Parties, fun games and activities, and pinatas go hand in hand. In many cases, Pinatas can be expensive to have made, and they are traditionally filled with sugar laden candies. If you would like to combine a craft with healthy alternatives, you can easily make your own pinata, or even allow guests to create mini pinatas to take home as party favors.

Hang a clothes line outdoors, and have plenty of clothes pins. This will be a good place to allow the pinatas to dry while the guests play other games. Consider making one large pinatas for the guests to play with in a traditional manner, if you are making individual pinatas for as take home party favors. To make easy pinatas, purchase balloons that will blow up to an appropriate size. Insert pencils, markers, stickers, sugar free gum, small toys, etc. into the balloon. Inflate it, being sure to blow it up fairly tightly, and tie it off. Tie a string onto it, so that you will be able to remove it later.

Mix equal parts of white glue and water, and put it on a covered craft table in large open containers. Use old newspaper, crepe paper, or colored construction paper to dip in the glue and apply to the balloon. Be sure to have plenty of supervision for this craft, and make sure the glue is used sparingly. When each balloon is covered with paper, take it outside, and hang from clothes line to dry.

The final activity of the day should allow enough dry time for the pinatas. Use a very long, sharp needle to push through the balloon, so the balloon will burst and make it easier for the partiers to break their pinata. This works especially well if you want to hand out something for the guests to take home with them. They can take home a nice surprise, break their pinata at home, and enjoy their party favors there.

Finding the right gift that shows how much you appreciate your father can be challenging. Treat dad to something he won’t expect. Personalized, humorous, sentimental gifts or touching mementos can be a great way to express your love for dear old Dad. Take a walk down memory lane by giving your Dad a personalized wall gallery that captures special moments with his family. Take the time to find sentimental pictures that show Dad at his best with his children and put them into the frames before you present the gift. This treasure will remind him of great times that he shared with his loved ones.

Your Dad probably handed out cigars when his children were born. Now is the time for his kin to give him cigars to thank him for all that he has done. Put a smile on his face with a box of freshly, hand-rolled cigars. Present the cigars in a cedar-lined humidor personalized with his initials engraved onto a nickel plaque. Alternatively, you can buy a leather cigar case at Red Envelope that holds cigars up to 7-inches long and personalize it with his initials on it. Round off the present with a zinc alloy butane lighter and a stainless steel end cutter. Now he can sit back, relax, and enjoy a stogie while knowing that his family loves him.

Give your sports aficionado an autographed picture of his favorite sports hero for him to display in his office. Or hit a homerun with Dad with officially licensed MLB ballpark novelty cuff links that borrow a piece of history from Wrigley, Fenway, Shea, and other iconic stadiums. Made from salvaged seats, these cuff links enable Dad to own a piece of nostalgia from his favorite team. Finally, consider taking your die-hard sports fan out to the ballpark to watch his favorite team play. Splurge and buy front row seats so that he can see all of the action. If he’s lucky, then maybe one of the players will sweat on him…

Buy your Dad a round and take him on a microbrew tour at your local brewery so that he can learn more about his favorite beverage. Drink some suds after the visit and tell him how much he means to you. If he a hands-on kind of guy and would like to learn how to brew his own beer, then give him a home brew kit along with a lesson from your local (and respected) beer master. This could be a gift of a lifetime that is full of enjoyment and great beer drinking. A nice touch would to be to add crystal pilsner beer glasses monogrammed with his initials.