Hallmark have a sale on the recordable children's artwork set, which normally sells for £12.99 but is reduced by £5 to £7.99. Postage will cost you £2.20, bringing your total to £10.19, but if you buy 3 your shipping (over £20) will be free.

• Record a message to go with your painting

I actually reviewed the Hallmark Children's Recordable Artwork last September, so I can say without a doubt that this is a great gift for Fathers Day.

You receive a blank canvas, six washable paints and a paint brush, along with the recording frame with very simple instructions to record your message. You can wrap it up and give it as a gift, or post it to someone far off, and at the press of a button they'll hear a message from the painter - about the painting or just a general message.

It's a really sweet idea, and sure to be really meaningful, especially to fathers or grandfathers who don't get to see their little ones every day. And in fact to anyone, if you don't want it as a father's day gift.

Thanks to superdeal89 at HUKD

Use this Snapfish promotional code to get a free Father's Day photo card, in a 7 inch by 5 inch size. The only cost involved is delivery at 99p. The card normally costs from £1.99. A great Father's Day idea if you're looking to do a special sort of Fathers Day card.

Click here to use your Snapfish promotional code

• Discount: free photo card
• Minimum spend: 99p delivery
• Promotional code: HDAD13
• Expires: 16th June 2013

To use this code you will need to go through checkout. When you get to the billing and shipping page, enter it in the Snapfish coupon code box. The discount code will be applied automatically to your order.

I believe that the 99p delivery charge is per order, so if you have more than one child making cards this works out even more cost effective.

This is a 7x5 folded card, and there is room for photos on the front back, and both parts of the inside, as well as text.

Thanks to jackthenippa at HUKD!

This is a pretty cool app that I initially thought was another Facebook clone. Once I started reading up on it, however, I was rather taken with the idea. In fact, I have bemoaned the lack of such a service in the past. 23snaps was created by a bunch of dads who know how important it is to keep families connected and the entire service is totally free.

• Click here to get snappy happy at 23snaps

Father’s Day is right around the corner and if you, like me, are still struggling to come up with a suitably brilliant idea, this could be something worth looking into. 23snaps is a private social network for parents to keep close friends and family updated on their children’s live.

The mobile app links families with real-time status updates, photos, videos and more and these are delivered directly to their smartphone or email. Once you’ve added your children to your account, you can tag them in your entries which are added to your child’s Timeline. Then everyone can see your child grow in chronological order. It’s sweet, it’s clever and it’s free.

I'm all about quick crafts that are fun, a little messy and can be done from start to finish in around 15 minutes. My crafty accomplice is a two-year old, so there's not much room for intricate, lengthy or too-many-steps projects. If you're on Pinterest, you've probably seen various versions of this little art project, but fortunately for us, the Daddy we're celebrating doesn't spend his time pinning things.

For this craft you will need paper - we used black, but any colour will do - a different colour paint for each hand print, a paint brush, scissors, a pen and a picture frame.

As Daddy has the biggest hand in the family, our daughter started by painting his hand white - you know how they say it's about the journey, not the destination? Well this is a perfect example of that. Painting daddy's hand was the biggest laugh my two-year old has had in some time!

Hand nicely covered, he put it firmly on the paper, and I squished it down a little to transfer the paint.

Leave it to dry for a little while, then repeat the process with the next sized hand - mine. A hint here is to make sure there's something to keep the two-year old occupied while you are indisposed!

Again, leave it to dry, then paint the children's hands one at a time, always layering them over each other. You could start them all at the same place, or you could keep the palm of the hand at the same place. The first idea will show off the difference in hand sizes, while the second will do the same but not as accurately as the kernel - the palms - remain connected. You could go super cheesy and draw a heart in the centre.

Once the paint has dried, write your message on the paper, with names and dates, and frame.

A fun, messy, 15-minute craft that will be treasured, I'm sure.

Blackpool’s Pleasure Beach is offering a Sunday 17th special offer for Dads. They get to enter the park for free and have a lovely fun family day without spending a single penny. Nice one!

• Click here to get a free day out at Blackpool Pleasure Beach

The special offer that allows Dads to go free at Blackpool Pleasure Beach is valid for advance online bookings only and the doors are now open for you to do just that. The tickets are only valid for the 17th of June and there are some Ts & Cs.

