Updated May 2026
Here are 5 Creative Father’s Day gift ideas that you can choose from or adapt to make super Father’s Day gifts!
Thse cones can also be crafted to make great presents for your mum or kids too!
Let’s make a Creative Father’s Day Gift!
After I finished my last post on ‘easy fathers day ideas’, simply recycling a couple of tin cans, I got a visit from my sister.
She pulled out of her bag these odd-shaped cones and laid them on the table, saying,’
‘Here you are, I thought you might make something out of these, for your recycling projects’
I took one look at them and asked her what on earth these are? She responded, ‘oh it’s what’s left after we have finished using the cleaning tissues!’
Mmmmmm, I thought, what can we do with these neat little cones?
Hey! How about making some more creative Father’s Day gift ideas that are quirky and fun too!
This is what they look like.
Availble from:- Amazon, Ocado, ebay and major supermarkets.
WHAT I FOUND OUT!
If you turn it upside down, it would look like a little pyramid, or could be a kid’s party hat.
Having done a bit of research on these, they are the base cones of the ORA kitchen towel box, which contains a stack of 100 pre-cut paper towels.
As you can see in the picture above, you would pull one circular tissue off the top of the stack for easy throw-away cleaning.
It has also been designed to have no cardboard pole in the middle; what you end up with is a base unit instead.
After inspection and with a few of these cones in my possession, which appeared to have been made out of reinforced cardboard, I will be recycling them into a more creative Father’s Day gift idea!
MY SOLUTION!
These can be made into a stand or a holder for something. Like a prop to park your items on.
Does your dad wear spectacles? And when he takes them off at night, where would he leave them?
How about gardening? Is your dad an avid gardener? This would be a nice way to present him with packets of his favourite seeds, where you can place them in the holder, painted with a garden theme.
Alternatively, it can be adapted to hold special family photos as a keepsake.
Does dad like to write a lot, but keeps misplacing his pens, so how about a pen holder?
(This craft project can be cheekily adapted as a gift for mum, too!)
LET’S GET GOING!
WHAT YOU NEED!
RESOURCES!
1 Ora base holder
Acrylic paints, your choice for skin colour and facial hair. (moustache and beard)
Coloured felt tips, fine black felt tip, pencil, to key in and mark up facial features.
Brushes.
Scissors, Scalpel.
Rubber (optional)
SOME HELPFUL TIPS!
CONE SURFACE
The texture of the cones is rough, not smooth. Both make a good base to work on and give a textured finish. When you apply paint, it will have a raw finish.
RUBBER
When drawing the face with the pencil, it would be useful to have a rubber on hand to help rub off mistakes or rearrange features.
FOR 3D LOOK
Cutting the rim to give the moustache shape or lips gives it a 3-dimensional feel, therefore more depth.
FELT TIPS, YOUR CHOICE
If you prefer, you can just use felt tips; you can still achieve a good finish.
HANDY SELLOTAPE
If you make a mistake whilst drawing with a black felt tip pen, you can remove it by rubbing sellotape over the pen mark and pulling it off.
SHARP SCISSORS
Make sure you use a good pair of scissors that will cut away the unwanted parts, so the material doesn’t tear.
USING A SCALPEL
Be cautious whilst using the scalpel to pierce the holes, you will need to do a rocking motion so the scalpel can cut through. Keep your fingers away from the inside of the cone, just in case the blade catches your hand. If children are doing this, they will need adult support.
WHAT HAIR
You can add hair if you like. I felt it looked just fine without. If your dad has curly or wavy hair, you can paint that on in a curly motion, filling up the back part of the cone.
GLOSSY FINISH
If you want a glossy finish look, you can paint PVA glue all over and allow it to dry, or leave it as it is for a more matte look.
RIM AS AN ADDED FEATURE
You may want to keep the rim all the way around the cone, as an added feature to pop smaller items in it.
KEEPING THE HAT ON
To keep the hat on your head, you will need to make a hole on each side and attach stretchy elastic or ribbon on each side to tie and secure the hat.
LET’S REFLECT!
How easy is it to transform these neat little base cones into creative Father’s Day gift ideas!
Simply turn them upside down and start being creative, challenge yourself, all you need are some acrylic paints and coloured felt tips.
