Over the past few weeks I’ve shared a few ideas for Father’s Day photo books here and here.  If you’re looking for a simple gift that you can give your favorite Dad year after year, read on.

Early in my Father’s Day gift giving career I realized I needed a solution for the dad-who-has-everything-he-needs challenge.  I decided that each year I would have the kids decorate an 8×8 page to their liking and we would put it in a simple paper album.  It is fun to look back and compare handprint sizes and talk about how much their writing/drawing has developed year to year.

Our process goes something like this:

Step 1 |  Print a handful of favorite kid+dad photos from previous year.  Or create an album in photo organization software and let kids choose straight from there.  Either way, I give each kid a limited selection of photos and they get to pick which one they want to include.  I think giving them a photo as a starting point is easier than starting with a blank page.

Step 2 |  Find quiet time for them to create their page.  I’ve learned to have a stack of pre-cut 8×8 paper (I just use printer paper) on hand because there are often several re-dos.

Step 3 |  Insert photo in cover of dad + the kids and move photo from previous year to grid page with other past photos in the book.

Step 4 | Wrap album and feel good knowing that even if that “perfect” Father’s Day gift does not materialize this year, your kids have something special to give dad.