DIY Father's Day Tie Banner

This year we have been making lots of paper garlands (does that sound a little girly for Father's Day?) or banners or buntings or whatever you want to call them. They are a fast, easy, cheap, and cute way to decorate for almost any holiday and it is easy to involve even really little kids.

We made this cute tie banner yesterday. My husband had a long day trip and I thought is would be a good way to welcome him home and decorate early for Father's Day. The process is really similar to the Valentine's Day Garland we made in February and the boys always have fun trying to "sew" the pieces together. There are pictures of the process in that post.

Homemade Father's Day Tie Banner (Garland, Bunting, etc.)

• Any decorative or plain paper you want to use (We used the rest of this recycled gift bag, the bottom of the bag had a little bit of plaid on it, and we drew designs on the brown inside so we would have a variety of different patterns)
• Yarn or string
• Tape and/or plastic straws for "sewing" (optional, but makes it a lot easier)
• Scissors
• Hole punch
• Pencil
• Markers (optional)
• Other embellishments like stickers or die cut letters if desired
• Glue stick (optional)

1. Draw or trace tie patterns onto paper and cut out or let a child who can be trusted with scissors cut them out. I also cut 1 inch circles that we glued on with a glue stick and then drew the letters for the words we wanted. But you could either just write We Love Daddy, Happy Father's Day, or another message right on the ties or use alphabet stickers or die cut letters as well.
2. If desired write and/or draw on the ties.
3. If desired put on stickers or other extra embellishments.
4. Punch a hole on each side of the top of the tie.
5. String ties onto yarn or string to make a garland. (I threaded the yarn through part of a small plastic straw that I cut at an angle for a "needle." This made "sewing" the ties together much easier. You can also tape around the end to just make it a little stiffer, like the end of a shoelace.)
6. Tie the ends off and hang up the banner to enjoy. 

Father's Day 2011

Nate wanted a quiet day at home to just enjoy our family. I tried something new and made homemade hash browns for breakfast, along with cinnamon rolls. Nate loves hash browns and these turned out really well. Aaron even liked them, even though they were out of his routine of yogurt and granola.




We talked to Nate's family in America via Skype. Then we gave Nate some treats we made, wrapped in wrapping paper the boys made. Aaron also read Nate the ebook we made about Daddy, Go, Dad. Go! Aaron doesn't quite grasp the surprise present idea yet, so Nate already knew about this present. It was adorable all the same to see our, not quite three-year-old, reading an entire ebook we made to his daddy..

We had a great lunch of homemade lasagna and triple chocolate cake. Then we headed outside to play. The boys had a wonderful time running, climbing, finding rocks, and throwing sticks in the ponds. We had a traditional Chinese dinner with friends later that evening.