By Milan Lu
Father's Day is a celebrated every third Sunday in the month of June to honour fathers and celebrate fatherhood, paternal bonds, and the influence of fathers in society. It’s the day you make your dads feel special and give them a little extra love. No matter how you feel towards your dad he has been a pillar of strength all through your lives, providing you unconditional love in his own ways and always being by your side through thick and thin. Father’s day is a good day to make him feel a bit special.
- Gifts!
Give him something he needs but make it meaningful and not just something like socks or a shirt. Now there’s nothing wrong with socks or shirts or anything but if he’s already got one too many shirts and an entire drawer stacked up in a pile of socks then it might be a bit advisable to skip those two. Maybe his watch ran out of batteries or it’s broken? You could get that fixed. Maybe his phone’s in bad need of an upgrade? You could pool in some money with the rest of your family and get him one. Look around you to see what he might need.
Maybe a new wallet (It’s best if you buy one that looks exactly like the old one or with a feature he was complaining about not having) or a pair of shoes is what he needs. You could buy him some casual wear as well since sometimes the casual wear he has now could be old or have a hole or two. If you’re looking for gifts then it’s best if you know what he really likes and needs. You can’t buy him a new car yet but you could get him a voucher to service the current vehicle. Ties, belts or anything in particular could be wonderful gift ideas if they are something he need or will need in the future. Does he have a special collection or hobby? Get him something that he could use for his relaxation time.
- Expressions of love
Along with your gift you could always make him a card. No shop bought card can cover all the special things he has done for you. Nothing gives a father more pride than knowing what he’s done is appreciated and noticed.
Make a card or write a letter to him thanking him and wishing him good health and God’s blessings. Have a special talent? Make use of it. Draw a picture or write a song or pick a song and sing or perform it on an instrument. Laugh at his jokes, even if it’s been told a million times already.
Talk to him and find out how things are going with him. He’s probably been so busy working and you’ve probably been busy as well with all your school work and other activities chances are you two haven’t had a good chat for a very long time. Hugs and kisses are nice too since he’s probably missed his little girl or boy who used to shower him with them before she or he became a teenager.
It’s his day so let him get his way with things. Does he want to watch a specific programme on TV and it has no interest to you? Chances are your programme will repeat some other day so just let your dad watch his programme. Let him have full control of what music blasts out of the house.
He’s had to listen to your music for the rest of the year so why not let him have his day. The same thing goes with all his interests as well and it could be interesting if you join in with him as well. If your dad asks you to do something don’t grumble or ignore it. Do it with a smile and do it out of love. You could clean things up for him like the garage or wash his car. Do a little extra without him asking you to do it. It’ll put a smile on his face and let him relax a bit more. Take care of the minor chores your dad has to do around the house for today and let your dad put his legs up and have a peaceful Sunday. If there’s been something he’s been wanting to do for a long time then let him do that on this day and join in as well to help him.
If there’s one thing all fathers love, its food. It might vary from father to father but they all love to eat something and in large quantities as well. All three meals are to be based on his favourites and any snacks in between too are to be decided on his favourites. You could plan it with your mum to take him to a special all you can eat buffet somewhere or you could help prepare the meals yourself.
Have his coffee or tea made for the morning and afternoon. Let him have most of the chocolate bar or packet of chips. Try to get his favourite fruits all together and let him have a healthy feast. Pay attention to what your dad eats though if your dad has special medical needs like less sugar or salt intake. The same applies to what he likes to drink as well. Everything’s good in moderation if his health deems it so. Buy him a basket full of all the goodies he likes and let him enjoy it all to himself.
Get together with everyone else in your family and dig out a board game or two. They are fun and relaxing at the same time and it’s a good way to have a chat. Organize a family cricket or football match with your cousins as well and have a big family get together. Make sure your dad likes the idea of driving to where ever and playing sports before you force him to be more tired than relaxed at the end of the day. If he’s not too fond of the idea just go out to a nearby park and have a nice quiet picnic.
No matter what you do for your dad today, Even if it means just giving him a hug since you forgot, doing it with your heart and good intentions will be more valuable to him than anything you do. He’s the person that’s done so much for you and for the family without complaining and a little acknowledgement would make him feel a good about everything he’s done so far. You’re teenagers now and one step closer to leaving to go your own ways so don’t ignore your dad now because you’re too busy with your own things.
