Father's Day Ideas

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Father’s Day is June 17. And just as moms expect at least a tiny bit of acknowledgement that we’re doing OK, dads (including dads-to-be) need to hear it, too.

So I asked my husband what he wants or if there was anything special he wanted to do for Father’s Day.  As expected, he said, “No, I don’t need anything for Father’s Day.” Hmm…yeah, not the answer I wanted. I pressed on. “Are you sure? We could go someplace fun or do something special for dinner…anything?” Without skipping a beat, he replied, “I want to see a picture of our daughter.”

Given that we are waiting for our referral, and will most likely be waiting for at least another three months, this broke my heart. So of course, I burst into tears.

Since I can’t give him a picture of our daughter in a leather frame, I have been searching for other ideas, and I thought I would share some.

Does your husband love his iPad? Check out this Product(RED) iPad Cover for $69. Your purchase supports the Product(RED) campaign to provide HIV treatment and prevention.



I tend to give books as gifts, and there are lots of great books about adoption and/or Africa.

• My favorite adoption book is There is No Me Without You by Melissa Fay Greene. It’s a true story about a woman who started caring for orphans before there were many orphanages in Ethiopia. Despite the title, it’s not a mushy, sentimental book as much as it is a historic account of Ethiopia and its orphans.


• My husband really enjoyed Baby, We Were Meant For Each Other: In Praise of Adoption by Scott Simon (the host of Weekend Edition on NPR). It includes stories about adoption from many perspectives.


• The Lonely Planet Guides are trusty travel books—a must-have for any couple gearing up for an international trip.


• For a business-savvy husband, check out Dead Aid by Dambisa Moyo or The End of Poverty by Jeffrey Sachs. Both explain problems in the developing world and interesting strategies for sustainable economic development.

Or, do you know someone who is selling things for their adoption? Buy a shirt or bracelet for your hubby AND support an adoption at the same time. Everyone wins. My favorites right now are these $10 bracelets that support a family adopting two children who are HIV+ (yes, lots of guys were bracelets...manly ones):



So none of these are a picture of our daughter, but they will have to do for now. Share your father’s day gift/activity ideas in the comments. Feel free to share links for tshirt fundraisers that might be great gifts for dads.