Earlier today, we realized with astonishment that this is Evan's THIRD year celebrating Father's Day! Owen was born in late April, so he was a wee babe for the very first one. We didn't do much. We didn't really do that much for the second one either (oops!). This time, we hosted a BBQ for some of our good friends, several of whom have recently become parents, as well. I thought I'd go ahead and share some of the small cutesy things we added to make it special for Father's Day here in the blog, since they turned out pretty well. No knitting involved (sorry).

I didn't even think of doing anything for the theme until about 24 hours prior to the party, so you can consider these tips as completely do-able!

1) Hugs, Kisses, and Jokes: I printed out some necktie-shaped signs on sticker paper (or Avery brand full sheet mailing labels) and stuck them onto a couple of containers reading "Dad Hugs," which were beer cozies, "Dad Kisses," which were (duh) Hershey kisses, and "Dad Jokes," which were jumbo popsicle sticks that had classic "dad jokes" printed on them with the same sticker paper. It was super easy, quick, cheap, and entertaining for all. Here are the pdfs I ended up making for the project:

Click here for the Dad Signs pdf.

Click here for the Dad Jokes pdf.

Link to the website from which I grabbed the "dad jokes"

2) Dad cupcakes: I ended up getting an assortment of bundtinis from Nothing Bundt Cakes because they're AMAZING. Hands down. Case closed. Holy moly. I jazzed 'em up a bit with some mustache and glasses cake decorations from the grocery store. I'm sad because I didn't get a photo of the finished products, but you can view the links to the decorations below and figure out how it must have looked with one set of glasses and one mustache on top of each cupcake. Big hit, low cost and effort!

3) Leather Daddies: Ok, maybe not what it sounds like, hehe. I wanted to do something small and nice for the dads, but you know how hard it is to get gifts for guys. I ended up making some of these cool leather keychains with the names of their children stamped into the leather. It does cost a little upfront if you don't already have the tools, but now I can make a whole bunch for a very low cost! It took me about an hour and a half to get the hang of, and make, about 8 personalized keychains. They went over REALLY well with the guys so I thought I'd provide a tutorial for you!

Finished Product!

This is the finished keychain packaged in a small, white jewelry gift box from Michaels.

Supplies

Here we have the supplies:

-- Mallet -- Scissors that can cut leather -- Leather stamping tool, set of letters -- Leather rivet kit -- Bowl of clean water and rag -- Split key rings (1.25") -- Leather punch (I used a leather sewing awl because it was "awl" that I had, haha) -- Leather strip (I used a strip found in JoAnn Fabrics) -- Small gift box -- Cutting board

Cut a strip that gives you plenty of room for stamping and folding around the keychain ring. I cut them to about 5.5" lengths. I could get 2 keychains out of one strip if I cut it in half lengthwise.

Use the wet rag to dampen the leather.

Load the first letter onto the stamping tool. Or, rather, the last letter. I started at the end with the last letter of the name and worked backwards.

Place the letter stamp onto the leather and strike with the mallet a few times. I hit it about 5-7 times.

Check out your handiwork! Re-stamp if you can't see the letter very well. Repeat with each of the remaining letters.

Once finished stamping the letters, punch out a hole for the rivets.

Fold the piece around the keyring to figure out where to punch the second hole before installing the rivet.

Make sure both holes are big enough to fit your rivets.

Fold the leather around the keychain and push the pointy part of the rivet through.

Place the flat part of the rivet on the other side, place the pointy rivet on the anvil so the flat part is facing up, put the setter on top, and strike with the mallet a few times, enough to secure the rivet. Be sure not to go too far or the whole thing could get damaged. I ruined a few rivets going overboard.

Tada!!! All done!

All gussied up with nothing but a sharpie and a length of ribbon! Keep it simple.

I hope you enjoyed these little party embellishments for Father's Day! As you can see, they didn't cost too much of your money or time, but they definitely added a touch of thematic ambiance. You really can riff off these ideas and make them your own, as well! Have fun!