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Father's Day Activities for Kids and Dads: 12 Ideas
Father's Day activities for kids aged 3 to 8: 12 things to do with dad, in the kitchen, on the mat, in the garden and at the park. Six work indoors.
Dad's poses marked by a four-year-old, a three-legged race to the fence, a café where your child takes the orders: Father's Day activities for kids work best when dad is in them, not just on the receiving end. Here are twelve for children aged 3 to 8, sorted by place: the kitchen, the mat, the garden and the park. Most are free, and six work indoors if it rains.
How many Father's Day ideas do you need?
Pick three or four, from one group or across them. Each idea says the age it suits. If it rains, stay in the first two groups: the kitchen and the mat are both indoors.
Father's Day is held on the third Sunday of June in the UK, says BBC Newsround, so the date moves a little each year. International Yoga Day is fixed on 21 June, so it's never more than six days later if your child wants a second go on the mat.
12 Father's Day activities for kids and dads
These are Father's Day ideas for kids to do with dad rather than give him, in four groups of three. Nothing needs booking and nothing has a screen in it. The grown-up helping does anything hot, parks the car and decides at roads.
In the kitchen
- The Father's Day café. Your child draws a menu with three things on it, takes dad's order on a notepad and serves it. Say: "Good morning. What would you like?" The grown-up helping does the kettle, the toaster and anything hot. Being in charge of a grown-up is most of the fun. Age 3 and up with a drawn menu; 6 and up can write it.
- The dad interview. Five questions, asked by your child and written down word for word: What did you want to be when you were my age? What's the worst thing you've ever eaten? Who was your best friend at school? What's your favourite animal? What are you best at? Date it and keep it. Age 3 and up to ask; 6 and up to write.
- A hand-in-hand card. Fold a card, draw round dad's hand, then draw round your child's hand inside it. Write both ages and the date. It's the one thing to make, and the simplest of the Father's Day ideas for kids to make at any age, because the drawing is done by tracing. Age 3 and up.
On the mat
This group is ours, built on the Sun Salutation mat, where the poses end standing, so dad is on his feet too. It's full length at 183 x 61 cm, so there's room for a grown-up to join in. The three games below are ours, not instructions printed on the mat. New to poses? Read a beginner's guide to yoga with children first.
- Pose inspector. Dad works through the poses in order on a full-length mat with fifteen numbered poses marked in, from mouse to dancer. Your child checks each one against the picture and number and says "Pass" or "Try again". Because the poses are numbered and drawn, a four-year-old who can't read yet can still mark a grown-up's work. Age 4 and up; at 3, help them find the number.
- Tall tree, small tree. Stand side by side in tree pose, pose 14 on the Sun Salutation mat, inside palms pressed together, foot on your ankle or calf, never the knee. Count how long you both stay still. The grown-up supports, nobody pulls, and you both come down if anyone wobbles. There are more partner poses for a grown-up and a child. Age 4 and up, or 3 holding dad's hand.
- Mountain and mouse. Dad stands tall as a mountain; your child curls up small as a mouse, kneeling with their forehead down. On "swap", swap, and get faster each time. Both shapes are on the mat by name, and the joke is a grown-up curled up as a mouse. Age 3 and up.
In the garden
- Wash the car, or the bikes. A bucket, sponges and a squirt of washing-up liquid. The grown-up parks the car and stays with them by the water the whole time; your child does the wheels and the number plate. Say: "You're the car wash. Dad's the customer." Rainy swap: toy cars in the bath. Age 3 and up.
- A three-legged race. Tie dad's ankle to your child's with a scarf and race to the fence and back, then try an egg-and-spoon race with a potato. BBC Newsround says Mexico City holds a 13-mile Father's Day race that children can run alongside their dads. Yours can be shorter. Rainy swap: the hallway, slowly. Age 4 and up.
- Cloud names. Lie on a blanket, name the shapes, and dad makes up a story about one of them. The NHS says to spend time in the shade between 11am and 3pm from March to October and to "take extra care with children", so keep this one for the morning or teatime. Age 3 and up.
