Father's Day DIY: Last minute? No problem
'I still have it today and I'm 68 years old'
Happy Father's Day to all you dads out there! And to all you kids… oops, you forgot? If you're reading this Saturday, it's not too late to make dad a memorable, cool and useful gift.
CBC gathered some of the internet's coolest easy projects you can whip up last minute with a small — dare we say miniscule — budget.
1. Luggage handle cover
With all that black luggage on the airport carousel, can be tricky for dad to identify which one is his.
Make it easier with a useful handle cover in his favourite colours, following this tutorial from Little Birdie Secrets. You will need minor sewing skills and a machine.
2. Candy poster
This candy bar poster is clever and super-easy for anyone with writing skills of say, grade 4 and above.
Poster board, a marker and several candy bars are all that's needed. You can make up your own words, or follow directions here, on the Bits of Everything blog.
3. Soda can coasters
Soda, or beer can coasters, would make a nice addition to dad's man-cave. Keep little hands away from the sharp edges in this craft, perhaps geared more for an older teen or adult creator.
Find the directions with easy-to-follow steps and photos here, on the Idea Room.
4. All about dad
This Father's Day questionnaire is an easy and very cute last-minute craft.
Help your children answer some basic questions about dad, write their answers, and frame the result. The younger the child, the funnier some of the answers to the questions may be.
It's easy to do following directions at Daffodil Design.
5. Sharpie Mug
All you need is a dollar-store mug (you might even have one in the cupboard already ), a permanent marker and your imagination for this easy, inexpensive mug.
Draw your designs on the mug with the marker and bake the mug at 450 degrees Farenheit for 45 minutes.
There are many designs to borrow on the internet -- just google "sharpie mug dad" or click on this tutorial at This Lil Piglet.
Some past favourites
CBC also took to the streets of Charlottetown to ask our readers what their favourite homemade Father's Day gifts have been over the years.
"A card from my son when he was three years old," Perry Goldsmith, visiting from Vancouver.
"It was stick people drawn, and it said 'I love you dad' and that was just wonderful. And I still have it today and I'm 68 years old."
"The hardest thing was trying to wake up early enough to make breakfast for him," said Lois Craswell of getting up to make her dad pancakes when she was eight or nine years old. "Because he was a farmer he was always up really early!"
Ann Peezzoli, visiting P.E.I. from North Carolina, recalls helping her children make their father artwork using their painted handprints along with a poem, and framing it. "He was very touched by it."
Good ideas. It's all in your hands now, P.E.I.