Father's Day Gifts From a Wife

You are shopping for your husband, but on Father's Day the gift is really from the whole family. The best Father's Day gifts from a wife celebrate him as a dad, give him a little time back, and let the kids play a part. Here are 12 ideas that do that, from free to a bigger splurge. Our top pick is a song about him as a father, with the kids' names and your family's small rituals in it.

Hear a Songbond song for yourself

This one was made for another family. Yours would carry his name and your stories.

12 Father's Day gift ideas from a wife

1. A song about him as a dad ($39.90). You share the bedtime routine he invented, the silly voice he uses for every story and each child's name. Songbond turns it into an original song, ready within 24 hours, and the kids will want it on repeat.
2. A real lie-in. You take the early shift with the kids, no alarm, and coffee brought to him at nine. It costs nothing and is often the most wanted thing on the list.
3. The kids' handprints on his grill apron. Fabric paint, one handprint per child, names and year underneath. Around $20 to $40 for the apron and paint.
4. A year of him as a dad, in a photo book. You take most of the family photos, so he is rarely in them. Go through your phone and pull out every shot of him with the kids. Usually $30 to $70.
5. An afternoon to himself. Take the kids out for the day so he can fish, ride, golf or tinker in peace.
6. A pizza oven for the backyard. A family project he will fire up every Friday night all summer. Usually $150 to $400.
7. "All about Dad" answers, framed. Ask each child the same ten questions, like how old Dad is and what he is best at, and frame the answers. The toddler guesses are the best part.
8. A watch engraved with the kids' birth dates. A lasting piece for a man who is always checking the time before school runs. Usually $100 to $400.
9. A backyard camp-out. Pitch the tent, make s'mores on the grill and let him be the dad who tells the ghost stories. Around $0 to $100 if you need gear.
10. A date night, sitter booked. Dinner for the two of you at a place with no kids' menu. Usually $80 to $200 including the sitter.
11. Good headphones for the yard or the garage. Noise-blocking ones for mowing or cordless ones for the workshop. Usually $50 to $250.
12. A letter from you, about him as a father. Tell him what you see when he is with the kids that he never gets to see himself. Keep it to one page.

How to choose his Father's Day gift

Look at what stage your family is in. Dads of babies need sleep. Dads of school-age kids need a moment to themselves. Dads of teenagers need proof that the kids still notice them.

• If the kids are little: the lie-in, the handprint apron or the camp-out.
• If the kids are in school: the "All about Dad" answers, the pizza oven or the afternoon off.
• If this is his first Father's Day: the song, the engraved watch or the photo book.

Getting the kids involved at every age

Babies and toddlers can give handprints, footprints and a messy card you guide their hand to sign. Kids from four to ten are the best interviewers in the world, so let them answer questions about Dad, draw his portrait and choose his breakfast. Teenagers are harder, so give them a real job: ask them to write down three funny things Dad says for the song notes, or to film a short clip for the photo book. When a gift comes from the kids with your help, he gets two presents in one.

Make a Father's Day song for your husband

Create a Father's Day song about your husband. Tell us about him and the kids, and his song is ready within 24 hours. If Sunday is close, express delivery gets it to you in about an hour.

Also in the Journal: Father's Day song gift ideas and songs for a new dad.