When you book your tickets you need to use the promotional code 1270 and the cost of entry for the kids are £30 for under 12 and £35 for over 12. While you’re there you can also take advantage of the Father’s Day grill offer at, um, The Grill. Dad gets a free bottle of beer and two courses cost £9.95.

Thanks to Dawsy at HUKD!

Right, you're beginning to run out of time to get yourself organised for Father's Day - it's this Sunday (17 June) and if you're stumped and have a sci-fi loving husband/dad then this Alien Anthology DVD collection might be your knight in Father's Day present armour.

They're in Blu ray format (these will NOT play in a standard DVD player) and usually cost £33.99 - The Hut are currently selling them for £9.95.

• Click HERE to take a look at the Alien Anthology

Of course, you don't have to buy this Alien Anthology for a dad or husband - you might be a sci-fi fan and want to buy them for yourself; our very own Tamsin is self-confessed sci-fi freak (ask her, she'll tell you!).

The Alien Anthology features the four Alien movies:

• Alien
• Aliens
• Alien 3 (uniquely titled, I thought!) and
• Alien Resurrection

I've only ever seen the first movie, Alien, and it wasn't my cup of tea so I'll be leaving the purchasing of this deal to you; if you want to stand any chance of having it delivered to you in time for Father's Day then I suggest you order it today.

There's no delivery to pay on UK orders from The Hut, so the total cost to have the Alien Anthology delivered to you is just £9.95, but delivery is within three and five days.

Thanks to Jgsingh29 at HUKD

My husband loves satchels and messenger bags. It’s as if he can’t get enough of them. Each time he buys a new one, he justifies it by saying that it is far better for work than the previous one. He needs them to carry his technology and other bits and pieces that he needs for work.

So, as Father’s Day loomed, I thought that perhaps it would be a good idea to invest in a new messenger bag for The Husband and I bought this one from M&M Direct – the Onfire Men’s Messenger Bag for £19.99.

This is usually on sale for around £39.99, so I was pretty pleased with the discount! The bag has leather trims with a cotton shell and polyester lining and a magnetic stud fastening. What’s really interesting here is that the buckles you see in the picture are not actually used, they hide the magnetic attachment. My husband found them far easier to use than buckles – much quicker access – but not as secure.

He liked the bag and the way it was designed. He felt that it was easy to carry and easy to use and looked fine. The only problem that he had with the Onfire Men’s Messenger Bag was that the inner lining was not stitched in. It is loose. I must agree with him on this as it is inconvenient and doesn’t look very good at all.

Overall, though, if you are in the market for a low cost messenger bag that’s sturdy and looks decent and can take an iPad or similar tablet and some books or notes, then this is a good investment. It is also worth noting that it doesn’t have any compartments inside so it may be too risky to use as transport for a laptop, unless that has its own protective covering.

I give this 6/10 as the lack of compartments and loose inner lining let this product down, but the discount from M&M Direct and the design really boost the overall score.

This is a nice little extra from Calendarwizard – a free postage and packaging code so you can get yourself Father’s Day gifts or something special for someone else. The last day to order for guaranteed delivery in time for Father’s Day is today, 11 June, so make haste!

• Click here to get free P&P with Calendarwizard

Calendarwizard has mid-year photo diaries and calendars available on the site and they are a rather perfect choice for a clever and sweet Father’s Day present. You can personalise these with up to 13 different photos and you can add free printed personal dates too – now he has NO excuse for forgetting important birthdays or anniversaries!

The special voucher code that you need to get free P&P on your order with Calendarwizard is 280509 and you need to enter this at your basket as you checkout.

The site is worth looking through, actually, especially if you have other birthdays coming up and need to sort out presents. You can get a range of lovely diaries and calendars and plenty more.

This coming Sunday is Father's Day here in the UK. It isn't in most of the rest of the world but for some reason, we celebrate Father's Day in June instead of September.

That's OK by me though as usually the weather is quite nice, so you can do outdoor type things too. Mind you, going by how wet and squelchy the weather has been lately, this year might be the exception.

We've always tried to ensure that Mother's Day, and Father's Day, is kept as simple as possible. Home made cards and presents, that sort of thing. It is about having the day made special, not having lots of money thrown at it. The thought is what counts here.

So, what do dads really want for Father's Day? I asked around and here's the most popular answers.

