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This file includes page toppers, quotes, album ideas and card ideas for fathers. Also see Father Poems, Daddy's Girl, Family ABC Lists and Parenting.
Remember, Father's Day is the third Sunday in June.

Page Toppers

Quotes

Dear Dad

(author unknown)

Did I ever say thanks
for all the toys you mended,
games we played,
outings to the park,
and the way you always tried
to cheer me when I was down?

Did I ever say thanks
for the sacrifices you made
so I could be involved
in so many enriching activities?

Did I ever say thanks
for working so hard
to provide for our family?

Did I ever say thanks
for having such faith in me
and always being there
when I needed you?

But most of all,
Did I ever say thanks for caring?
Dad, I love you . . .
And I'm thanking you now.

My Father When I Was...

(author unknown)

4 years old: My daddy can do anything.
5 years old: My daddy knows a whole lot.
6 years old: My dad is smarter than your dad.
8 years old: My dad doesn't know exactly everything.
10 years old: In the olden days when my dad grew up, things were different.
12 years old: Oh, well, naturally, Father doesn't know anything about that. He's too old to remember his childhood.
14 years old: Don't pay attention to my Father. He is so old-fashioned!
21 years old: Him? My heavens, he's hopelessly out-of-date.
25 years old: Dad knows a little bit about it, but then he should because he has been around so long.
30 years old: Maybe we should ask Dad what he thinks. After all, he's had a lot of experience.
35 years old: I'm not doing a single thing until I talk to Dad.
40 years old: I wonder how Dad would have handled it. He was so wise and had a world of experience.
50 years old: I'd give anything if Dad were here now so I could talk this over with him. Too bad I didn't appreciate how smart he was. I could have learned a lot from him.

What Are Fathers Made Of?

(Paul Harvey)

A father is a person that is forced to endure childbirth without an anesthetic.
A father is a person that growls when he feels good . . . and laughs out loud when scared half to death.
A father never feels worthy of the worship in a child's eyes.
He's never quite the hero his daughter thinks . . . never quite the man his son believes him to be . . . and this worries him.
So he works too hard to try and smooth the rough places in the road for those of his own who will follow him.
A father is a person who gets angry when the first school grades aren't as good as he thinks they should be. He scolds his son . . . though he knows it's the teacher's fault.
Fathers are persons that give daughters away to other men who aren't nearly good enough . . . so they can have grandchildren who are smarter than anybody's.
Fathers make bets with insurance companies about who'll live the longest. One day they lose . . . and the bet's paid off to the part of them they leave behind.
I don't know where a father goes when he dies, but I've an idea that after a good rest . . . he won't just sit on a cloud and wait for the girl he loved and the children she bore.
He'll be busy there, too . . . repairing the stairs . . . oiling the gates . . . improving the streets . . . smoothing the way.

Father's Day

(Zula Bennington Green)

Boys always seem to get the worst of things. At an age when they can see no reason or value for doing so, they are taught to be polite to girls and women, particularly not to hit little girls. They are required, if there are more people than chairs, to stand while others are sitting, or to sit on the floor when others are in chairs. Their rooms are often less decorated, smaller, colder, hotter, than their sister's rooms. They are pressed into lifting, carrying, pulling, hauling, opening doors, holding chairs, holding coats. The list could go on. A boy serves a long apprenticeship, but in an excellent cause. It prepares him to be a father.

A father is the one who answers the doorbell late at night, and the one who goes downstairs to investigate that loud noise, goes unarmed and in his pajamas, to face either an intruder who does not want to be faced, or to discover that the cat has knocked over a lamp.He is the one who, when the car balks, gets out to look under the hood or to change a tire while the family sits comfortably inside. He is the one who, at the end of an entertainment, goes out in a pouring rain to bring the car so others who came with him will not get wet. He is the one who is up front when there is trouble, a war or a policeman knocking on the door with bad news. He is the one who talks to the lawyer or the neighbor with a broken window. He is the one who wears his old suit another year because the money is needed for the new baby or for schoolbooks or children's shoes. He is the one who at Christmas receives half interest in a butter dish or a bedspread or an eggbeater or a bath towel and washcloth. He is the one who, when his mother comes to visit, goes off to work while his mother and his wife go shopping. And he is the one who goes off to work every morning, sometimes to a job he dislikes, so the family can have the necessities and some of the luxuries of living.
A happy day to all fathers.

