, show up at midnight.
10) Pack a picnic and take him on a scavenger hunt to “find” it.
11) Text or call him on the hour all day long just to say “I love you” again.
12) Take him out for a DQ soft-serve ice cream.
13) Spend Sunday afternoon helping him with his high tech gadgets.
14) Help him pick out a gift for mom. Yes, this seems out of place, but for some reason, dads always seem to welcome help with gifts for mom.
15) If you have new baby, put $5 in an envelope to start a college fund because new dads always wonder how they are going to pay for college.
16) Start another envelope designated “second honeymoon” for when the youngest child leaves the nest. Dad will like this even better than idea #15. Better yet, start an envelope fund for a weekend away as soon as the baby is weaned.
17) Weed his vegetable garden.
18) Hang shiny DVD’s around his garden to keep the birds away from his tomatoes.
19) Bring him fresh produce from the farmer’s market and fix a summer vegetables-only lunch.
20) Give him a $5 gift card to the hardware store. It will be the perfect excuse to spend his own money on that new chainsaw he’s been longing for.
If you do everything on this list, it will only cost you around $50.00.
Sometimes dads get the role the traditional way. Sometimes the role finds them by accident.
However and wherever the role finds him, every kid needs someone special to be dad. Happy Father’s Day to all those willing to be Dad.

Cathy Primer Krafve, a.k.a. Checklist Charlie, lives in Flint with her husband, the father of their three children. Comments are invited at CaeKrafve2@aol.com.