Making a homemade calendar using Microsoft Word Calendar Wizard is so easy, and can be a great Father’s Day gift from the kids. With a computer or laptop, a color printer, some sturdy printing paper, and selected digital pictures, an affordable and creative gift is only a few minutes away. And dad will absolutely love going through the memories of his kids on display each month.
Materials for Father’s Day Calendar
- Brochure or Flyer quality paper, matte white finish preferrable
- Digital pictures for every month of the year
- Computer with Microsoft Word and Calendar Wizard installed
- Color printer
- Hole punch and decorative ribbon
How to Make Father’s Day Calendar
- Open up Microsoft Word and choose File|New.
- Choose the Other Documents Tab and select the Calendar Wizard.
- Follow the steps outlined in the wizard to create the calendar. You may want to start with June and end with next May to make a “Dad Year Calendar”.
- Have the kids select their favorite pictures from your family’s collection. Identify which pictures will be used for each month. One idea: keep the theme of the month in mind when choosing photos, for example, choose birthda pcitures of the kids on their birthday months, summer vacation pictures for summer months, etc.
- Replace the picture icon on each month page on the Calendar project with the digital pictures the kids have selected.
- Print out the calendar.
- Punch a hole in the upper left corner of each page and tie together with decorative ribbon.
- Protect the calendar by placing it in a large white envelope. The kids can decorate the envelope with pictures, glitter, and stickers, and write a nice Father’s Day message on the outside.
Happy Father’s Day!
Tags: Creative Gift for Dads, Father's Day Gift Calendar, Father's Day Gift From Kids, Homemade Digital Picture Calendar
Kids can decorate golf balls will goofy faces, or messages for dad. Decorated golf balls can be a great gift for Father’s Day, dad’s birthday, or even Valentine’s Day, if dad is an avid golfer! This father’s gift is so simple and fun for kids of all ages. All you need to do is get a pail full of golf balls and provide some sharpie markers or acrylic paints in a variety of colors. Make sure the kids are not wearing their Sunday best, as paints and markers that can adhere to golf balls are not washable. The pail can also be decorated and presented to dad.
Real golf balls can be expensive, so an alternative to those would be to get a bunch of practice golf balls, which are much cheaper. Dad can use them to practice his putting and drives in the yard or office and you won’t feel guilty about defacing real ones!
HINT: If you are using markers to color the golf balls, make sure you use the ones that have thick tips. They are easier to color with along the dimples of the golf balls than fine points.
Turn the tables on the old classic story, The Giving Tree
Making the Giving Tree for Dad
On a large, white poster, draw a tree in the shape of a triangle with a stem on the bottom. Cut out rectangle shapes from green or multicolored construction paper; these will be the leaves on which the kids will draw/write their gifts. You could also get more crafty and use leaf stencils to cut leaf shapes to tape to the tree.
After preparing the tree and leaves, have the kids brainstorm to come up with some great ideas to give dad. Here are a few suggestions:
Slave labor for an hour
Hugs & kisses
Foot rub
Breakfast in bed
Mow the lawn (for older kids)
Game night - your choice of game
Movie night - your choice of movie
Your favorite dinner
No whining for a whole day
Ticket to the driving range
Ticket to the movies
Ticket to your favorite restaurant
Car wash
Once you have put the tree together, hang it up on the wall. Have dad pick a leaf every day until the tree is bare and he will be able to celebrate Father’s Day every day for a long time!
If you are finally getting the chance to shop around for the perfect Easter basket items for your little girls or boys, here is a list of some of our favorite toys and candy for the Easter basket. Don’t forget the Easter grass, which is a great way to fill in the gaps. Instead of using the plastic grass, try using paper Easter grass–it is better for the environment and can be added to the compost bin! 
Easter Basket Ideas for Boys
Little boys can be easy to please on Easter morning. Here are a few ideas for their Easter baskets…
Toy airplanes and wooden gliders
Presidental dollar coins (put them into some plastic Easter eggs)
Easter peeps (there are so many different varieties now!)
