Fathers Day Fun

I think Fathers Day should be as important and memorable as Mothers Day.

In our house there was never such a fuss made, perhaps because we didn't really know what little things Dad would appreciate. Mum was always touched by bunches of hand picked wild flowers clutched in clumsy fingers; she would even forgive the hole left in her flower beds. Growing up we would spoil her with little things to make her day more special; the usual breakfast in bed, a hand-made card that got stuck to the fridge and stayed there until next year when it was finally filed away with other treasures.

Fathers Day was different though, a card yes, Mum probably even bought his favourite treats for us to hand out too but we didn't do anything much together apart from the usual Sunday Dinner. All week long my Dad would work outside. I come from a farming family so sun up to sun set Dad was trudging around with no time for fun. Sundays didn't mean a day off, even on Fathers Day, so perhaps having a sleep in the easy chair after dinner was the best present he could have had!

I hope that one day, when I have kids of my own, we will focus a bit more on Daddy and make time to spend the day together, not just on Fathers Day.

So, if you have kids and also feel that Daddy deserves more than a card this Fathers Day take a look on Pinterest for some great crafting ideas to get the whole family involved this weekend. Not only will it make your man feel appreciated but it will give the kids precious childhood memories and maybe start a lifelong tradition of making time for loved ones in our hectic lives a bit more.

Some of my favourite ideas:

• Make tents out of blankets and have a picnic inside or even better, if you can, have a BBQ and make sure you remember the marshmallows for toasting!
• Collect smooth pebbles or rocks and paint them in fun patterns, use aboriginal art for inspiration. This can keep older children busy and inspired for ages and makes great paperweights for Dad's paperwork!
• Dig out the board games and have an afternoon of fun playing Cluedo, Pictionary or Go Fish...
• Use soda bottles filled with water as ten pin bowling pins. Daddy can show off his bowling skills and bond with the kids.
• Have a paper aeroplane making competition. Whoever has the best plane that flies farthest is the winner. You could also have prizes for the most funky design.

Grown up bonfire or Halloween...

There are all the obvious duties around Halloween and Bonfire night, pumpkins to hollow out, bonfires to build but what can you do for a grown up party or to make something from the efforts you put in for the kids?

• Keep the pulp from the pumpkin, no time, freeze and use for soup base later.  Make a rich soup by adding to the pumpkin, chopped peeled potatoes, celery and chicken or veg stock, seasoning, dash of chilli paste, plus a couple of bay leaves.  Cook till soft, remove bay leaves, blend till smooth, adjust seasoning.  Re heat gently adding a little cream or crème fraîche, stir well and serve with crusty bread and hunks of farmhouse cheese.  Warming, spicy and delicious.

• Buy orange and black felt to make your own little pumpkin's, add some cloves to the stuffing to make some grown up decorations to hang up, which also smell so sweet.  Find an old slim branch, silver birch is a good, put this in a tall vase and hang your decorations on the branch or make into a mini string of pumpkin bunting.

• Terrified of losing a filling, skip the bonfire toffee and make/buy a rich sticky toffee pudding instead to serve up to the night time revellers. 

• Drivers amongst the party goers then non-alcoholic mulled wine is nice.  Replace the wine with cranberry juice, add a dash of orange juice, a sachet of mulled spices and heat gently.  Un-sweetened apple juice with shards of peeled root ginger, slices of fresh lemon and a slug of honey, heated also makes a fab winter drink.  Do not like ginger use a cinnamon stick instead.  Mulled wine spice sachets come in little boxes containing several, tea bag like, bags. Get them from the herb and spices display in larger supermarkets.

• In parts of the North of England a tradition on Bonfire Night is hot pork pie served with mushy peas.  Get the best pork pie(s) you can afford and heat in the oven till piping hot and the pastry top crisp, then serve with mushy peas. Not keen on mushy peas, then you could serve baked beans. Mushy peas can be found in the frozen section in supermarkets or from your local fish and chip shop.

Never eaten pork pie hot, well you're missing something lovely.  The better the pie the better the results, check out local farm shops, traditional butchers and farmers markets for those real gems.  Not ideal for those on a diet but as a once in a while treat it is fantastic. 

Now you have no excuse than to party hard - enjoy!


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