Fathers Day gift- under $1

Back when That Guy and I were expecting Walter (could this really have been five years ago now?!) we had our mid point ultrasound scheduled the Thursday before Fathers Day.  When the technician gave us the us pictures something about the timing nagged me to tuck one of them away. I had no idea what I would do with it at the time, but I slipped one of four photos into my purse.  And there it stayed for almost a year.

As That Guy's first Fathers Day approached the next year, I knew I needed to do something great but it HAD to be inexpensive. I was on mat leave and we had not yet jumped into the frugal living lifestyle so finances were a delicate thing for us.
I remembered that ultrasound photo still in the compartment of my old purse. I pulled it out and looked at it.  I thought it might be cute to compare Walter a year ago with how big he already was. Then the wheels started turning. Photos were less than 25 cents to get printed....I could manage a gift like this every year.....

I dug out a photo album I had bought forever ago because it was on sale and not because I had a need for it (remember: this was pre-frugal living).  I thought I could fill each of the pages in the photo album with pictures of Walter each year documenting his growth.  It was cute, but it felt to be a lot more about Walter than That Guy, and this was supposed to be for Fathers Day.

The wheels kept turning and I thought, what if instead of comparing Walter now to the Walter of a year previous, I compared Walter now to That Guy....? What if I dressed Walter in one of That Guy's shirts every year and documenting him growing up, into a man like That Guy.... YES! I felt really excited about the idea.

So I dressed up Walter in one of That Guy's shirts, snapped a photo and sent it to be printed for next to no cost. Then I looked up a very sweet poem about sons and fathers. I included the poem and the ultrasound photo in the photo album along with the picture I had just taken of Walter.
That Guy loved it on Fathers Day! And it has been a gift we continue to give every year.

This year will be our fifth (wow!!) photo entry and its an idea I am still excited about even after all these years of doing it.  Each year we both catch ourselves looking back at previous years photos and marveling at how quickly he's grown.

I was tempted to do something similar when we were expecting Audrey. But I finally decided that it was okay for Walter to have a special gift for That Guy on Fathers Day, it's their thing. Audrey is precious and wonderful and sweet and all her own, she does not need to piggy back on Walters gift in order to do something great for That Guy on Fathers Day.

2013 photo of Walter in Daddy's shirt