Out and about
The NHS suggests children aged 5 to 18 aim for an average of at least 60 minutes of moderate or vigorous activity a day across the week, and lists football and skipping among its examples. These three get you out of the door.
- The child-led walk. At every corner your child chooses left or right and dad follows, wherever it goes. Say: "You're the map today." The grown-up still decides at roads and crossings. It's free, and it ends up somewhere different every time. Bring a snack for the walk back, which is usually longer than they planned. Age 4 and up.
- Dad versus the kids, with a handicap. Football, frisbee or catch in the park, and dad plays on his wrong foot, or hopping, or with one hand behind his back. Change the handicap whenever he starts winning. Everyone gets to win at least once, and dad gets a rest at half time. Age 3 and up.
- Grandad's turn. Ask grandad the same five interview questions and compare his answers with dad's, or take the hand-in-hand card round to him. BBC Newsround describes Father's Day as a day "to celebrate fathers and father figures like carers or grandfathers", so grandad counts. Age 3 and up.
How do you put a Father's Day together?
Three examples by age, not a timetable. Two or three things fill a day.
- Age 3 to 4, a morning: the café (1), mountain and mouse (6), cloud names (9).
- Age 5 to 6, after lunch: the hand-in-hand card (3), pose inspector (4), the three-legged race (8), dad versus the kids (11).
- Age 7 to 8, the whole day: the dad interview (2), tall tree, small tree (5), the child-led walk (10), grandad's turn (12).
Roll it out on Father's Day morning. Each Yogi-Me mat has 15 numbered poses laser-engraved into the surface, so your child can mark dad's work with no screen and nothing to set up. Grandad joining in? It's full length, so there's room for him to have a go at tree too. Two children who each want to test dad get 10 per cent off two or more. Our kids' yoga mats are £34.99 each, with free UK delivery and 30-day returns.
What can kids do on Father's Day if their dad isn't around?
Father's Day is for whoever does the job. BBC Newsround calls it a day for "fathers and father figures like carers or grandfathers", and a step-dad, grandad, uncle, mum, foster carer or family friend can do every idea on this list.
If dad lives somewhere else, post him the hand-in-hand card, or ask him the interview questions on the phone. If a child's dad has died, the NHS says that during bereavement it can help a child "to talk about the person who's died". A card written to him, his favourite walk, or a box of things that remind them of him are all ways in. Your child leads on what feels right.
What if your child would rather not make a day of it?
Then don't push it. Some children want to hand over a card and get back to what they were doing, and that's a Father's Day too. Leave the list where they can see it and let them pick one thing later.
If one idea lands, there are more screen-free things to do on any weekend. Mothering Sunday, in the spring, has its own list of Mother's Day activities.
Frequently asked questions
When is Father's Day in the UK?
Father's Day in the UK is the third Sunday in June, so it always falls between 15 and 21 June. Other countries pick other days, so check that a list you find online is a UK one before you plan around its date. International Yoga Day, 21 June, is never more than six days later.
What can you do on Father's Day if it rains?
Stay in the kitchen and on the mat: the café, the dad interview, the hand-in-hand card, pose inspector, tall tree, small tree and mountain and mouse are all indoors. The garden ones have swaps too: toy cars in the bath instead of washing the car, and a slow three-legged race down the hallway.
What can a 3-year-old do for Father's Day?
Plenty, with a grown-up's help for the hot and wet bits. A three-year-old can take orders in the café with a drawn menu, ask the interview questions while you write, draw round hands for the card, curl up as the mouse, wash the car's wheels and name the clouds.
Why do we celebrate Father's Day in the UK?
To celebrate dads and the people who do the job. BBC Newsround calls it a day for fathers and father figures like carers or grandfathers. It says the day probably started in the US, and the most popular account credits a woman called Sonora Louise Smart, whose dad brought up her family.
