Father/Daughter Activity Ideas
 

 

50's Night - Our ward Activity Girls had a 50's themed dinner/dance for their daddy daughter night.  It was a huge success!  The girls made invitations and helped with the decorations.  They made records out of black paper and school banners out of paper to hang on the walls. A man in the ward taught everyone how to swing dance.  Another was a DJ and had different songs from the 50's to dance to all night.  They also had their picture taken and every girl got a souvenir picture of them with their dad's (or mom's)  For dinner they had hot dogs, chips, and root beer floats.  The girls and their dad's dressed up in 50's costume.  It was really a fun night for everyone who attended.  Their were a couple of girls whose dad's couldn't come so they brought their mom's and it was great fun for them too. (Credit Unknown)

Nerd Night by Angela Miller

Achievement Awards Night - It was short and sweet, but it was a lot of fun. We had kind of a contest for the girls and their dads. Each pair was given a paper bag which held a tiny bottle of nail polish, a hair elastic and ribbon, a necktie, scissors and a newspaper. For the race, the girls had to tie the necktie on dad and then cut out an article from the paper about his favorite sport. Dad then had to put a pony tail in daughter's hair and tie the ribbon in it, and then he had to paint her fingernails (this was the funny part). They had a blast with this.  (When there are two daughters and one dad the girls each did their part, (dad just got two ties put on). When it was dad's turn, he painted one hand on each girl and put a ponytail in one's hair and the ribbon in the other. It worked out fine.)  After all of this, we handed out a sheet of paper with the headline...."My Dad is Father of the Year Because:" and "My Daughter is Daughter of the Year Because:" We asked each to fill out the paper and then shared these with the rest of the group. Some were funny and some others actually brought tears (happy ones). We handed out the awards the girls had earned and had root beer floats. (Idea by Kerri Allred)

Cowgirl and her cowboy party hoedown

Bloom where you are planted

Daddy Daughter Hike - Hike through a nature path. Each couple was given a list of 10 things to look for - from banana slugs to eggs of an insect to footprints of an animal. It works in our area as we have a nature park (I'm in Oregon) nearby. For treats the leader brought individual bottles of Gatorade and granola bars. You could add a variety of leaves or critters or whatever. Very, very fun!!! (Idea by Lorena)

Daddy Daughter Valentine's Party - The girls made chickens out of construction paper hearts with feathers glued on for centerpieces on plastic red tablecloths purchased at the Dollar Store. They also made a frame with hearts on it for their picture together - that was done on their way in with fake fiscus trees and twinkling lights. Each couple was dressed up the same - same tied dyed shirts or white shirts or whatever. The treats were ice cream sundaes. The games included a cute one with each couple getting a balloon, and then two body parts were drawn out of a bag and the couples had 5 seconds to put themselves together with the balloon in the middle. (Right Eye to Left Elbow, Left Knee to Left cheek) Very, very cute!!! (Idea by Lorena)

Nerd Night - It was really fun. All the Dad's and girls dressed as nerds. When the dad came in I gave them a piece of paper and had them write a memory their nerdiest moment as they were growing up. Later, we read them aloud and the girls had to guess which Dad did which nerdy thing. They were really funny!  We started off with a brain teaser that the dads and daughters had to solve together. We played some crazy games that only Dads would be brave enough to do! The girls were blindfolded and had to put shaving cream on their Dad's face and "shave" them with a large tongue depressor. We also had the girls tie a necktie on their Dad. The Dad's had to braid their daughter's hair.  The goofiest game was "pudding splash". The Dad's laid on the floor and held a sugar cone in their mouths. The daughter's were given a bowl of pudding and standing over their dads, they spooned the pudding into the cone (they couldn't bend down) It was messy, crazy fun!  I don't know if I'd do it again though--it was really messy. It probably would be much better outside. Inside we had to have everyone lay on plastic...too big a mess. I took plenty of photos of the fun and made sure I took a "portrait" of each Daddy/daughter nerd. (We later did a craft project and framed these for Father's Day gift)  We handed out prizes to winners of the games...like pocket protectors, pencils, nerd glasses, nerd candy etc. We finished the night with ice cream sundaes...couldn't think of any nerdy food! It was lots of fun!

Olympic Game and Food Activity by Mary Kate Villamore

Pizza Night - Our father daughter girl's activity was a huge hit!! Each father and daughter made a chef hat--out of white crepe paper...we then took their pictures...then they made their own pizza...while pizzas were baking we did a daddy daughter "newlywed" type game with fun questions ...then some other games. One of the games we did was especially fun for the girls and dads.  Every dad put on a shower cap--then we put a ton of shaving cream on top of his head (on top of the shower cap)...then each girl had a handful of Cheetos.  The girls were lined up across from their dad--a couple of feet away...and when we said "go"...the girls tried to toss as many Cheetos on their dads head as possible! It was fun to see the girls having fun with their dad and making memories. (Idea by Rebecca from Colorado)

Summer Fun

Treat a Geek - The invitation (on atrocious plaid paper) said, "bring your favorite geek -- dad, grandpa, mom, home teacher, etc."  One thing we did with this, though, was to contact in advance the mom of each girl whose dad wasn't available (some just have crazy work schedules...) and talk about what we were considering doing. We asked each mom how she thought her daughter would feel if we did an activity like this. We asked who her daughter might bring and how we could present the activity so that she would want to come and not feel the slightest bit left out. We explained that we wanted ALL the girls to know that they were loved and valued. And we made it clear that if this activity made even ONE GIRL feel inferior or uncomfortable, we wouldn't do it. (There are plenty of other great activities, right?)  We tried to be very sensitive and follow the Spirit.  All of the moms said it sounded like good fun, and they thought their girls would be okay bringing someone -- dad or otherwise.  On that night, the girls who couldn't bring dads brought moms, brothers, grandpas, etc. Some non-member and less active dads came. Bishopric members were there (dressed geeky) in case a girl came alone. We had a geek apparel box at the door (if you weren't properly geekified when you arrived). :O) The leaders dressed up, too. We had wacky relays and other events. We had a mini newlywed game, a relay race with flippers and snorkel (which was hysterical), and other things.... It was a fun evening. Acting silly and laughing together can really unite a group.  In the end, it didn't matter who you came with; everyone just got silly together. I actually think it was great for the girls to see that all family situations can work and that in a ward, we are all one big family anyway. The pair that won the "best dressed geek" award was a mother & daughter. I think the phone calls in advance made a BIG difference. :O) That's how we made it work for us.... (Idea by Elizabeth Wilson / ga10252006)

Western Theme - We did a daddy daughter date around western theme. We had Sloppy Joes etc. We took pictures of the girls and their dads and had them developed 5x7 size. The girls at an activity made padded frames for them and gave them to their dad's for Fathers Day. They loved it. We got double prints so the girls could have one also to put in their scrap books. (Idea by Shauna)

Wheelbarrow Baseball

Valentine's Father/Daughter Activity