My Favourite DIY Father's Day Gift of ALL TIME

When it comes to Father's Day, heartfelt and handmade gifts are the best. I've always encouraged my boys to make something special for my husband on his special day. They've made a lot of cute cards and gifts, but my all time favourite is the Father's Day photos they make for him annually. Today, I am sharing all the details of this special gift.

Way back in 2012, I took some cute photos of my boys, I had them answer questions about their dad, and I photoshopped their answers onto the pictures. Since then, we have been giving my husband the same gift every year.

You can use any pictures, but I love the idea of having the boys hold an empty chalkboard, and photoshopping the answers onto the board. It really makes the answers "pop"!

I used Picmonkey.com to add the words to these pictures. Look how cute they turned out!

This DIY Father's Day gift really is special, and creating it is a wonderful family tradition. It is pretty special to see how my boys answer the questions each year.

♥
Gina Bell (aka East Coast Mommy)

Find more easy and inexpensive Father's day gift ideas here.

Last Day of School Treat... SILLY STRAWS... with free printable tag

The last day of school is a big deal for kids, so I like to help my boys celebrate by sending them to school with treats to share with their class. Allergies are often an issue, and we don't want anyone to feel left out, so we like to come up with fun class treats that can be enjoyed by everyone. This year, my two youngest boys are both bringing crazy straws with fun little tags that you can download (below) for free.

First, you'll need a bunch of straws. You can use plastic straws, or you can opt for reusable straws if you want to be more environmentally friendly.

Then, you can print the tags I designed, use an x-acto knife to cut slits in the tops and bottoms of the tags, and insert the straws. How cute are the "Sip Sip Hurray! It's our last day!" tags?

To download the tags I designed (in pink or blue): click on the photo you want (below), right-click, save it to your computer, and print it like a regular 4x6 photo.

Aren't these adorable last day of school treats the perfect way to kick off the summer break?

It's easy and inexpensive to put together enough of these treats for the whole class, and the kids will love them.

How do you celebrate the last day of school? I think bringing treats to share with friends is a fun way to celebrate, don't you?

♥ 
Gina Bell (aka East Coast Mommy)

Last Day of School STARBURST treats... with free printable tags

The last day of school is a big deal, and it's fun to celebrate the start of summer with a little treat. My boys love Starburst candies, so I thought it would be fun to do Starburst-themed end of school year treats for them. Check out the ways to give these treats, and download free printable tags below.

All you need to do is add a "I hope your summer is BURSTing with fun!" tag to a bag of Starburst candies.

And if you want to reduce the sugar content, just pop a few candies in a little bag and attach the tag with curling ribbon.

To download the tag I designed: click on the picture below, right-click, save it to your computer, and print it like a regular 4x6 photo.

Isn't this an adorable treat? And it works on so many levels.

• Give to a sugar-loving teacher with a gift card.
• Stick it in a child's lunchbox.
• Share individual treat bags with classmates.

These bright coloured Starburst candies scream "summer", so they are perfect to share this time of year. How do you celebrate the last day of school? I think this is a "sweet" idea for the last day of school, don't you?

♥ 
Gina Bell (aka East Coast Mommy)

"CEREALsly Cute" Last Day of School Treat... with free printable tags

My boys' love bringing treats to their friends on the last day of school, so I am always trying to come up with new and simple ideas. When I was young, these tiny boxes of cereal were a special treat in our house, so I thought they'd be perfect for sharing on the last day of school with a clever (and punny) tag.

When packaged with a plastic spoon and a bit of curling ribbon, these tiny boxes of cereal are perfect for teachers to give to their students on the last day of school, and fun for kids to share with their classmates too!

Cute, right?

To download the tags I designed: click on the picture below, right-click, save it to your computer, and print it like a regular 4x6 photo.

I love this idea, don't you?

How do you celebrate the last day of school? I think it's a wonderful idea to share treats on the last day of school, don't you?

♥ 
Gina Bell (aka East Coast Mommy)

Punny End of Year Teacher Gift Ideas... with free printable tags

Special teachers deserve a thoughtful year end gift, and skincare products are a great choice. They are useful and extra fun when they are packaged with the tags I designed.

I love the idea of gifting all natural bath bombs or lip balms.

