I remember it like it was yesterday. It was a few days before Father’s Day and I still had no idea how I was going to make my husband’s first Father’s Day special. I had already bought him all of the “new dad” gifts I could think of for Christmas. He had the new dad picture frame, coffee mug, shirt, you get the gist. I was out of options and slowly running out of time! I remember being at work and talking to one of my co-workers about my lack of ideas when it hit me like a ton of bricks! Why not do a scavenger hunt and make this the most memorable Father’s Day ever?

What started out as a thought in my head turned into me taking my husband on a statewide scavenger hunt! He had no idea what he was in for! Each place we visited had something to do with our pregnancy. How so, you ask? Well one of the places was the restaurant where we had our baby shower. Another, the CVS that we ran out to in the middle of the night to buy more pregnancy tests to confirm what two other tests had already made pretty clear – we were in fact pregnant! Babies R Us was a definite as that was where Lou hyperventilated while we were creating our registry because he was overwhelmed with all of the “stuff” we needed! All in all, we went to six different places, the last of which was the hospital where he became a father.

The best part of the whole thing was watching him shake with nerves as he approached the employees at the various places. Oh yeah, did I forget to mention that I didn’t make it easy for him? I didn’t just hand him the clues, I made him go into the various places and ask someone at the front desk if they had a clue for him. His main worry was “what if I’m at the wrong place?” Luckily, he scored a perfect score on the scavenger hunt and ended up at all of the right places! And the employees at the different stops were all awesome! They were all so excited to be a part of it!

The hunt ended with Noah giving his “dada” the perfect gift! I had known that I wanted to get him something special and personalized to commemorate his first Father’s Day. As I mentioned before, I didn’t want to get him just anything. Thankfully, I found the perfect gift for him on Etsy! A personalized layered family key chain from Risky Beads! It’s perfect for so many reasons! In order to understand why it’s perfect, you need to know this about Lou. Like a lot of men, he’s a minimalist. He doesn’t like having something that doesn’t serve a purpose. He also hates anything that makes his keys bulky. This key chain covered all of the bases – it’s light, it’s small, and it celebrated his love for his family. Four years later, and the key chain still hangs proudly on his keys. It’s a piece he truly values and holds dear to his heart.

It ended up being the perfect first Father’s Day and he was blown away by the creativity and effort that went into planing it (his words, not mine). He absolutely loved his gift and was touched to have something that he would have with him on a daily basis to represent his family. Me, I was just shocked that I pulled it off just two days before Father’s Day! The fun that we had and the memories that we took away are proof that it really is the thought that counts. It’s not how much you spend, but how much thought you put into letting that someone special in your life know just how loved and appreciated he is.

With the addition of Ryan this past year, the key chain is obviously in need of a little updating! Just as our family has grown, so has the key chain! I am so excited for his new key chain to arrive just in time for Father’s Day! Lori at Risky Beads is truly a pleasure to work with and it goes without saying that her beautiful key chains stand the test of time.

She has been so generous and is offering my readers a coupon code for 15% off of orders of $10 or more. Use the code YESSIE at checkout now through 7/31/18. Tomorrow (June 5th) is the last day to order in time for Father’s Day so make sure to place your orders! I promise you that the fathers in your life will treasure this beautiful piece! It’s a unique gift that celebrates their role as father without being “cheesy” or flashy. Plus she’s got so many other unique gift ideas!

The boys and I are beyond blessed to have Lou in our lives. He is the pillar of our family. He provides for, protects, and places his family above all else. And through all the serious roles he plays, not a day goes by where he doesn’t make us laugh. He truly is one of a kind. We celebrate this wonderful man every day! It’s our mission to let him know how loved he is as often as we can. <3