10 Father’s Day Crafts For Babies

10 Easy Father’s Day Crafts You Can Make With Your Baby

Father’s Day cards and gifts are big business, and neckties and mugs still top most people’s lists. But if you’ve got a baby or toddler at home, a shop-bought gift misses the point a bit. What dads actually treasure are the messy, wonky, handprint-covered things their little one had a hand in making, even if “having a hand in it” mostly means you holding their hand and doing the actual craft yourself.

None of the ideas below need special skills or a trip to a craft shop. Most use things you probably already have in a kitchen drawer: paper, glue, an old jar, a few clothes pegs. A quick note before you start: babies and toddlers put everything in their mouths, so keep small parts like buttons, beads, googly eyes and pipe cleaner offcuts well out of reach, and always supervise closely during paint and glue play. If you’re ever unsure whether a material is safe for your child’s age, it’s worth checking the packaging or asking your health visitor.

1. Father’s Day Photo Frame

This is a good starter project because a baby can genuinely be involved, even a very young one. You’ll need four popsicle sticks (lolly sticks), a printed photo of your baby, and something to decorate the frame with, paint, stickers, or scraps of paper. Glue the sticks into a square to make a simple frame, then let your baby press their palm or foot into some paint and stamp it onto a plain piece of card behind the photo. Older babies who can hold a chunky crayon can scribble on the frame itself. Leave it flat to dry fully before you glue the photo in, otherwise it tends to smudge.

2. Dad Bobblehead

This looks fiddly but it isn’t. You need a small paper or plastic cup, construction paper, paint or markers, glue, tape, a pipe cleaner, and a funny photo of dad (his face cut out works best). Glue the cut-out face onto a paper cone or circle, attach it to the top of the cup with the pipe cleaner bent into a spring shape so the head wobbles, then decorate the cup as his body and outfit. Go as over the top as you like with the clothes, it’s more memorable that way. This one is best done by you with your baby watching and handing you bits of paper, rather than something they build themselves, since the pipe cleaner and small parts aren’t safe for unsupervised little hands.

3. Bow Tie Card

Dads get enough real bow ties and ties. A paper one is more fun and costs almost nothing. Fold a piece of card, decorate the front with paper or fabric scraps cut into a bow tie shape, and add a couple of buttons if you have them (glue these on securely and keep the card away from your baby once they’re stuck down, buttons are a choking hazard for babies who still mouth things). The nicest touch is a handprint somewhere on the card with a short message underneath, something like “Squeeze my hand, I love you dad” written in your own handwriting rather than store-bought lettering. It feels far more personal than it sounds.

4. Jar Lid Medal

You don’t need to spend money to make something dad will genuinely want to keep. A clean jar lid, a circle of colored paper cut to fit inside it, and a length of ribbon or paper strip glued to the back to hang it round his neck is really all it takes. Air-dry clay pressed into the lid works well too if you want a bit more texture, and a baby’s fingerprint pressed into soft clay makes a sweet keepsake once it’s dried. Add a small printed photo in the middle if you want to make it extra special. Keep the finished medal somewhere out of reach afterwards, ribbon around a small baby’s neck isn’t something to leave unsupervised.

5. Handprint Art

Handprint art works well because it genuinely captures how tiny your baby’s hands are right now, which you’ll be glad of in a few years. A popular version turns a handprint into a fish shape, painted onto a thin slice of wood or a plain canvas, with a short message underneath like “reel in for a big hug, dad”. If you’re using a real wood slice, check it’s been properly dried and treated rather than a random offcut from the garden, damp or untreated wood can carry insects or rot, and you don’t want that near your baby’s skin or in your home. A plain wooden picture frame from a craft shop is a safer, easier alternative if you’re not sure about the wood.

Use washable, non-toxic paint made for children, wash your baby’s hand straightaway afterwards, and expect at least one attempt to go wrong before you get a clean print. That’s normal, not a sign you’re doing it badly.

6. DIY Cardboard Trophy

If dad’s more into sport than sentiment, a trophy might land better than a card. Use a clean, empty box (a small Amazon box or cereal box works fine), cover it in paint or paper, and add a big “#1 DAD” label to the front. A small printed photo of your baby stuck onto the trophy is a nice finishing touch. This is one your baby can genuinely help with too, painting cardboard with a big brush is good for their fine motor skills, and it doesn’t matter at all if it’s messy.

7. Grilling Partner Card

If dad’s the one manning the barbecue every summer, a grilling-themed card is an easy win. Paint your baby’s hand and print it onto card so the fingers become “flames” on a grill, or so the palm becomes the grill itself with painted-on burgers and sausages. A caption like “Grilling is more fun with my #1 assistant” or similar works well underneath. As with any handprint craft, work quickly once the paint is on and have a warm cloth ready for cleanup.

8. “Yoda Best Dad” Card

A simple pun goes a long way, even with dads who claim not to like Star Wars. If drawing Yoda isn’t your strong point, print out a small Yoda image or clip art to cut and stick on rather than trying to draw one freehand. Add “Yoda Best Dad” across the front in bold letters, and let your baby scribble or add a handprint somewhere on the inside. It doesn’t need to look polished to get a laugh.

9. Dad Stache Jar

This one’s more of a novelty gift than a craft, but it’s fun to put together. Take a clean jar, print or draw a mustache design onto a label, and fill the jar with small treats or notes, whatever dad actually likes rather than what looks nicest in a photo. You can let your baby help choose what goes in, even if that just means pointing at things. The same idea works nicely as a “Grandpa Stache Jar” if you want to make one for a grandad too. Just double check anything you put inside is age-appropriate and out of your baby’s reach once it’s sealed, small sweets and jar lids are both choking risks.

10. Personalized Shrink Plastic Keychain

This is similar in spirit to the Mother’s Day pendant idea we’ve covered before, using shrink plastic (sometimes sold as Shrinky Dinks) instead of a pendant blank. Draw or trace a design onto the frosted side of the plastic sheet with permanent marker, cut it out, and bake according to the packet instructions, it shrinks down and hardens in the oven in just a couple of minutes. Once it’s cooled, add it to a keyring with some beads and yarn or cord.

Your baby can’t safely handle the plastic before or after baking (it’s sharp-edged and the beads are a choking hazard), but they can absolutely help choose the colors and the order of the beads while you thread them, which makes it feel like their gift too. Always let the plastic cool completely before your baby is anywhere near it, it comes out of the oven very hot.

A Quick Word on Keeping It Low-Pressure

None of these need to be Pinterest-perfect to mean something. With a baby, “helping” often just means being nearby while you do most of the work, and that’s fine. The point isn’t a flawless craft, it’s giving dad something that captures exactly how small and new this stage of his baby’s life is, because it genuinely doesn’t last long.