60th Birthday Present: 60 Reasons Why You’re Loved

My dad is 60 years old today! Happy, happy birthday!

As my father’s birthday approached, I knew I wanted to do something extra special.

Back in February, I talked to my mom and aunt about an idea I had that involved a lot of people from my dad’s past.

I wanted to reach out to the people that mean the most to my dad and assemble a list of 60 things that they love about him. I wasn’t sure how I would present this to him until I saw this idea on Pinterest. I felt inspired to print each statement off on a separate card and seal it in an envelope, so I could present 60 separate envelopes filled with loving words to my dad on his birthday. 

I reached out to everyone I know who means a lot to my dad. Childhood friends, colleagues, old neighbors, family members and scuba diving buddies. I requested just one sentence from everyone that began with the words, “I love…”

When the sentences started rolling in, I got more and more excited. People wanted to share more than one loving thought and the contributions ranged from hilarious to heartfelt. I found myself laughing and crying as I read everyone’s emails. I couldn’t wait to see my dad’s face when he read their thoughts!

Once I had most of the sentences assembled, I drove to Hobby Lobby to pick up craft supplies.

I bought cards, envelopes, labels, stamps and ink. I wanted the gift to look homemade with a vintage flare.

I stamped each envelope with a number from one to 60.

I then formatted the cards in Microsoft Word and printed each loving sentence on a separate card.

And here’s where the fun came in! Whenever possible, I included an old photo of my dad with the person who wrote the sentence printed on the card in the envelope.

He got a big kick out of the flashback photos!

Once I had the envelopes sealed, I stacked them in numerical order and tied them together. I included a label on top of the envelopes that read, “60 Reasons Why You’re Loved.”

Underneath the label was a picture of my dad when he was only 16 months old!

 

I cannot tell you how much fun it was to watch him open each and every envelope.

“Timmy wrote one!?”

“Sharon? You got Chuck and Grady!?”

It was very apparent how touched he was to read such loving words from his closest friends and family. And he deeply deserves all of the love that came his way!

Happy birthday to my dad. 

I love you!