Speak Dad’s Love Language in Father’s Day Gift Giving

Father’s day is coming up this weekend. If you are a last minute shopper, don’t fall for the advertisements.

Father’s day, like most holidays, has become tremendously commercialized. “Get dad Avatar,” the latest adds go. Or get him a new BBQ, the Kindle, or iPad. Those are great gifts, for a birthday, but not for Father’s Day. Father’s Day is a day to celebrate fatherhood and to show appreciation.

As part of appreciating, it would be good to line up the gift with Dad’s love language.

Words of Affirmation. If this is his dominant love language, Dad would appreciate something like a letter from the children. A letter indicating why you love dad and what he has done for you. He may also just love to hear “I love you” from everyone.

Quality Time. Dad would prefer to spend time together with the family. Whether this is an all together activity, or separate time with each individual will vary by dad. This is to be undivided attention. No iPods, books, or other distractions.

Receiving Gifts. This doesn’t mean that Dad wants Avatar as a gift for Father’s Day. It is the thought behind the gift, not the price tag. So if you want to get Dad a movie, get him something he can watch with the kids. But it can also be a creative gift, like crafts from the kids. Again, just to emphasize, this is not as much about what the gift is as it is about the effort, thought and love put into it.

Physical Touch. A hug from all the family members could do wonders for Dad. If you go for a walk, hold hands. Throughout the day, touch Dad on the arm, and look him in the eye and tell him you love him.

Acts of Service. Those little ‘coupons’ with ‘bed made daily for a week’, or ‘one free car wash’ would be right up dad’s alley. Of course, those coupons need to be followed through. Maybe there is a spot in the home that dad just hasn’t organized, do that for him. Something else to do is to not have Dad do anything for the day. You can drive, cook, clean, and so on to give Dad a break.

If you speak Dad’s love language this Father’s Day, he will really feel appreciated and understood.

You can go to Gary Chapman’s website and take the test to determine your love language, and to learn more about love languages.

What are you giving your dad for father’s day??