Quick and Easy Father's Day Crafts for Dads and Grandpas

It's nearly Father's Day, and if the men in your life are anything like mine, they already have everything they need. This leaves me searching for new ideas every year. Here are a couple of gifts we have made that the Dads and Grandpas loved:

Battery Garden


One Christmas, we gave my father-in-law a pack of batteries to power a new lantern that was separately wrapped. He opened the batteries first and went on and on about how he loved them and always needed batteries. Even after he opened the lantern, he told us how much he loved the batteries. So, it made me realize that men really do always need batteries, so why not make a cute little garden out of them and give them as a gift? My four-year-old decorated it herself and it was a fun project. I just helped cut holes in the boxes to hold the sticks, and added a little glue at their bases to hold the heavier batteries.

She had fun making it, and the Grandfathers both thought it was really cute. Be sure to tell them that they're new batteries so they'll be able to use them!

Painted T-shirts with Hand Prints and Footprints


Painted T-shirts are are a fun and simple gift, and my daughter always loves getting paint all over her, so be sure to wear old clothes if you make them! All you need is fabric paint (available at most craft stores) and plain T-shirts (they're cheaper at Wal-Mart, Dollar General, or a similar store than they are at craft stores).

Here are a few hand print / footprint designs:

"World's Best Daddy, Hands Down" with hand prints

"Best Granddaddy, Hands Down" with hand prints 

"My Granddaughter Walks All Over Me" with footprints

The best part of painting your own T-shirts is that you can customize them with whatever you call the Dads and Grandfathers in your life: Papa, Papaw, Grandpa, etc. Then, there's the added bonus of just getting messy with paint, so have fun with it!