Family head. Source of tough love. Our greatest supporter in all we do. Fathers are special people in our lives and a constant reminder that we are loved. This Father’s Day, make Dad feel special with these fun activities that are sure to bring on the smiles and create lasting memories. After all, just like a homemade DIY card, the gift of time is priceless.

Take Dad to a Ballgame

Fans watch an Oakland As' baseball game
Matt Dodd via Unsplash

Channel your inner sports fan and take Dad to a baseball game this Father’s Day. The Oakland A’s will face the Kansas City Royals at home. This three-game series starts on Friday, June 17 and runs through Sunday, June 19. Batter Up!

Classic Car Show Fun

TaLeiza Calloway-Appleton

Rev up the fun at a Classic Car Show. The Garlic City Car Show is back to Gilroy after two years! This year’s car show will take place on Saturday, June 18 from 10am-4pm in Downtown Gilroy. There will be live music, vendors, and over 200 of the coolest classic cars in Gilroy.

Celebrate Heritage and Tradition

A Native American dance group performs at Yerba Buena
Jim Watkins/YBG Festival

Father’s Day is a celebration of family. Enjoy a beloved Father’s Day tradition with the 20th annual Native Contemporary Arts Festival. Part of the Yerba Buena Gardens Festival, the special event will showcase a diverse program of native music, dance, spoken word, visual artists, vendors and native crafts. 

Celebrate Juneteeth

Celebrate African-American culture at the Children's Discovery Museum or at Lake Merritt.

Dine on the Water

Treat Dad to an unforgettable meal and memories aboard the Hornblower’s Father’s Day Brunch Cruise. Enjoy chef-inspired, plated entrees, music and more on this picturesque two-hour yacht cruise. Bonus: Seats are assigned and you even get a keepsake photo.

Head Outdoors

iStock

Fishing is a fun pastime to spend with dad and we've got the full scoop on all the great spots in the Bay Area to cast a line. Prefer a low-key, equipment-less outing? Take a family nature walk, join a Bioblitz or tidepool tour. We also enjoy exploring while hiking with our dad and these unique and waterfall trails are perfect for an outdoor adventure everyone will remember. 

Jam at a Music Festival

A father and daughter enjoy a music festival on Father's Day
Brett Sayles via Pexels

The music festival scene in the Bay Area is ripe this summer! Check out San Francisco’s North Beach Festival. One of the city’s largest street fairs, the two-day event will include live music, food, arts and crafts and more Father’s Day weekend. Other fun options include the Stern Grove Festival and Novato Art, Wine and Music festival.

Quality Time at Home

A father gardens with his children
TaLeiza Calloway-Appleton

Nothing beats good ole quality time at home. Does Dad have a green thumb? Plant a garden in your backyard. Here’s our list of fun gardening ideas.

Get Creative with Art

A handmade card speaks to the heart and we’ve gathered some festive DIY ideas to spark your creativity. Kick it up a bit by painting together at a local Paint Nite, Craft Night or even make a scrapbook together.

—TaLeiza Calloway-Appleton and Kate Loweth

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It’s okay, in fact, it’s recommended kids get dirty!

The warm weather calls to your kiddo. If you’re looking for a fun-filled science-themed way to play outdoors, gardening with kids is educational, entertaining, and absolute awesomeness. Grab a trowel, select seeds, and check out these gardening projects for kids. We’ve got everything from a vegetable garden to ideas for small gardens and even an indoor herb garden—no green thumb or acres of yard space required.

Upcycled Garden Planters

container gardens are a fun gardening project for kids
Hands On As We Grow

These eco-friendly milk and juice container planters from Hands On As We Grow are pint-sized perfection. If space is a concern, your child can start their veggie garden in this upcycled option.

Make a Fairy Garden

fairy gardens are a fun gardening project for kids
Amber Guetebier

Fairy gardens are ideal for small spaces and small hands, and you can even do an indoor garden using succulents and miniature houseplants if you don't have any outdoor space to plant or keep the pot. 

And if you need some inspo, check out our favorites here

Color Coding Gardening

Magda Ehlers via Pexels

Grow a mini rainbow in your yard! Choose veggies (or flowers) in hues ranging from red to blue—and everything in between. Plant rosy cherry tomatoes, orange peppers, yellow squash, cucumbers, eggplant and more.

