We wanted to do something special for our kiddos’ daddies (or special person) for Father’s Day. We have done a couple of different things in the past, but none of them were as engaging as our “It Only Takes a Minute to Make a Memory” Father’s Day celebration. Just look at those faces!
We set up different “Minute It to Win It” games we found on Pinterest. We have said this before, but seriously folks what did we do without Pinterest? We chose games that we thought the dads would have a good time doing. Some were a little silly, and we wondered if some of the dads would really do them. BUT, every “dad” did every single one! It was hilarious and precious all at the same time.
We kept it super simple, but it was so amazing seeing the kids interact with their special person. We were lucky and were able to get someone there for almost every student (dads, grandpas, uncles, friends, older brothers). We had the dads RSVP so we knew ahead of time who would not have someone. Then, we paired up those kiddos with other dads (we asked ahead of time). It worked out SO well. There was nothing but happy faces!
We had our special guests come the first 45 minutes of the day because we wanted to minimize the amount of time that the special guests would have to miss work. The end of the day would work as well. We just didn’t want to deal with the heat.
We served donuts (we put them in an inexpensive plastic toolbox from Walmart) and milk from the cafeteria. You could also do cookies or nothing at all. It was fun to have the food, but definitely not necessary. The real focus was spending time together doing something fun.
Before all of the fun activities began, we welcomed the dads and thanked them for coming. We told them that since “it only takes a minute to make a memory,” they would be playing different Minute It to Win It games with their kiddos. We briefly explained the games, had them grab a donut, and sent them out to our playground to “make a memory!”
We had five different games set up with spots for six to eight dads at a time. Since we had both our morning and afternoon classes come at the same time, that amount was perfect! You could have more or less depending on how many kids you have. We wanted to keep it super simple and relaxed, so we did not have the dads rotate in any particular direction on a schedule. We just told them at the beginning if an activity was full, just move on to another one. We had absolutely no problems whatsoever. The games were so fun to watch that nobody minded waiting around for their turn. We also had dads watching or timing the game for the dads playing. We had minute sand timers they could have used, but most of the time they used their watches, phones, or didn’t time at all. All of the options were fine!
Listed below are the games we chose (remember all off of Pinterest), but any games would be fun. If we needed supplies for the games, we bought them at a dollar store. You could also ask for donations, or choose games that don’t require any supplies.
We set up different “Minute It to Win It” games we found on Pinterest. We have said this before, but seriously folks what did we do without Pinterest? We chose games that we thought the dads would have a good time doing. Some were a little silly, and we wondered if some of the dads would really do them. BUT, every “dad” did every single one! It was hilarious and precious all at the same time.
We kept it super simple, but it was so amazing seeing the kids interact with their special person. We were lucky and were able to get someone there for almost every student (dads, grandpas, uncles, friends, older brothers). We had the dads RSVP so we knew ahead of time who would not have someone. Then, we paired up those kiddos with other dads (we asked ahead of time). It worked out SO well. There was nothing but happy faces!
We had our special guests come the first 45 minutes of the day because we wanted to minimize the amount of time that the special guests would have to miss work. The end of the day would work as well. We just didn’t want to deal with the heat.
We served donuts (we put them in an inexpensive plastic toolbox from Walmart) and milk from the cafeteria. You could also do cookies or nothing at all. It was fun to have the food, but definitely not necessary. The real focus was spending time together doing something fun.
Before all of the fun activities began, we welcomed the dads and thanked them for coming. We told them that since “it only takes a minute to make a memory,” they would be playing different Minute It to Win It games with their kiddos. We briefly explained the games, had them grab a donut, and sent them out to our playground to “make a memory!”
We had five different games set up with spots for six to eight dads at a time. Since we had both our morning and afternoon classes come at the same time, that amount was perfect! You could have more or less depending on how many kids you have. We wanted to keep it super simple and relaxed, so we did not have the dads rotate in any particular direction on a schedule. We just told them at the beginning if an activity was full, just move on to another one. We had absolutely no problems whatsoever. The games were so fun to watch that nobody minded waiting around for their turn. We also had dads watching or timing the game for the dads playing. We had minute sand timers they could have used, but most of the time they used their watches, phones, or didn’t time at all. All of the options were fine!
Listed below are the games we chose (remember all off of Pinterest), but any games would be fun. If we needed supplies for the games, we bought them at a dollar store. You could also ask for donations, or choose games that don’t require any supplies.
- Cheeto Head: The dads wore disposable shower caps on their heads covered with shaving cream. The kids threw Cheetos-type snacks at their dads’ heads. The goal was to see how many “Cheetos” the kids could get on their dads’ heads in one minute. It was hilarious! All we saw were smiling faces, and all we heard was a ton of laughter.
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| The dads were great sports and loved the Cheeto Head game! |
- Cookie Face: The dads and kids tried to get a cookie from their foreheads to their mouths using only their facial muscles. Oh my gosh, the faces they made were awesome! Most of the cookies were dropped several times, so nobody got to eat one, but boy was it funny to watch.
- Marshmallow Toss: Each dad held a plastic cup on his forehead while his child threw (tried to throw) marshmallows in it. The goal was to see how many marshmallows the kiddos could get into his or her dad’s cup in a minute. We gave the kids a small cup to scoop out the marshmallows, so they didn’t use very many and end up throwing handfuls (clean up!). It worked out really well.
- Dice Stack: Either dad or the “wee one” had to hold a a big craft stick (tongue depressor) in his or her mouth while the other one stacked dice (metal washers or hexagon nuts would work as well) on top. The goal was to see how many dice could they stack vertically on the craft stick in a minute. If they fell, they just started over. We made sure that we had enough craft sticks for every person, and reminded them to throw the sticks away when they were done.
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| Dice Stack |
- Cup Stacking: We bought a bunch of Red plastic cups (Solo type) and had them set up in groups of 36. Any number would work. This is just the number used in the original Minute to Win it game version. Working as a team, they had to stack the cups in a pyramid shape and then unstack them and put them back into a single stack (stacked inside of each other) using only one hand.
Set up and clean up was very simple. We put the messier games (Cheeto Head and Marshmallow Toss) on the grass, and the other games on our playground tables and benches. We had all supplies needed at each game along with a sand timer (optional). We asked the kids and dads during the welcome and instructions to please clean up after each activity before moving on to the next game. They did such a great job, we hardly had anything to clean up at the end. Most of the dads also helped cleaned up a little once it was over. Even if there would have been a ton to clean up, it would have been worth every marshmallow and Cheeto snack that had to be picked up! The smiles on the dads’ and kids’ faces were amazing!
We could have added a photo booth opportunity and played music to jazz it up a little, and probably will next time. We may even add signs at each station explaining the games, but honestly folks, we wouldn’t need to. They had such a great time with just the games and getting a chance to do something fun and silly together.
We hope you get a chance to try something like this. Remember…
“It only takes a minute to make a memory!”
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