I absolutely love the idea of BBQ themed cupcakes! The sweets in the recipe are all US sweets though, so does anyone have any ideas of what we could use instead? I'm thinking jelly beans for the sausages, and Fruit Jubes cut up for the kebabs, but what about the steaks?

This is a truly awesome freebie from Find Me A Gift. You get a free personalised chocolate bar for Father’s Day worth £5.99. Tell me that isn’t awesome? Just click on the link below and you’ll be taken to the page where you can organise your freebie. Please note that you do have to pay for postage and packaging.

• Click here to get free chocolate from Find Me A Gift

The free chocolate bar says World’s Best Dad on it and you can personalise the back of the chocolate bar before adding it to your basket. The voucher code you have to enter at checkout is FREECHOCOLATEFD which is really simple to do. It will expire at the end of this week so hurry, hurry if you want your free choccie.

Click on the link above, enter in your personalised message to Dad, and then click on Buy. Go to the checkout and then either register as a new customer, or enter your username and password, and then enter the voucher code. Ta da! Your free chocolate bar will wing its way to you shortly.

The Works is offering free delivery on all purchases for the next week.

Get something for nothing from The Works

• Discount: Free Delivery, saving you £2.99
• Expires: 15 June
• Code: Dad

I’m such a sucker for free delivery, I’ll pay a little more for my items  rather than paying less for them and more for delivery. In fact, I hate paying for delivery and on more than one occasion I’ve put something in my virtual shopping basket, then not followed through with the purchase because I can’t bring myself round to being okay with the postage. Weird, isn’t it?!

Anyway, no such problems with The Works at the moment, as all purchases come with free delivery, whether you buy a trinket for 99p or a biggy of more than 2kg – which will delivered by courier at no additional cost.

The Works aims to deliver your order between 1 and 2 working days after the order was placed, so you still have plenty time to get something in for Father’s Day (or for yourself, for that matter!)

What a lovely Father's Day Idea! Add to it year after year and see how the kids thoughts and feelings about daddy develop!

This is such a sweet idea! No pun intended. For my husbands first Father's day I put together a jar of his favourite sweets, and inside I had added 100 bits of paper each one listing a reason why I loved him. This is a similar idea, without the paper in the jar.

Father's Day is rapidly approaching (Sunday 17 June, in case you didn't know) and if you're looking for a present that's just a little different from the usual pairs of socks, that is interesting and has some value the you should take a look this book by Matthew Syed (he's one of the UK's most successful International Table Tennis players).

It's called Bounce - The Myth of Talent and the Power of Practice and you can pick up a copy for a couple of quid less than its full price over at Amazon, £6.29 instead of £8.99.

• Click HERE to take a look at Bounce by Matthew Syed

One of my husband's colleagues gave him this book for Christmas and he devoured it within days and then gave it to me to read.  It explores the arguement for practice over 'talent' and suggests that anyone can become an expert and professional in something if they practice enough.

The widely accepted number of practice hours to become expert at something is 10,000 (good old Malcolm Gladwell) and this has proven to be true again and again and again.  Bounce is a superbly written book that's utterly fascinating, will pull you in and leave you wanting to make a dent in a fair few practice hours of whatever you'd like to be expert at.

I think it should be compulsory reading in senior schools - any youngster who takes heed of its message will be one step ahead of the game, and the great news is it's never too late to make a start on those hours.

Happy practicing!

I've been hit by some kind of delayed nesting fairy this past week and have been organising, sorting and clearing clutter. One of the things that has to go now is a box of photographs my daughter loves to scatter around the house. I've been scouring the web for ideas on what to do with leftover photographs that never made it into the photo albums, and I love the idea of photo bookmarks. Not a bad idea for a crafty Fathersday for a dad who reads either!

I thought I was everso prepared for Father’s Day as I’ve been working on review products for the big day for months. Well, no. I still haven’t finally decided what to get my husband to thank him for being such a lovely dad so finding deals like this really helps! This Braun M90 shaver set is a good bet for any dad as it has been reduced by a lot and includes lots of lovely extras.

• Click here to get shaving with Argos

The Braun M90 gift set was selling for £34.99 so this deal is for less than half the original price. The kit comes with a Braun mobile shave M90 shaver, a premium Braun washbag, Gillette deodorant, moisturiser, face wash and a three year guarantee.