Alphabet Outdoors

Markus Spiske via Pexels

Create an A,B,C garden this spring. Choose veggies, flowers or a combo of both that start in each letter of the alphabet. Start at A and see if you can plant all the way to Z. Mark each pick with a letter sign or write an alphabetical list of your garden’s contents.

Takeout Garden

Mini Monets and Mommies

The folded paper or cardboard takeout container can do more than hold your leftovers. Follow these simple steps and help your kids to craft their own vegetable garden seedling starter indoors.

Avocado Awesomeness

Mali Maeder via Pexels

Don’t throw your avocado pit into the trash. Even though the pit is the least appealing part of the avocado, you can use it to grow your own plant indoors. Simply wash and dry the pit, fill a jar with water, push three toothpicks into the thick end of the pit and place the picked pit into the water. Submerge the bottom inch or so of the pit, place the jar in a sunny spot and wait for your new avocado plant to grow.

Easy Peasy Trellis

Garden Therapy

Skip the frozen food section and grow your own peas with Garden Therapy’s trellis activity. Don’t worry if you’re short on space, this trellis is the perfect pick for a mini springtime or summer garden.

Indoor Herb Garden

Foundry via Pixabay

Your kiddos want to plant an indoor herb garden—but you don’t have a container to use. That is, you don’t think you have a container to use. Stage a treasure hunt in your home and ask the kids to search for containers to use. Whether they scavenge yogurt containers, plastic bottles, or anything else that can hold soil and seeds, your family will be ready to plant their favorite herbs immediately indoors.

Indoor Greenhouse

Read Between the Limes

Upcycle a takeout or rotisserie chicken container with this genius spring gardening idea from Read Between the Limes. Instead of starting your seedlings in small pots, repurpose the plastic carrier as a mini greenhouse. Along with a seedling starter, you can also transform your takeout container into an indoor herb garden.

Egg Heads

What I Live For

This egg-cellent idea from What I Live For is the perfect pairing of science and fun. Even though the how-to includes steps to grow grass, you could swap out these seeds for herbs or other small-sized veggie starters.

Pizza Planter

Little Family Adventure

If there’s one universal crowd-pleasing dinner idea, it’s pizza. Let your little chefs grow their own supply of fresh herbs with a pizza planter. Nicky over at Little Family Adventure breaks down the easy steps you’ll need to follow to create your own. Click here to get the details.

 

School’s back in session and the witching hour—those afternoon moments when crankiness is at its peak—has cast a spell over your little ones. Time to pull out your arsenal of activities to keep kiddos busy and happy before dinner’s served. Need a few new ideas? We’ve got you covered. Read on to discover our Red Tricycle checklist of fun, filled with 30 easy, awesome ways to help little minds unwind. Print it out, pin it up, and revisit for activity inspiration.

Psst—click on the blue text in the pdf to get the tutorial! If you want to go green and save paper, opt to check off each box digitally. Remember to save the file to save your progress. Click here to download the pdf (right click and “save as” to save onto your computer).

30waystoplayafterschool-pptx

1. Play a classic backyard game.

2. Build a nature fort in the backyard. 

3. Create something cool out of cardboard.

4. Look for butterflies. 

5. No paint brushes? No problem. Here are 10 art projects that don’t need bristles

6. Go on a scavenger hunt that requires quiet time. 

7. Make a puppet theater.

8. Read a book that inspires innovation.

9. Get crafty a project with five supplies or less!

10. Practice your pirate vocab.

11. Make your TP roll go the distance and use it in a project. 

12. Set up an imaginary world of play and watch the afternoon fly by.

13. The homework’s gotta happen. These ideas will make it fun!

14. Make a pet rock.

15. Arrange a creative play date with friends.

16. Give their brain muscles a boost with easy memory games.

17. Make a toy car garage.

18. Let your little magicians impress you with seven easy magic tricks

19. Spice up coloring time with a new and cool coloring book.

20. Explore the art of image projection with a DIY pinhole camera.

21. Discover easy ways to upcycle your scrap paper.

22. Run relays in the backyard.

23. Feel the force with a Star Wars-themed activity. 

24. Give their green thumbs a workout with eight easy gardening ideas.

25. Share some wacky animal facts.

26. Explore science with simple outdoor experiments.

27. Have a dance party.

28. Whip up a batch of your own bubbles.

29. Try out a new subscription box.

30. Make math fun with these easy games.

Share this checklist with your friends and then tell us below your go-to activity for after school fun!

 

— Christal Yuen & Gabby Cullen