Emmanuella 
Father’s Day is a day where we appreciate every father, but especially our own, or people who have been a father figure to us. I believe it is not the materialistic things that are of value, but it’s the things in which we put time and effort into, just as they have taken time and effort into making us who we are today.
We cannot compare Father’s Day to Mother’s Day because they’re lovingly different. Yes, every day should be Father’s Day, however, sometimes we forget to show our appreciation. We don’t realize how much love they show us, so on this very special day we get to reciprocate that same energy extravagantly with pure and loving intentions. Despite me not having a consistent father in my life, there have been so many of whom I am grateful for who have been father figures. They have given me hope, encouragement, motivation, faith and most importantly love.
Many of you might be asking, “What can I do for Father’s Day that says, ‘I appreciate you’ even if I’m on a budget, or ‘I love you’ even if I don’t say it all the time?” Well, I have come up with a few ideas for you. Check them out:
*Create a gift basket full of things that your father or father figure may need but doesn’t have. For instance, a back scratcher, a nice phone case, razors and razor blades, his favorite aftershave, etc. This will show that you have put thought and effort into the gift.
*Make him dinner with his favorite foods.
*Make homemade baked goods like a cake, brownies, or cookies. You can even put them in a nice box or tin that can be a keepsake.
*Put together a mini treasure hunt throughout the day so that each checkpoint is a memory that you shared. Be creative with the final checkpoint so that this treasure hunt itself ends up being one of his favorite memories.
*Now, I know a lot of people love cards, but let’s save some trees by actually taking the time to say what we would write in the card, and maybe even add more words than a normal card would. If you say your heartfelt message in a video, he can have the pleasure of listening to your words over and over again.
I hope you enjoyed these ideas, and I hope you and your father/father figure have a great day.
God bless!
By Emmanuella Alausa, Bishop Thomas Grant High School, London
Instagram: @theellls
