Dear Dad: A Printable Book For Father’s Day

Father’s Day is just around the corner and this Dear Dad book is a perfect, from-the-heart gift little ones can make for their dads.

What You'll Need

• print the Dear Dad or Dear Daddy printable
• colourful card stock
• a pair of scissors
• a single hole punch
• embroidery floss or twine
• a pencil
• a fine black liner
• pencil crayons

How It's Made

First, prepare the basic cardstock book. Whether you do this part, your little one does this part, or you do it together — it’s up to you. I always opt to let kids do as much as they can, but you know your child’s abilities and your comfort level best.

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The very first thing you’ll want to do is cut three cardstock pieces 11.5 centimetres wide by 23 centimetres long.

Next, fold the three rectangular pieces of cardstock in half to form a square book and punch one hole on either side of the centre crease.

Lastly, loop your embroidery floss or baker’s twine through the holes a couple of times and secure it with a tight knot on the outside of the book before trimming the ends.

With the base of your book ready to go, it’s time to get started on the most important part — the personalized pages about Dad.

Again, how much support you offer your little one during this task is completely up to you. My daughter’s been writing independently for a few years now, so I simply let her to it. When she was younger, however, I would have asked her to tell me what she wanted to say and I would have written it for her. Do whatever works best for your kiddo.

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Here’s a few quick tips for the next part of the project:

1. Have your child personalize their book pages before they’re cut out and glued onto the cardstock base. This way if a mistake is made, you can always just print off another sheet.
2. Ask your child to do all of their work in pencil first and then trace it in black fine liner. The fine liner will make the finished book look polished and give it some pop, but having everything done in pencil first means mistakes can easily be fixed.
3. Don’t tackle all of the book pages in one sitting (unless your child is super focused and into it, of course). Spreading out the project over two or three sessions will allow your little one to do their very best work throughout the entire book and will keep the project light and fun.

When the personalized pages are done, cut them out just outside the dotted line and glue them into your pre-made book. Be sure to include the year on the last page or on the back of the book and your sweet, from-the-heart gift is ready to give!