4 Ways To Have a Fun and Frugal Father’s Day

by Kyle · 8 comments

in Online Coupons

First of all, I want to thank Kelly for giving me the opportunity to do an ‘online coupons’ feature on her terrific blog. Hopefully I can pass along some frugal living tips along with a few coupons that can save you some money. This is a very exciting opportunity for me. Thanks Kelly!

Father’s Day is in a couple weeks and as a father of 3 young kids it is definitely one of my favorite days of the year. My wife is quite creative when it comes to helping the kids come up with something pretty cool for me, and it never costs a lot of money. Here are a few of the favorite gifts my kids have given me over the years. Hopefully they can provide a little gift giving inspiration. Notice neck ties, cologne, and a box of chocolates didn’t make the cut. Yay!

~ Photo Gifts (My personal favorite) – Over the years I have been given framed pictures of my kids to hang in my office, a photo collage coffee mug, a photo calendar, and a mouse pad with their picture on it. None of these gifts cost more than $20. Snapfish.com is probably my favorite site for personalized photo gifts, although Shutterfly.com is great as well. If you are not familiar with these websites, they are an online service that let’s you upload your family photos and create custom gifts, albums, books, and calendars. My favorite gift was from a couple years ago when the kids made a photo calendar for me and I hung it proudly in my office all year long. The calendars can be created for about $20.

~ Homemade Art – Last year I was given a framed print that had all 3 of the kids hand and foot prints on it, plus their signature. I really treasure it and the only costs involved were the frame and some paint.

~ Dads Love Gadgets – I am weak, what can I say. What is it about bright and shiny gadgets that men can’t resist? They don’t have to be very expensive, especially when you can use a coupon or shop at a discount store like Ross or TJ Maxx. The one gadget that I was given on Father’s Day was from Brookstone.com and it was a BBQ fork that doubles as a meat thermometer. I use it every time I BBQ and it is so cool! I deserve it, right?

~ The Gift Of Time – No coupons for this one, sorry. But some of my favorite Father’s Day memories are not from actual stuff, but rather from bike rides, picnics, camping, and just goofing around with the kids. Like the MasterCard commercial says….Priceless.

Please feel free to add your favorite frugal Father’s Day gift ideas. I look forward to any additions to my list.

{ 8 comments }

1 Simon June 4, 2010

I don’t know what it is about gadgets but yes us men do love gadgets.

I bought my dad a watch last year for father’s day (not exactly a gadget) but he really loves it and it didn’t cost too much either. This year, I’m going to use one of the sites you provided for a gift as I don’t have as much money as last year.
.-= Simon´s last blog ..60 Megapixel Camera – Estragon Alpa 12 TC =-.

2 Kelly June 4, 2010

I obviously can’t speak for the men in my life, but as a mother, I know I love getting the homemade gifts the best.

One of the traditions in French schools is to have children memorize a poem for mother’s and father’s day. They then write it on a card, or draw a picture for the little ones, and recite the poem when they present the card. This always makes me tear up- sniff!

3 Laura June 4, 2010

We always like to do some (big) chore for my husband on Father’s Day that he knows is coming up but dreading. He says it’s better than any thing we could give him. This year the girls and I will be cleaning out the garage for him, but we’ve done yard work, filing, and so forth in the past so he gets a real “day off.” We always make a special dessert, and I will cook a favorite meal for him. Hopefully the weather will cooperate this year so he can go for a bike ride or hike, something he doesn’t get to do enough of these days.
.-= Laura´s last blog ..Food Waste Friday: Another No-Waste Week! =-.

4 Kelly June 5, 2010

I love this idea Laura! It’s the gift of time, but better- because you’re taking something off his plate *and* giving him time to do something for himself! Do you tell him in advance what it’s going to be, or just surprise him?

5 Laura June 6, 2010

We tell him before so he can plan what he wants to do with his free time.
.-= Laura´s last blog ..June Food Stamp Challenge Shopping: Job Done Well or Epic Fail? =-.

6 Shirley Kelly June 5, 2010

Thanks for all the great ideas. I have been trying to come up with something unique and wonderful my sons can give their dad this fathers day. I like the spending time together idea. My husband loves to take our sons fishing and our 9 year old broke his favorite fishing pole trying to reel in his "big one" that got away. I think a new fishing pole will make an excellent gift!
.-= Shirley Kelly´s last blog ..How To Paint House Exterior =-.

7 Jenna June 7, 2010

Along with homemade art goes homemade gifts. My brother and I painted a tie for my dad one year for Father’s day, I’m pretty sure he still wears it. Get a plain white tie (cheap) and some fabric paint and you’re all set.

8 Dana June 9, 2010

Hi there,
I just linked to this post in a post that we’re doing at The Mom-tage (giving you credit of course)! We’re doing a new feature “Monday’s Mom-tage Mom”. Where we do guest posts from our readers. We’d love to have you join our group and share some frugal ideas from time to time..

PS: love your disclosure here at the bottom of the comment box!

Dana @ The Mom-tage
personal blog: http://danaelaineellis.blogspot.com

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