Fathers Are Only Human

Maybe your father gets crabby sometimes. Maybe he could tell you things a little more gently. Perhaps you are blamed or even scolded unfairly once in a while. But, think of all the times when you did something wrong and got away with it. You're still far ahead of the game. And don't think your father is angry or grouchy every time he talks in a serious way; maybe he's worrying about you--and with good reason. The next time he gives you a good going-over, take it like a good soldier who had made a mistake, and when he finishes, look at him honestly and tell him: "I'm sorry, dad." Don't ever turn away from your father with a grudge in your heart against him--a grudge that may last for days at a time. You don't have to put a halo on your father's head or wings upon his shoulders to get the right picture of him. But remember, he is not just a man who provides the home in which you live, the food you eat, the clothes you wear and the money you spend. He is your FATHER. Let's not wait until it is too late to let father know that we really love him and appreciate all that he has done for us. If father has already passed away, let's not forget to say a special prayer for him today.

Simple, Quick Father's Day Album

(Angie)

Title page: simply "Happy Father's Day"
The rest is two-page spreads. Can use the following poem (design of page in parenthesis)

Use paper that coordinates with the stickers and die-cuts. Write each verse on strips of white paper and mount the white slip onto colored paper. Use photos to go with the poem or just ones you like. Pictures ideas--fishing, Dad with his grandkids, after a hunting trip, with his parents, when he was in the service etc. You can use photo sleeves and turn this into a perpetual album.

Daddy's Boots

(author unknown)

I want to be like Daddy
Someday if I can,
Mom told me when I fill his shoes
I'll be a real big man.
His hat and tie's no problem,
(I'll grow a good amount),
and I may be able to fill his shoes,
It's these boots I'm worried about.

Page Idea for the Above Poem:
Each Father's Day, birthday, or other special day, take a photo of a little boy in Daddy's boots. This would be a cute in the child's graduation album or an album for daddy. (Although Dad might have mixed feelings the year the boots finally fit!)

Fathers Day Album

Use the Denim Album, one phrase per page with appropriate photos.

The Strength of a Man

The strength of a man isn't seen in the width of his shoulders
It's seen in the width of his arms that circle you.

The strength of a man isn't in the deep tone of his voice,
It's in the gentle words he whispers.

The strength of a man isn't how many buddies he has,
It's how good a buddy he is with his kids.

The strength of a man isn't in how respected he is at work,
It's in how respected he is at home.

The strength of a man isn't in how hard he hits,
It's in how tender he touches.

The strength of a man isn't in the hair on his chest,
It's in his heart . . . that lies within his chest.

The strength of a man isn't how many women he's loved,
It's in how he can be true to one woman.

The strength of a man isn't in the weight he can lift,
It's in the burdens he can carry.

© July 15, 1999
Jacqueline Marie Griffiths

Father's Day Tribute Album

Take pictures of the kids giving Daddy breakfast in bed, Daddy opening presents, and any other special activities. Trace the kids' hands on a scrapbook page and let them write what they love about Daddy next to their hand. If they can't write yet, write for them. (Sherilyn)

Father's Day Card idea

(Use tool stickers or die-cuts to illustrate this poem.)

You're the finest Dad I ever SAW
You suit me to a T
And none can MEASURE up to you
That's PLANE enough to see.

So strictly on the LEVEL, Dad
I'm proud as PUNCH to say
You're the greatest Dad of AWL
So have a happy father's day.

Perpetual Father's Day Card

(Nancy D)

Use a Reflections album and on the first page make a title. Simply "Happy Father's Day" will do! On the next two pages trace the kids' hands and have them write or dictate (depending on their ability to actually write) what they remember about daddy this year. This all goes on the left page. Give each child a color. Example: Johnny is Blue, Suzie is Red. Trace Johnny's hand in blue and have him write in blue. Suzie all in red. On the right side, mount a photo of the kids. Try and think of someplace that will be there every year. Did you plant a tree this year? Watching IT grow along with the kids would be cool! Then you take a new photo in the same place every year. Mount it on the right side with some paper. List the kids and their ages.

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Songs about Fathers

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