The rim of the cone gives a good 3-dimensional feel. Once the moustache is cut out, the face comes alive!
If you don’t want a moustache, then just the lips work fine too (shown in the Mummy version of the glasses holder).
GOT A GEEKY DAD?
Have you got a geeky dad who wears glasses? Then this project would suit him just fine, and he’d no longer need to misplace his glasses anymore.
If your dad doesn’t wear glasses, then how about sunglasses? They would make a terrific holder for them, too!
DIFFERENT WAYS TO USE THE CONES
The cones can be made into packet seed holders or even a photo stand!
How about cute party hats that kids can wear, too!
Or poke out some holes and make a pen or pencil stand; these would work for any member of the family, keeping your pens in one place.
You can choose a theme that best suits your dad.
I have given you a few ideas, and I hope I have inspired you one way or another.
I was lucky enough to get these cones; it’s all about holding on to your throw-outs and making good use of them again.
When you click links in this post and make a purchase, I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. This helps support the craft projects shared on this website.😀
(Affiliate disclosure)
In my search to find something similar, I came across super Father’s Day spectacle holders, which are quite similar to our Creative Father’s Day gift ideas.
So, other than doing your own thing and creating your very own spectacular version, there is the option to choose ready-made ones too!
Here’s the link for you to check them out!
TO CONCLUDE
These Ora cones can be recycled into fun craft projects; all you need is one to get you started.
I haven’t yet come across anything like this. The closest I can think of are polystyrene cups; you really need something that looks like a pyramid and can grip once you have cut a slice out.
So ask around to see if anyone has one of these Ora stacks; otherwise, see if you can invest in one purely for the base cone, and you still get to use all 100 circular paper towels!
What are you waiting for? Not long left to get motivating, remember Father’s day in Sunday, 20th June 2021 (in the UK)
I would love to see what your kids create. I can feature it in an update later, so come on, let’s get crafting
UPDATE!
Hey, can’t do any of these cone projects in time!
Then take a look at these cute Father’s Day cards and some lolly sticks decorated with feathers, googly eyes and glitter, all done by 2-3 year olds!
I managed to take some shots before they were sent home!
SO THIS IS WHAT TO DO……
Grab some cards, cut them to size, fold, and have your kids decorate using PVA glue or glue stick, and just let them explore.
using all the resources you can get your hands on, and with a little bit of adult support, they will be just fine left to their own devices.
SOMETIMES LESS IS MORE!
So have a look at what you have hanging around your home and get your little ones to have fun creating these dab and stick-on cards.
Find a make-shift tray and sprinkle glitter in it, then have your kids drizzle glue on the face of the card, turn it upside down and press in the tray of glitter and voila! a sparkly card, then your kids can embellish it how they like!
NO GLITTER!
Check out what you can use instead!
- Bottle tops.
- Scrunched up foil.
- Scrunched up coloured papers.
- Roll the string in a circular pattern on the glued surface.
- Sequins.
- Googly eyes.
- Cut up different-shaped papers.
- Feathers.
- Rice/Pasta.
- Lolly sticks.
Lay all resources on the table and let your kids Imagination take over.
You can also add Dad’s favourite biscuit inside the card, wrapped up or some treats too!
This all comes from the heart, and dads would love it no matter what!
Wow, Julia! I love your website and post!
I am also in sustainability, and it is impressive to see how you do this. I love to sew, and paint furniture, to go to a second-hand shop, to buy stuff I can decorate; it is fantastic to save the planet and rearrange waste in this matter. You have great ideas, and everyone should know about your site.
It is also essential for me to grow my vegetables, make my jam, or other things, like bread, or store vegetables in glass, fermenting them. There are so many possibilities to be self-sufficient and creating beautiful artistic things, as you do. Or make your cosmetics, which is very easy. I love to do this, but I also buy organic cosmetics. Keep the great work up, Julia! 🙂
Thank you Sylvie, so glad you like what I present and my ethos behind what I do.
It’s great how you too are big in sustainability and that you are also very creative.
We live an a throw-out society and we need to educate our children to respect our enviroment
hence our planet.
If I can do a small part in up-cycling our rubbish, even if it is into something crafty, then
our childrens will start to appreciate how items can be re-use into something else, so there is a
saying that goes ‘Small steps can lead to big Changes!’
Appreciate your feedback 🙂