WHAT HE REALLY WANTS FOR FATHERS DAY

What Does He Really Want for Fathers Day?

The question comes up every single year.  Let’s be honest. Men are just hard to shop for, but for good reason.  Men are just not as needy as us ladies (sorry just truth bombing a little here..hang with me.) in most areas of life.

As a woman, I need plenty of things, although they are mostly about my home routine, which is about my family. There are items to help my house function smoother, or more skincare if I ran out of mine, planners and books, decorative items for the house, and so on.  

I find with my husband that men are just a lot more simple.  Underwear, fishing poles, and I don’t know what else unless it’s something that you have to save up for like a boat! Ha!

I think as women, we know that gifts can warm the hearts of our loved ones and make them feel loved and appreciated. But with gifts, I don’t want to get anyone something JUST TO GET IT.  

I loathe the idea of spending money on something the recipient doesn’t really have a use or need for just to check the box to say I got a gift.

So, WHAT DOES HE REALLY WANT?

Every year my husband says the same thing and I am realizing it really is true.  

He just wants time with his family.  He wants to have a no agenda kind of day.  He wants to go fishing with his girls (all 3 of us).  He wants to hang by the pool and throw them sky high in the air, or swim underneath and tickle their toes.  He wants to go for a walk and make new memories discovering hidden treasures.  He wants to cook with his girls in the kitchen a new dish and they remember it forever.

He wants LIFE.  

He wants to make PRECIOUS MEMORIES with his kiddos NOW and keep them simple.

He wants all 3 of us to know that WE are what He wants.

How To Give Him What He Really Wants

1.  Make it a priority to schedule some free time and some planned activity time as well so you know you have that time set aside for him and the kiddos to just make memories.

2.  Ask him and then respect what his answer is on what he wants to really do with the day.

3.  Unplug yourself and hubs and kids from all devices and be present in the moment and invest in those special, sacred moments because they are gone forever in a millisecond and you don’t want to miss it!

How To Also Give Him Thoughtful Gifts

OK let’s be real, we also want to give that guy gifts, so here are a few heartfelt, thoughtful gifts you can give him if you feel so led after giving him the gift of time spent together.

Some are handmade, some are personalized store bought, and others are online purchases.  Do what works for you and the man in your life.

Homemade Cards and Gifts by the Kiddos

OK, seriously, do NOT roll your eyes with this one.  My husband has kept ALL (and I do mean ALL) of the homemade gifts my kiddos have given him (except for the ones that started to mold due to some “unknown ingredient” that they must have added to their homemade treasure).  

The kids get to be creative and pour their hearts into a project to express their love and know that they didn’t have to save up $ for some store-bought piece and that theirs is waaaaay more special and thoughtful.

Simple DIY Gift/Card Ideas from Kids:

1.  A Canvas that the kids paint.

These are soooooo GREAT to look back on as your kids grow through the years.  My hubs still has some hanging up that the girls did years ago to remind him of their great admiration of him and how they see him.  These you can buy in packages for cheap at Michaels or your local craft store.  

2.  A Shirt that the kids paint/decorate/customize.

Go grab a cheap $2 shirt from Michaels and let them do their thing!  Use fabric markers, iron-ons, and let it be done all by them.  He will wear it.  Maybe not out in public, but for a picture with his kids and around the house where they get to see him wear it?  Yup…and He will love that they thought so highly of him.

3.  A Jar filled with special treasures from the kids.

This one is so sweet and can look like as many different things as you can imagine.  Just plant the idea maybe and give them a clean jar and watch their imagination take flight.  Do they fill it with erasers?  That’s fine.  Did they fill it with treasures from outside?  Great.  Did they write little notes down on pieces of paper and stuff them in the jar? Wonderful.  There is no wrong way to do this.

4.  A Framed Photo of Dad and kids and they decorate the frame or the mat that surrounds the picture.

This is pretty self-explanatory.  I will say, as your kids get older and want to use their own $ for the frame, LET THEM.  It gives them a sense of ownership and knowing they invested their hard work and their own money means it came fully from them.  

5.  A Unique, Kid-only Idea that comes straight from their imagination and heart.  

Over the years, this has looked like many random things in our family.  It has been one of their treasured stuffed animals they wanted Daddy to have.  It has been a special rock they painted for him.  It has been cleaning up the backyard and grill area for him.  Let it be fully their idea and their unique gift.  These are usually the most special and remembered.