Soft sports balls to play with in the house
Bakugans or bey blades
Outdoor beach toys such as pails, shovels and sand sifters
Toy cars
Kung Zu pets
Marbles
Baseball or football cards
Eggs filled with cereal (for morning breakfast!)
Easter picture books
Webkinz pets
Silly bandz
Magic Beanz
Easter Basket Ideas for Girls
Girls love to get their Easter baskets on Easter Sunday morning. Some of the ideas above (like filling plastic eggs with cereal) can work for girls too. Girls may enjoy getting these items:
Beauty products such as hairbrushes, ties, lipgloss, etc.
Zhu Zhu pets
Coloring books
Bead crafts
Jump ropes
Bubbles
Orbeez
Squinkies
Stuffed bunnies
Sparkly belts or scarves
Fun socks
Sunglasses
Jewelry
A fun way to give the kids their Easter baskets on Sunday morning is to have them do a treasure hunt to find them, instead of just placing them outside their doors. Leave a note from the Easter bunny and help your child or children hunt for their Easter treasures!
Enjoy!
Tags: Easter
Winter time brings with it the cold and snowy weather, but that doesn’t mean families with small children need to be stuck indoors. Skiing, sledding and snowshoeing with kids are great ways to enjoy family time and outdoor exercise in winter. However, skiing is expensive and sledding requires hills. Snowshoeing, on the other hand, is cheap and can be done anywhere. Children can strap on some snowshoes and practice their walking skills outside in their own yards. Family snowshoe outings can also be planned anywhere where flat trails are found.
Snowshoeing with the Family
A place we like to go snowshoeing is at America’s Stonehenge in Salem, N.H. At this historical site, we can rent snowshoes and enjoy the beautiful trails and outdoor winter weather with our kids. Sometimes we bring a lunch and picnic along the trail. The important thing when snowshoeing with the family is to be prepared for cold weather.
Preparing to Snowshoe with Kids
Kids should be bundled up in order to enjoy their family time snowshoeing. This means good socks and lightweight boots, snowpants, jacket, hat, gloves and scarf. If it is going to be really cold, you may want to include thermal underware in that list. Also, if it is snowing, bring along snow goggles or kids sunglasses to protect the eyes. To keep feet dry, plan on purchasing gaiters 
Snowshoeing Tips for Family Outdoor Fun
Snowshoeing is relatively easy to do. Kids will get the hang of it right away, but you may want to have them practice with the shoes first, and learn how to backtrack. You cannot really go backwards with snowshoes on, but need to make U-turns instead, always going forwards. Also, kids might find that using ski poles will help them keep their balance.
Tags: outdoor exercise, outdoor family time, snowshoeing with family, snowshoeing with kids, winter activities, winter activity, winter exercise
Heart chains can be used to decorate Valentine's Day cards
Parents or kids new to crafting might be wondering what is the secret to cutting out paper hearts so that they stay connected. It is a combination of how you fold the paper, and how you draw and cut the hearts. Here is how you do it:
Fluting the Paper
Take a thin piece of paper (white, red or pink) and fold it back and forth like a fan. This folding technique is sometimes called “fluting”. The more you flute your paper the more hearts you will have, but the smaller they will be and also, the harder it will be to cut through the layers. I was able to flute fold a standard 8 1/2 by 11 inch piece of paper up to 12 times for 6 1/2 hearts in the chain.
Drawing the Valentine Heart
The other important step to make sure that the heart chain is all in one piece is the way the heart is drawn and cut. You need to draw a one-half heart that begins on one side of the flute fold and ends on the other side of the fold. The fold on the left side should be where the heart dip (top) and heart point (bottom) are. The right-side fold should be a small part of the rounded edges of the heart when it is opened. It is the right side fold that provides the connection between the hearts in the chain.
Cut the Heart and Open to Reveal the Valentine’s Day Heart Chain
Cut along the lines of the drawn heart, making sure you do not cut along either the right or left side folds. You should end up with three pieces of paper when finished: the top portion and bottom portions can be scrapped/recycled. The middle portion will be the heart chain. Open it up! Decorate it and attach it to a window, door or refrigerator.
Tags: Valentine Heart Chain, Valentine's Day, Valentine's Day Crafts, Valentine's Day Heart
