by Ashley
Father’s Day is coming up! T-minus (less than) 1 week!
Fathers never seem to get the same appreciation mothers do. I know of several comedy sketches about this discrepancy. But regardless of rhyme or reason, Father’s Day doesn’t seem to have the same costs associated with it that Mother’s Day might. I think (for myself, personally), I have no problem simply sending a nice card to the special Dads in our lives, whereas I always feel like Moms deserve a special gift. Why is this?
My family, specifically, also doesn’t have as many Dads in it as Moms.
By comparison, between the husband and myself, we have 2 Moms and 3 Grandmas/Nanas. But between the two of us we only have 1 Dad, 1 StepDad, and no living Grandpas. This alone dramatically reduces the financial impact of Father’s Day.
But, by and away, the most special “Father” in my life is my husband – father to our children. And I want to do something special for him. But, being on a budget, it needs to be cheap!
So here’s what I came up with….
Last year (pre-budget) I paid for my husband to have professional golf lessons and gave him this fun framed photo of our girls (barely 11 months at the time)
At first, I thought I would recreate this photo session with our (now) 23-month-olds! But a quick search for the letters in some craft boxes left me empty handed. I know they’re somewhere, but I lacked the time and energy to search more thoroughly (we have several craft boxes and they may have even ended up in the attic). Instead, I thought it might be fun to do a similar picture using different props.
I whipped up some homemade signs that said: We (heart) Dad!
My plan is to have them printed and put back into this same frame – costing only the amount of the prints (about 10 cents each = 30 cents total)! I just did the photo shoot this weekend so I don’t have them printed yet but here are a couple fun “outtake” photos:
You get the idea. Have I ever mentioned how challenging it is to work with toddlers as the photo subjects? ; )
And, although this would still be a loving and heart-felt gift on its own, I felt like I needed something else. I did a little googling and decided on a funny shirt. Husband loves to laze around in t-shirts on his days off and he’s always in need of t-shirts since his often become converted into “work shirts” after awhile (and then become destroyed).
So….don’t be offended(!!), I just thought this was a funny shirt that husband might appreciate
Have I ever told you guys the story about how we found out we were having twins (we didn’t find out until 20 weeks into the pregnancy)? Shock of a lifetime! Ha! I’ll have to share it sometime!
At any rate, the shirt only cost $12. With shipping it was $15. Add that to the 30 cents for printing the photos and I think that’s a pretty reasonably priced Father’s Day gift. One part sweet/sentimental and one part funny/practical.
What are you doing for Father’s Day? Any other good gift ideas?
Hi, I’m Ashley! Arizonan on paper, Texan at heart. Lover of running, blogging, and all things cheeeeese. Freshly 40, married mother of two, working in academia. Trying to finally (finally!) pay off that ridiculous 6-digit student loan debt!
I must say, when the new group started I thought you wouldn’t do well, just a feeling. You
really are trying very hard to think outside the box and get your debt gone. You come up with
some great ideas to save money but do what you want. Love the pictures of your girls. Cheryl
Thanks Cheryl! I appreciate the kind words!
If you have some fabric paint….you can do hand and/or feet prints on the shirt too! We have done that for Daddy, and he still wears his shirts (and my kids are almost 12!)
What a sweet idea!!! I know we’ve got some random paint in one of the craft boxes…I’ll have to see if any of it is fabric paint!
That’s such a good idea!!
I think you came up with a very creative gift. You are much more creative than I!
I see a tradition in the photos. Every year a new set of pics for the frames. Make sure to keep them all so you can look back!
That’s a great idea! It was totally coincidental this year (just trying to find cheap gift ideas), but I think this could make a really sweet and fun tradition if I keep it up!
I have a question about your budget, I do not SE a budget for daycare? that is often one of the most expensive issues for the working parents. Du you have help for that? Thanks
Nope, no help. And, yes, this is our most expensive bill behind our rent. In our budget we have a line for “baby expenses.” This primarily applies to childcare (which costs $600/month). Occasionally other baby-related things get put into that column (like doctor copays or prescription costs, or diapers and clothing).