It’s almost Father’s Day and we’ve created a fun game to help you celebrate dad and grandpa this year! This printable Father’s Day game is a combination of hide & seek and the classic ‘pin the nose’ game, but with ties instead and called “Pin the Tie on Dad.” This is an easy tradition to do yearly and fun to compare the drawings each year. Keep reading to see how we set up the pin the tie game and how we give it as a fun Father’s Day gift to dad.
First off, get all the printables for this game / gift. Then, have the kids draw a picture of dad (or grandpa) and write messages on the back of the ties. We love having the kids draw pictures of dad because it makes a unique Father’s Day card for dad and something you can keep in the memory book! We love personalized and homemade DIY cards for dad.
*UPDATE: In order to maintain this little blog and offer more printables in the future, we had to make the tough decision to start charging a small fee for some of our printables. We no longer offer the Father’s Day coloring page cards and pin the tie game for free, but you can find them for a really low cost in our Etsy shop. We appreciate your understanding and hope we can continue creating printables to help families and individuals celebrate all of life’s special occasions.
For the dad prints you have two size options — 12×18″ and 8.5×11″. It includes blank ones for the kids to draw a picture of dad and prints of dad ready to go (with a few variations of dads) for those that don’t want to draw a picture of dad, but still want to play the game. If you choose the larger size, send it to your local print shop and print it as a 12×18 poster print. We print ours on 12pt racecar matte paper and our print shop only charges $2.18 for this size and thickness! The ties are larger also, but get printed on regular sized paper 8.5×11″ paper that you can print from home or also send to the print shop.
If you’re printing the 8.5×11″ dad and tie pages, you can easily print those all from home. For size reference between the two, see picture below.
To create this fun and simple gift for dad you’re going to need a few things:
After you’ve printed off the size you want, let the kids start drawing. Remember, the more details the better. Kids sometimes (or most of the time) need to be guided, so tell them to think of their dad. What color is his hair; what length; is it curly, spiky or straight. Then have them think of his nose, lips, and any other characteristics. Does he have a mustache or beard. Big nose, small nose, bushy brows, freckles. Tell them to add it all. Even a hat if he’s a hat wearing bloke!
Here are a few that our kids and friends drew. There’s not a dad out there that wouldn’t love a portrait made from their child!
Now it’s time to add the extra special touch with writing things you love about dad on all the ties. Tell the kids to write anything that makes them happy. A favorite memory with dad, favorite thing about dad, or they could even use the ties as coupons like “good for one foot rub.” Dad’s love coupons for Father’s Day!
Next, turn it into a fun kids game and activity for dad. Have the kids hide the ties all around the house. Don’t forget to count up how many you hid.
Now it’s time to go get dad. Show him the pictures first and then tell him he’s got to find all the ties. The kids can play hotter/colder with him or have mom hide the ties and then the kids help dad find them, kind of like a scavenger hunt.
And last, but not least — play pin the tie on dad. Now how fun of a tradition is that!? It’s bound to make any dad feel like he just won the lottery.
For more easy Father’s Day gift ideas and activities, check out these printable cards we’ve got up in the shop. We have a fun M&M Father’s Day card for dad and also a Toolbox card for dad that can be either coupons for dad or fun memories of dad (or grandpa!). We also have a word card for dad and grandpa if you’re looking for a fun craft and easy DIY card for dad or grandpa.
We hope these Father’s Day games, activities, and printable cards help you celebrate the wonderful men in you life. Have a happy Father’s Day!
Much love and aloha,
Stacey + Niki
Aloha Friends! We hope to inspire you to create magical memories with your ohana through play, learning, and celebrating. We offer ideas that make celebrating and playing fun and easy, so that you want to do it more often! We love sharing our creativity and talents with you, and hope you find some content on our page that inspires you to create a beautiful life with your ohana.