To download the tags, I designed: click on the picture below, right-click, save it to your computer, and print it like a regular 4x6 photo.

How cute is this little package of lip balm with the "You are the balm!" tags?

And what could be cuter than this package of bath bombs with the "You are the bomb!" tags?

To make your favourite teacher feel extra pampered, you could also include a gift card for a bottle of wine, a spa, or a restaurant. What would you add to make this gift special?

♥
Gina (aka East Coast Mommy)

Cruising Ducks

Have you heard about "Cruising Ducks"? It's a fun activity started by a 10 year old girl named Abby. Basically, you purchase rubber ducks, make little tags for them, and hide them in any public place on a cruise ship. People love hiding and searching for ducks! Keep reading to learn everything you need to know about cruising ducks.

The goal of this activity is to spread some joy and see how far the ducks travel and where their journey might take them. People hide the ducks on cruise ships, and the people that find them are invited to keep them or re-hide them.

Want to play?


To hide ducks:

1) Buy some ducks. You can use any type of rubber duck. I got these ones at my local dollar store.

2) Write your name, date, and where you are from on the bottoms of the ducks with a Sharpie.

3) Attach tags like the ones I designed below. (You can also add a unique hashtag if you like and ask people to use it when posting. It makes it easier to track your ducks.)

4) Hide the ducks. The only rules are that they must be hidden in public spots, you can't hide them in stores, and you can't throw them overboard.

To download the tags I designed: click on the picture of the tags below, right-click, save it to your computer, and print it like a regular 4x6 photo.

Aren't they adorable?

To search for ducks:

1) Look for ducks on your cruise ship. When you find one, take a picture of the duck, and post it to the Cruising Ducks facebook page.

2) Keep the duck you found or hide it again! If you hide it again, consider adding your name and city to the tag or bottom of the duck. It's fun to see where the ducks have been.


These are the ducks I purchased and tagged for my boys and their cousins to hide. 

Buying ducks is great, but you can also get creative and make your own. Look at the cute duck keychains I made for my boys and their cousins to take on our cruise. They were simple to make, and I love that they are flat, don't take up much space, and are easy to pack. What do you think?

My boys were successful duck hunters too. Look at their haul! The smiles say it all, don't they?

Have you ever been on a cruise? Did you hide or find any cruising ducks? I think it's a simple way to have fun and spread a little joy, don't you?

♥
Gina (aka East Coast Mommy)

Follow East Coast Mommy on Facebook for more DIYs and ideas for easy and inexpensive family fun here.

And you can find more family travel tips and tricks here.

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Edible DIY Mother's Day Bouquets

Flowers are great, but what could be better than a bouquet your "sweet" mom can eat? Below, I am sharing tutorials on how to make you special lady a bouquet made from her favourite treats. Who wouldn't love a Mother's Day Bouquet made from cupcakes, chocolate bars, or donuts?

To make a cupcake bouquet, you'll need to gather a few basic supplies. I used a dollar store mug, a styrofoam ball, toothpicks, tissue paper, and cupcakes (store bought or homemade).

Then:

1) Insert a styrofoam ball into a container.
2) Use toothpicks to secure the cupcakes to the styrofoam ball.
3) Glue tissue paper squares to toothpicks, and insert them into the blank spaces between the cupcakes.

Isn't this an adorable bouquet? It would make a wonderful Mother's Day centrepiece too.

If cupcakes aren't your favourite, a tasty donut bouquet is super easy to make. Simple insert donut holes into skewers, secure the bottoms of the skewers with an elastic, and wrap the bouquet in tissue paper.

A yummy chocolate bar bouquet is another fun options. Use hot glue to secure mini chocolate bars to skewers, use an elastic to secure the skewers together, and wrap the bouquet in tissue paper. Easy peasy!

What could be sweeter than edible Mother's Day bouquet crafted and delivered by my sweet boys?

What type of edible bouquet would you like to receive on Mother's Day? I'm secretly hoping to receive a donut and coffee breakfast in bed. If you see my boys, can you please remind them that apple fritters are my favourite? ;-)

Happy Mother's Day!

♥ 
Gina Bell (aka East Coast Mommy)

Find more Mother's Day DIYs, tips, and tricks here.