Simple and Thoughtful Gift Ideas from The Mama:

1.  DIY Custom Shirt or Hat.

OK, So I am a big goober/sucker for family shirts and for making goofy Dad shirts.  

Here is a picture of one I made for him a few years back that He wears all the time and gets tons of compliments on it! Ha!  

I used my Silhouette Cameo that is over 6 years old and still going strong to make this!    It’s way easier and more fun than buying a store bought one and you can make countless designs for friends and family for gifts for years to come!

2.  Digital Photo Frame.

In case your guy has an office, whether it’s at home or in another location, consider a digital photo frame and put on there some great family photos to remind him that he is loved while he is at work.

3.  Coupon Book.

OK, laugh it up if you must, but this is seriously a favorite in our home!  We LOVE LOVE doing coupon books!  Make it homemade with your kiddos if you like, or if you are running low on time, you can snag this great printable coupon book as a thoughtful gift for the Dad in your life.

4.  Invest in His Health.

This guy, just like you, has only been given ONE LIFE, right?  So, with that in mind, invest in his health in a new and creative way.

Our favorite thing to do gift-wise as a couple is to only get things we will ACTUALLY USE. 

So, following that, here are some great ideas to invest in his health, which is ultimately his life!

      Get him a Gym Membership TRIAL…looking for how to do that? 

Check this site first to find the best local gyms with trials so he can see if it’s a good fit for him before investing in a long membership.

Hint: be sure to log in to your money back site first so you get even more savings for the win!  This is actually how we found our present boot camp that we are crazy about and has helped us gain our health back by upping our fitness routine!

      Get him TOP QUALITY SUPPLEMENTS…tired of all the advertising and chemical crap storm of ingredients in all these so-called “healthy supplements” like we were? 

Get him some true honest to goodness life-giving, pure supplements that you feel good about giving to him.  

Get clean, back to basic, top quality health improving supplements to add to his routine.  It actually counts like whole food and is even wrapped in a collagen capsule.  No fillers, binders, questionable ingredients here.  Just simple, natural, life-infusing food wrapped in a supplement form. 

 

5.  Invest in his DREAMS.

What is it that sets his soul on fire with passion? Is there a dream he has been interested in pursuing?  Is there something that he has been working on but doesn’t think anyone else would take it seriously?  

Encourage him.  Push him to press on and keep going.

Some tangible ways that you can encourage him to press on are these:

Does he have a product that is unique and he would like to be able to sell it but doesn’t know how?  Maybe it’s a book he is finishing writing.  Maybe it’s custom woodwork pieces he has been selling locally but would love to broaden his market.  Maybe it’s a one of a kind invention he wants to share with the whole world. 

If he is interested in actually forming his own company, we highly recommend these guys. They handled our LLC and so much more!  Super easy to work with and they handle all the heavy lifting.  I could (and will) write an entire article on why they are the only company we recommend for handling all the business affairs!

Maybe he has a great desire to keep things local.  Encourage him to try selling his goods at a local farmers market.

THE BEST GIFT OF ALL

Really this gift is becoming so rare and unnatural these days as everything seems to revolve around the digital world and tech products and social media and time on the phone.

Want to know what the best gift of all is?  You already know it don’t you? We touched on it earlier!

Time with you.

I don’t mean time in the same room hanging out on your phones together….nope…thats not time with you.

Unplug.  Go for a walk.  Talk to him.  Ask him about his dreams.  Go play on the playground.  Go jump in the pool or lake.  Go on a scavenger hunt.  Make a meal together.  The ideas are countless once you get rolling with it.  If you take a camera with you, let it be a real camera, not a phone, so you aren’t even tempted to get on it with the rest of the world.  Play hard. Laugh loud. Enjoy and soak up the moment.  Before too long, it will be gone as will these years.  

Make moments that build into memories that will last a lifetime.  That’s the best gift of all.

Have a beautiful and blessed day and know that even if you don’t have a father figure in your life, your Heavenly Father loves you in ways that would literally blow your mind if you could fathom it!  You are treasured and loved and chosen by the Highest King of the Universe and you get to call him “daddy.”

Comment below with another great gift idea or how you enjoy spending time with the man in your life.