At this price you can probably get away with giving him just this, it is a very good kit and looks like you spent far more. Great for anyone on a budget. The reviews on the site also give it a big thumbs up, saying that it does what it should, looks good, and works well.

Thanks to wishihadadonkey at HUKD!

Do you remember when you used to have loads of time for shopping, relaxing, reading, watching TV or getting pampered? When stress didn’t seem quite so dominant? Yeah, me too. When you have kids your life can suddenly get a bit, well, regimented as you try to juggle everything and those lovely lazy moments are few and far between.

You also have the extra cost of raising a child and managing a family, which can be very limiting on book shopping or beauty treatments or extravagant holidays. So, today I went on the prowl for ideas that let you spent some time on yourself. Just you. And you won’t spend too much on the pleasure either.

To start with why not use the things you have at home to create a zen space just for you. This works just as well for Dads as it does for Mums and can even be a part of his Father’s Day present if you like. I know many men love lying in a hot bubbly bath with a good book and a glass of wine just as much as women do!

Take a look at some of our ace bath product reviews that we’ve done this year and you’ll see some great products at really low prices. The Tesco Skin Wisdom range is one that really springs to mind as they have a phenomenal range of products at low, low prices. I have used these on my husband and he really likes them as some of the scents – like gingerlily and orange – are not excessively sweet and feminine.

Run the bath, make it bubbly, turn on the music, pour some wine (or whatever your poison) and relax.  Relaxation has become an increasingly essential item on the modern to-do list. We work harder, we live faster and we do far more than previous generations and it is taking its toll on our bodies and minds.

Giving yourself permission to take an hour out for a hot bath or to lie on the sofa and read is more about ensuring you stay healthy and well than you realise. Stress can cause illness, affect digestion and blood pressure, it can provoke depression and self-destructive behaviour.

Relaxation does the opposite. It improves your energy levels, helps your cardiovascular system and improves life longevity.  If you are feeling forgetful, your body aches all the time, you’re irritable or struggling to sleep, then it is very likely that you are juggling an unhealthy amount of stress. Allow yourself to stop and rest. To unwind.

While simple tasks like hot baths, reading a magazine or falling down in front of the TV can offer you benefits and help you to unwind, they are not as effective as deep meditation or exercise can be, especially on a regular basis.  Take a look at my feature on how to get fit for free if you need ideas on how to improve your exercise regime and start incorporating small amounts into your day. It’s as important as buying milk, making sure you have nappies, and paying the bills.

Being creative also helps to relax you. It inspires you and feeds your creativity which will make you better at doing your job.  So, why not make your own bath scrub (it would make an ace Father’s Day pressie) by mixing coarse sea salt with essential oils and almond oil? Just add 15-20 drops of the essential oil to a mixture of sea salt and four cups of almond oil and stir it up vigorously.

Rub the salt onto your skin in a clockwise direction to boost circulation and exfoliate the skin. Choose essential oils that are designed to relax and calm you like lavender and make sure you know the risks if you are pregnant.

If the idea of going to all this effort for some R&R doesn’t appeal to you in the slightest, then why not use some cheap alternatives. Local beauty schools offer discounted treatments for people willing to let students practise on them. I am so bad at putting on nail polish that I don’t mind if a student is a bit wonky and that I only pay a fraction of the usual price. You can find a list of beauty schools in your area at Beauty Finder.

Also, why don’t you do all of these things with your partner. It can be so difficult to keep that fizz going when you are both tired and stressed and working all hours. I know that my husband and I have once gone for three days without doing more than saying “HI” because we’ve both been so busy working and juggling our children and our jobs.

Spend time together in the bath, giggle like teenagers, stick bubbles in each other’s faces, be stupid and laugh. In fact, before you go any further watch this movie because laughter really is the best therapy.

The Garmin Nuvi 205W sat nav is one of the better known sat nav brands and well worth getting as a lovely Father’s Day present for the man who has everything except satellite navigation. Down to a lovely £49.97 at Currys, this is a good price for one of these gadgets.

• Click here to get sat nav with Currys

The Garmin Nuvi 205W sat nav system comes with City Navigator NT maps for the UK and Ireland which are displayed with an incredible level of detail on the 4.3inch backlit colour screen. You only have to touch the screen to enter your destination and the system will lead the way.

