Father’s Day is here and in our family we tend to lean toward practical when it comes to activities for dad. This is what my husband has always expected, he’s not the kind of guy who needs flash or glam to impress him. He’s always loved homemade gifts or those that involve taking care of business around the house. Here’s a list of fun (and almost free) Father’s Day activities that we’ve done in the past and will continue to do in the years to come.
Wash the Car on the Lawn
This has become a tradition that seems simple but effective especially in June. It’s not like we don’t do it any other time of the year, but on Father’s Day all the kids get involved. We use a dab of Dawn dish soap mixed with car wash liquid and drive the cars one by one onto the lawn. This way there’s not a whole lot of run off in the streets and the lawn and yard plants get a good dose of water during this usually hot first week of summer! We also use reusable chamois towels so we don’t wreck our nice ones and need to run a load of laundry afterwards, always looking to conserve as much water as we can. Getting all three of the kids involves makes the work quicker and we can move on to the next activity of the day.
Go for a Bike Ride
Pick a destination and explore by bike. We’ve done this a lot in the past and it’s one of my husband’s favorite pastimes. If we all were adventurous like him, he’d love us to do a mountain bike trip, but I’ve seen his videos and I prefer not pedaling on the edge of cliffs like some of his rides. One great place to ride is 17 Mile Drive along the central coast of California. The views are spectacular and there are many turnouts for breaks and photo opportunities. If we stick around town, then we try our best not to use the car and bike to grandma and grandpa’s house just a few miles down the road. It’s great exercise and it saves the environment just a few emissions at a time!
Rent a Kayak instead of a Boat
We’ve gone to the beach and different lakes for Father’s Day events and once in a while we’ll minimize the use of motorized boats by renting a kayak! Arm power is great exercise to paddle the boat and it’s just a small step to save wildlife and protect our oceans a little at a time.
Learn Dad’s Trade or Explore his Hobbies
In the world of civil engineering and land surveying, it can get difficult to understand what my husband actually does at work every day. I often can’t explain it properly and most of the time my kids tell their friends their dad builds bridges and subdivisions. 
It’s not completely wrong, there are many other things as part of his job of course. But, one Father’s Day we took a road trip and explored a few nearby bridges and took in the history and general information on how they were built. Whether or not he actually builds them on a daily basis, bridges are still one of his favorite things to read about and photograph!
Camp in the Backyard
One year we pulled out our tent and popped it up in our back yard! We stocked with blankets and pillows and watched movies one night. It was neat to forgo the electricity for flashlights (minus charging our DVD player) and we even brought out our camp stove to cook hot dogs for dinner!
Visit a local Aquarium
We are blessed to live near the Monterey Bay Aquarium and have visited multiple times as a family, and even as part of our local schools’ science field trip curriculum. A wild otter gave birth in the aquarium’s Great Tide Pool last year and we were lucky enough to see them on a visit! 
There are special programs you can experience at the Aquarium like the otter feeding program. The program is offered a few times a day where you can see how the aquarists train and feed the sea otters and learn how their exhibit help us understand the animals in the wild. There are so many learning stations at aquariums and one that hits most home to our children is the ocean pollution area where things like this photo below can be found.
Education can lead us to saving our wildlife, our oceans, our environment.
These are a few Father’s Day activities and ideas that are tried and true by my husband on his special day each year. This post was inspired by my ambassadorship with Dawn Saves Wildlife and I hope you enjoy the day with the special Father’s in your life!
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