Free Tips for Dads – Give Your Daughter a Birthday Gift She’ll Cherish Forever
Posted: Saturday, March 18, 2006
by Danny Davids
As the father of two daughters, now both adults, I’ve had at least a few opportunities to present my share of birthday gifts with my wife. Some of them were winners, and some were…well, just gifts. And I won’t comment on the gifts of cash or gift cards (although they were probably appreciated more as the girls got older). But without question, the ones both my daughters remember the most, and still talk about to this day, are the “daddy gifts" they got exclusively from me. They weren’t expensive, and my wife didn’t buy them. In many cases, I made them myself. Most of these gifts my daughters still have, tucked away in closets and boxes and brought out from time to time to show their friends. Yes, sometimes they were embarrassed when Dad went a little over the top with one of those gifts. In particular, my younger daughter was a lot more vocal with her opinion of how people were going to look at her all day long. But I think deep down they secretly loved the extra attention they got on their birthdays when friends would point and say, “What the heck is THAT?" and they’d respond, “This is my daddy gift for my birthday."
Give her flowers – with a twist. I’m sure she’d love a nice floral arrangement. Most women would. But what about a corsage? It doesn’t have to be extravagant. A small simple grouping of flowers in her favorite colors will work nicely and doesn’t cost a lot. The bonus is it’s portable, and she can wear it all day long, so that everyone around her knows that there’s something special going on in her life today.
Give her a bouquet of a different type. Maybe she’s not into flowers. What about a balloon bouquet instead? Or a basket filled with her favorite snack items? Perhaps she’d appreciate a beach bag containing tanning oils and skin lotions, or an oversized towel rolled up with scented soaps and bath oils. You’ll need to do some detective work to find out what it is your daughter enjoys, but the time involved will be worth it.
Give her a homemade gift. Over the years I’ve made many of the gifts I’ve given my daughters. I started out with oversized buttons, decorated with ribbons and beads. I graduated to sashes, baseball caps, and t-shirts. Puffy paints, inexpensive charms, novelty erasers, birthday cake decorations, and even battery-operated miniature lights have found their way into some of the gifts I’ve created. Oh, and don’t forget to switch things around for those special birthdays. For example, on the 18 th birthday I went from gaudy to classy, making large buttons with gold and silver ribbons, and white lace hearts framing a baby picture. These gifts too can be worn all day long.
If you’re not one of those guys that knows your way around a craft store, think of other things you can create. A homemade birthday card may seem corny, but your daughter certainly won’t think so, especially if there’s a gift card tucked away inside it. Maybe you’re a wordsmith and can write a poem, putting it in a nice frame that would fit the décor of her bedroom. If you’re computer literate, check with your local office supply store about kits to make your own t-shirt transfers. Take some of her favorite phrases and pictures of her friends and herself, print them out on the transfer paper, and iron them onto a t-shirt or nightshirt for her. All are simple gifts your daughter will love, because they’ve come from you.
Have her gift delivered…or deliver it yourself. If the school your daughter attends will allow it, have your gift delivered to her in her classroom. Better yet, make the time and play “delivery boy" yourself. It’ll certainly get the attention of everyone in the room when you walk in with your gift and present it to her with a simple, “Happy birthday, sweetheart."
You might be thinking, “Okay, so you got them a few neat birthday presents they thought were special and that ended up as keepsakes. So what’s the big deal?" Actually, sir, there are several big deals. The first is that you took the time and made the effort to give your daughter something that is totally and completely from you. You’ve shown her that you care enough about her to give her something of your self, something that nobody else on this planet can ever do. The message you send with a gift like this is that she is worth something in your eyes. If you present it to her publicly, or give her something she can wear all day long, you send that message to everyone who sees her as well. Talk about a major boost to her confidence level!
The second big deal is that at this stage in your daughter’s life, you are the biggest male influence she has. She will look to you to find out what a man does, how a man acts, how he thinks, and most importantly, how he treats the women in his life. And that will be the template she’ll use when she starts looking for a man of her own. You want to take every opportunity to show her that a real man respects a woman rather than uses her. That he treats her as an equal, not as a doormat. That he believes her needs are as important as his own. You want to leave her with high standards so she won’t go after just any guy that makes her heart flutter. And something as silly and seemingly insignificant as a handmade card or a silly, oversized button can help cement that standard in her mind and in her heart.
Oh, and there’s an added benefit, too. You get something out of it. What would that be? Well, for me it was my older daughter’s sophomore year in college. I made her a “birthday cap", a black baseball cap decorated with neon fabric paints, fiber optic lights, glittery beads and shimmering ribbons. She wore it to every class she had that day. It was a few days later that she was able to tell us about the reactions people had to her “daddy gift." One person asked where she got it, and when she told him, he said, “Do you think he’d make me one?" Her response was priceless. “No," she explained, “he only makes these for me." She’d learned the lesson I was trying to teach her: She was special.
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Top-level comments on this article: (5 total)That's all really thoughtful and I like the ideas. But why don't you specify an age? I don't think many high school students would be thrilled to see their dad come into their classes. Trust me :) Good job and good luck!
Take my word for it, daughters appreciate ANY time from from DAD that makes them feel special, at ANY age. This is an important article.... Dads, take notice! Even now that my Dad is gone and I am 57, I treasure the special things he did for me.
ahh,id love it if my dad came into class.if he took me home,so i didnt have to finish the day at school,well,thats even better!Anything to get out of class, eh, Melanie? :) Just remember you have to make up that work tomorrow!!
this site is goodJosh, glad you like SearchWarp! Hopefully the articles you're reading are interesting or educational, or just plain fun. So, uh, maybe you should try YOUR hand at writing, eh? :)
I appreciate the fact that you pointed out how the way a father shows his love and respect for his daughter will influence her views on self-worth and expectations from men in future relationships. Still not sure what to get my 13yr old but thanks for the article!
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