It includes voice prompts and a host of routing options including eco-route that calculates the most efficient way there. It also gives you route avoidance so you can avoid tolls and highways plus it will auto reroute if you are stuck in traffic or have to take a diversion.

The system has lots of extra features that include photo navigation and an anti theft system.

Thanks to Wowhats at HUKD!

You can't possibly have missed the fact that it's Father's Day on Sunday; yes, THIS Sunday!

Yesterday was my day for buying all the various Father's Day present and card paraphernalia for the children to present to their dad on Sunday; I must confess to feeling rather smug that I have all of this done and orgainsed before the day before.

Giving cards is one of my most favourite things about occasions, it doesn't matter if it's birthdays, Christmas, anniversaries, 'just because' or Father's Day. I love spending ages choosing the perfect one and the teenagers often refuse to stand near me in card shops because I'm often reduced to a giggling mess with tears rolling down my cheeks.

Personalised cards make for the ultimate in perfect cards, in my opinion and we asked PlayPennies mum, Ella, to order three such cards from Hallmark to test their quality and service.

There are lots and lots to choose from - cute ones from the kids, funny ones and spoof ones; first Father's Day ones (they're a lovely idea, the first Father's Day is always super special I think) and Grandad ones.

I'm really not sure when our father's fathers got in on the act, it's FATHER'S day...not Grandfather's Day.

Anyway, Ella duly paid a visit to www.hallmark.co.uk and chose her three cards; here's how she got on and her thoughts about the Hallmark experience.

Personalised Hallmark Father's Day Cards

"I choose the iPhone card as my other half hates iPhones, including mine, so I got it for a joke," Ella laughed. "It was quite good fun, as I was able to add silly captions underneath all the icons on the iPhones."

Ella also ordered The Pun card; she told us she has always found the newspaper style cards hilarious.

"I could edit some of the little captions on it, to say personal things about family and friends."

To cover the 'cute cards from kids' angle she also choose the Daddy and Daughter card.

Some of the cards can be personalised with photographs.  In my experience it's worthwhile choosing which photos you're going to use before you start personalising your card, it just makes the whole process smoother and quicker.

So, your pictures have been sorted and you've chosen the cards you want to personalise; the next step is to create your Hallmark Personalised Father's Day card using their online card maker.

"The online card maker was fairly straight forward, for anyone who is used to making personalised items online," Ella told us, "Obviously if you've never used a personalised photo service it might take a bit of getting used to, but it's nothing too tricky."

Ella's used to doing this sort of thing online and going through the process did highlight a couple of things she felt were a little awkward or missing.

She reported there wasn't an 'undo' button, so you can't go back a step if you make a mistake or don't like what you've done and was disappointed she couldn't add an image to the inside of the card; this is something she's been able to do before on other personalised card making sites and would liked to have been able to do again.

Ella also told us, "The positioning of the photos was a little tricky, I had to keep re-selecting the zoom tool and the move tool, to get it right. But I got there eventually, and managed to position the photos where I wanted them."

Once your cards are made you need to go through the checkout process; Ella confessed to us how surprised she was to discover there was a postage and handling fee.

"I was spending £9, and the order total came to £9.81," she said. "There's no link at the bottom of the page about handling fees, it's not mentioned at all until you get towards the end of the checkout."

Hallmark do mention their  postage and packaging fees in their price guides, but if you're like Ella, who freely admits she never reads them and just jumps straight into things, you could be in for a bit of a surprise; the larger your cards and order the larger your P&P costs are going to be.

And finally...

All of that said, Ella was very happy with her Hallmark personalised Father's Day card results.

"The cards were of a very high standard. They were on thick card, and the printing was good quality," she said, "The outside of two of the cards had a nice glossy finish but the newspaper style card, the finish was matte."

Ella doesn't recall reading any notice about this being the case on the Hallmark website and confessed she would have preferred it glossy.

Prices for personalised Hallmark Father's Day cards start from £2.00 for small ones, £3 for medium and large cards will cost you £5.99; there's a full money-back guarantee if you're not completely happy with the results.

If you order before 2pm, Monday to Friday, Hallmark will post your cards to you by first class mail that same day, so you've still got time to order yours in time for Father's Day (this Sunday, remember!).

www.hallmark.co.uk