Fathers come in all shapes, sizes, colors, with different backgrounds, personalities, ideas and aspirations for their children. We love them all! The important thing is that they play a crucial role in our lives, in our children’s lives. In Italy, we celebrate fatherhood and the importance of these wonderful human being in our lives, on March 19^th. Here are a few ideas to surprise them with homemade gifts for their special day.

1. The “little hands tree”. Draw a tree together with your children on a thick, colored piece of paper. Then, simply trace your child’s hands, as the leaves of the tree. Write a special message and there you have it: an easy to make card, that will surely bring a smile on this dad’s face.
2. Driving dads love their car. The car is their partner “in crime”, thus it needs to be cared for accordingly. Buy all the products you know he would love to have for cleaning the car and put them in a stainless steel bucket. Have your children help you write with a marker on the bucket: “Daddy’s car wash kit!” This dad will be pretty excited about next week’s cleaning the car day.
3. The “all you need for a night in front of the TV” basket. Most dads enjoy their time in front of the TV. If they’re also “allowed” to snack on the couch and have a few hours for themselves even better. Take a gift basket and fill it with anything his heart would desire for an evening in front of his favorite shows, such as chips, beef jerky, his favorite drink etc. Have your children give you ideas, and enjoy putting the products in the basket together. They will love picking out their dad’s favorite snacks.
4. “Suits” dad. If he loves his suits and ties or maybe his job imposes a formal look during working hours, you could make little cute cardboard ties together with your kids and place them on “neck” of his favorite drink. Take a cardboard, cut it in the shape of a tie, let your children color it at their hearts desire and write “Happy Father’s Day” on them. Then, use an elastic band to glue it as the neck of the tie. There you have it, a little personal touch on a cute accessory to go with his drink.
5. Last but not least, in Italy the traditional recipe for Father’s Day is that of frittelle di riso. Surprise him with a nice plate of frittelle made by you and the kids, or why not take a trip together to Greve in Chianti and celebrate the day at the annual festival Sagra delle frittelle di San Giuseppe, with ancient, traditional recipes.

Happy Father’s Day!!!