Gregory E. Lang Fathers Day Gifts
Dad Daughter Gift Suggestions from a Best Selling Writer
May 27, 2008
Gregory E. Lang, author of Daddy's Little Girl, Why a Daughter Needs a Dad and 18 other books on family and romantic relationships thinks the best gifts in life are nearly free and come from the heart.
The prolific Harper Collins writer said in an interview recently that he heard a neighbor pleading on the subject of Father's Day.
"He begged his wife to please not get him another pair of socks from the kids and it made me smile," Lang recalled. Lang figured out long ago he'd rather a gift his daughters had a personal hand in than a purchased present. Here's his great list of suggestions, to which a few are added:
- Memory box - Get a cardboard box. Decorate it with photographs, artwork, drawings or designs. Stuff it with mementoes of time with Dad. A great place for him to store keepsakes. Lang's box has stuff from the first time he held daughter Meagan to her college acceptance letter. He kept her birth certificate, first pair of ballet slippers, artwork, letters, and photographs.
- Shadow box - Display treasures, mount letters, report cards and concert tickets in a deep, 3D frame. Lang's has goofy photos of both daughters, artwork from days gone by and a Christmas present poem they co-authored for him.
- Drinking mug - Daughter can decorate a one-of-a-kind ceramic or plastic mug for Dad to use each morning. Include a special message on the bottom or inside. Most cities have ceramic shops where adults or kids can purchase and decorate various items, then have the item baked. Lang's came to him with love and a bag of his favorite coffee.
- Daddy's music - Burn a CD of father and child’s favorite songs. Make a liner jacket with a photo of daddy and child and insert in a CD case, then compose liner notes explaining how the songs got picked.
- Matching books - Daughter can buy the same book for herself and dad. They can read them separately, but simultaneously and spend quality time, maybe on a dinner date, talking about their reactions. Reading parts aloud to each other is especially fun! What about writing a book for dad and illustrating it?
- Fashion statement - Buy an inexpensive tee shirts and some fabric painting pens at a craft store. Daughter can create a one-of-a-kind shirt for dad to lounge around in on weekends. Or, dad can make one for daughter and impress her with his imagination.
Lang's best idea is an ongoing bargain with his daughters. Years ago, he encouraged them to write him a personal letter on each gift occasion. Daughter Megan took to it like a historian with a new project, and would become a perfect bonding opportunity for Lang and his stepdaughter, Linley
"Linley's first letters were general - not really in depth. But as time went on, she began to share things she cared about and thought about," he said.
Warmth and connection that will last a lifetime for father and his two girls? Priceless.
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