This simple homemade Father’s Day gift is a meaningful way for little ones to show Dad their love…and to continue the celebration all year long.

Father’s Day is less than two weeks away. Do you have a plan?

I haven’t figured what I’m doing yet, but I have a great idea for you. I would use it myself, but Little Man made this for my husband for Christmas last year, so it’s been done in our house. The good news is that my husband loved it, and we still use it regularly, so I feel confident saying that this is a great idea for a meaningful Father’s Day gift your preschooler can make for Dad.

It all started because Little Man loves his Daddy and hates when he has to go to work every day. So, we started making pictures for Daddy as a surprise for him to find when he came home. Sometimes they were crafts from our home preschool and sometimes they were just pictures we printed out from online and colored. After a while of Little Man leaving special pictures for Daddy on his pillow, I thought it would be fun to have a special place for him to put his pictures and for his dad to find them.

So, I asked Little Man if he would like to help make a special mailbox for Dad. Little Man loved the idea! So we went to work. I made the basic mailbox structure and then Little Man helped personalize and decorate it.

Daddy’s mailbox has been a great tradition for them. It helps Little Man feel connected to Daddy when he’s away at work, and it makes my husband smile to know his little boy was thinking about him during the day. We don’t do it every day, but it’s a pretty frequent activity around here. Little Man loves to sit on my lap at the computer and help pick out a picture to put in Daddy’s mailbox.

If you want to make your own mailbox for Dad, read on!

Daddy’s Mailbox

Materials:

• large cereal box
• scissors
• paper
• tape and/or glue (I used packing tape to hold the box together and spray glue to cover it with colored paper)
• stickers, markers, or other decorations

Directions:

1. I based my mailbox off of one from Punkin Patterns. Essentially, I cut up my cereal box to make my mailbox and then covered it with paper. One thing to consider, make sure that your mailbox is big enough to fit a standard size piece of paper without folding it. I made our first one a little too short and so we had to fold papers to close the door. (If you’re not feeling crafty, you can buy craft mailboxes at stores like Joann’s or Michael’s. They tend to be on the smaller side, but they save you the effort of making your own box. I wanted ours to big large, so I made it myself.
2. Once your mailbox is made, you can have your child help you decorate it. Little Man wanted to use stickers of things Daddy likes (sports). You could also use markers, paint, glitter glue, etc.
3. The last step is the most important…and the most fun…make something to go IN your mailbox!
4. That it! Wrap it up and you’re set for a new fun tradition!

Okay, now that I’ve shared my Father’s Day idea, I could certainly use yours!

What have your kids done for Father’s Day in the past that was meaningful?

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