Every year, my kids make their Dad a T-shirt. We take a new white T-shirt (although one year the kids insisted on green) and some fabric paint. Each child dips a hand in one color of paint and then “stamps” the hand print on to the shirt. Then, their names are added next to their prints with a fabric marker. Finally, the date is added.
We have been making these shirts since my oldest of three was an infant of just a few days old. He was born the day before Father’s Day, so the present was a little late. Hey, my son was busy being born, and I was busy learning how to nurse and deal with feeling like I was ripped in two down there.
That infant is turning 12 (on Father’s Day, no less), and he has been joined by a brother and sister. The delicate butterfly wing footprints have been replaced with prints of chubby hands. This year, their three hand prints will take up much of the front of the shirt, elegantly long fingers bordered by cursive writing and Kindergarten printing.
Their father treasure’s his yearly gift. He wears it wherever he goes for a few months, pointing out how the children have grown, and then carefully puts it away so it won’t get ruined. He looks forward to the day when he can wear one shirt a day, in order, for three weeks straight.
The Father’s Day Memory shirt is a simple idea, but loaded with impact. It has served our Father’s Day tradition much better than would a new tie. The materials are inexpensive, especially since we save the unused paint for next time. Usually we get three or four years out of the fabric paint markers and only have to purchase the new shirt each year.