My gang was sick around easter last year so didn't get to do our usual of decorating egg shaped cookies with various bits and pieces as I was trying to desperately eliminate germ sharing.

What we did instead was come mother's day we spent a week baking and each day made something. One day we made brownies and another muffins. On another I made the cookie dough at night and then we sliced and baked. And on another I baked the cookies and they iced and decorated. I got plates from the dollar store and they arranged their treats on the plate, made a flower to decorate the gift and a card. This would work for father's day too.

For father's day we made lemonade and coasters. We did homemade lemon with them trying to do the squeezing - and me topping it up with lemon juice from a bottle. We mixed it and then I had bought water bottles from dollar store to send it home in. The kids coloured two circles of cardstock, added a few stickers to them and then I laminated them. Cut them out leaving a half inch of plastic to be sure they were well sealed. I had also gotten two plastic glasses from the dollar store - one large and one small. We also made shortbread cookies they could decorate. The idea was to go home and share a glass of lemonade and cookies with dad.

Dad ideas are hard. I find mother's day and father's day hard many years anyways depending on my group. If I have a single parent family it is hard to dwell on the topic and in those years I let it slide more and we just do a treat for someone special and build it into our program such as decorating the cookies in spring colours or cutting them out with a fish or butterfly or flower cookie cutter. Still allows us to acknowledge the day without making anyone feel left out. I do not do grandparents day at all since in this day and age of divorce it isn't uncommon for a child to have half a dozen grandparents and just not starting battles over who gets the one gift nor am I letting one child make 6 just because.