Potential attendees are searching high and low for Father’s Day experiences to gift their dad.
So this year, why not throw one of your legendary events with a Father’s Day twist?
Choose an outlandish, immersive event idea so dads everywhere will bang down your door, begging you to let them in.
Our latest TRNDS 2024 found that attendees prioritize ‘experiences over things,’ so just stick to what you do best: creating life-changing experiences. The good news is that we’ve worked with thousands of event organizers globally, so we know how to do events well.
In this article, we’ll help move the idea train forward by revealing the best Father’s Day activities that appeal to every type of dad, from the sporty kinds to the tech lovers.
Find the best activities for your Father’s Day event
Father’s Day activities for the ‘I’d rather die than miss a game’ dad
Father’s Day activities for the ‘let’s hike at 5am and catch the sunrise’ dad
Father’s Day activities for the ‘fill my belly and my glass’ dad
Father’s Day activities for the ‘wishes he was a rockstar’ dad
Father’s Day activities for the ‘infinitely cool’ dad
Father’s Day activities for the ‘still a kid at heart’ dad
Need more inspo? Download our free Father’s Day activity guide!
Father’s Day activities for the ‘I’d rather die than miss a game’ dad
Men spend an average of nearly six hours engaging in sports activities every day, and we have a brilliant idea about how you can use this to your advantage. Set up an event with sport-related fun!
Dads will love their kids gifting them with their daily sports fix, and they’ll love you even more for creating an event that’s so gosh-damn fun.
1. ‘Our entire family…vs dad’: A sports trivia event
Effort: 🏋️ 🏋️
Cost: 💰
Fun factor: 🥳🥳
Give fathers everywhere a chance to flex their sports knowledge by hosting an epic trivia event night.
Collaborate with a venue like Carragher’s Sports Bar and have all father attendees compete head-to-head against their family members.
Use red tape to divide the bar into two sides: ‘Dad’s United’ and ‘Family Rules.’ Invite a local sports player to be your quiz master, and offer the winner of each round discount codes for drinks and food. This event is a great way to do some team-building with the family.
2. ‘Dad, the fan-boy’: A sports-beach party event
Effort: 🏋️ 🏋️🏋️
Cost: 💰💰💰
Fun factor: 🥳🥳🥳
Imagine this: You create a beach party event and invite attendees to arrive dressed as their favorite sports players.
When attendees arrive, they’re greeted by the smell of food trucks, a giant outdoor BBQ, and free beer tastings.
Then, they’re introduced to the ‘sports arena’ — a battlefield where dads can unleash their silly side by reenacting iconic moments from sports history with inflatable props.
💡Pro tip: Set up a banner at your event entrance so attendees can experience the euphoria of running onto the field before a big game.
3. ‘Quality time with dad… and his bat’: An outdoor sporting event (with a twist)
Effort: 🏋️ 🏋️
Cost: 💰💰
Fun factor: 🥳🥳
All of the best Father’s Day experiences have a surprise element.
So why not put a fun twist on a traditional outdoor sporting day event by turning it into a zombie hunt?
Start by hiring a venue in a large field, like a paintball arena.
Then, divide attendees into teams of ‘zombies’ and ‘hunters’ and have them ‘fight to the death’ in ridiculously fun sports tournaments like an ultimate water balloon fight.
Father’s Day activities for the ‘let’s hike at 5am and catch the sunrise’ dad
As crazy as it sounds, some people purposely wake up before 6 am — and for some of us, ‘those people’ are our very own fathers. So why not create unique Father’s Day experiences that embrace an outdoor setting?
4. ‘Picnic on the rocks’: An adventure day event
Effort: 🏋️ 🏋️🏋️
Cost: 💰💰
Fun factor: 🥳 🥳🥳
If you’re looking for an inspiring event theme, we have an idea for you.
We call it the ‘outdoor oasis’ — a wonderland filled with every outdoorsy experience imaginable. We’re talking archery sessions, fishing competitions, and even a rock-climbing wall.
Start the event in the morning, and then at sunset, give attendees the option to purchase a pre-made picnic dinner filled with locally sourced goods and a branded picnic blanket.
💡Pro tip: If you want more inspiration on what activities to include, look at OUTSIDERS events.
5. ‘Welcome to the future of camping trips’: A glamping event
Effort: 🏋️ 🏋️
Cost: 💰💰
Fun factor: 🥳
Don’t create an event for Father’s Day; organize a Father’s Day weekend.
Here’s what we’re thinking: An outdoor ‘festival of dad’ filled with live music shows, wine-tasting pop-up tents, and movie screenings.
It’ll be a callback to classic family camping trips (only with more booze and fewer bugs.)
Father’s Day activities for the ‘fill my belly and my glass’ dad
This year, choose a unique event idea for the food and drink-obsessed fathers. Don’t settle for a conventional workshop with a world-class chef for the ‘beer connoisseur’ or the ‘king of sweet treats.’
Instead, go all out.
The perfect gift for a foodie dad is an event that excites the senses, so make sure your event serves up finger-lickin’ food and gives attendees a chance to get their hands dirty!
6. ‘Card games on tap’: A beer-tasting game night event
Effort: 🏋️🏋️
Cost: 💰💰
Fun factor: 🥳🥳🥳
What do you get when you combine the excitement of games night with the fun of a beer-tasting event? Epic Father’s Day experiences, of course.
Transform a warehouse venue into a pop-up casino from a Martin Scorcese gangster movie.
Then, set up rows of Black Jack tables and assign a card dealer and hostesses to each station. As attendees enjoy the thrill of the game, offer a rotating selection of beer samples, chicken wings, and cigars.
💡Pro tip: Reach out to a local brewery company about becoming an in-kind sponsor to save on costs.
7. ‘Sweet teeth food tours’: A dessert tasting event (with a twist)
Effort: 🏋️🏋️
Cost: 💰
Fun factor: 🥳
Add a dash of whimsy and sweetness to Father’s Day by turning an outdoor venue into a dessert lover’s dream.
We’re talking spinning cupcake rides, ‘name the dessert’ tasting activities, and even whipped cream-throwing competitions.
To make this event even sweeter, invite local bakers to participate in a timed ‘cake cook-off’ on stage and have attendees judge who ‘baked it better.’
8. ‘Monster vs food trucks’: A monster truck food festival event
Effort: 🏋️🏋️🏋️
Cost: 💰💰💰
Fun factor: 🥳🥳🥳
We aren’t going to lie; this might be one of our best Father’s Day outing ideas yet.
Picture hiring a rodeo arena with a grandstand and a large, open field for food trucks with a pop-up bar. You host the event at night, set up an LED light show, arrange for stilt walkers to sell ‘dad is a monster’ t-shirts to attendees, and feature fun truck-and-food-related carnival games like a ‘tire donut toss.’
The event will be a wild combination of a traditional street food festival like a dreamertainement event and 2Xtreme Monster Truck shows.
💡Pro tip: As a creative event promotion idea, ask food vendors to incorporate the theme into their menu, like serving fries in the back of a toy backup truck.
Father’s Day activities for the ‘wishes he was a rockstar’ dad
Music events in the US are expected to reach a whopping $16.98 billion in 2024. Take your slice of the pie by hosting a Father’s Day music event. You can choose to keep it PG and cater to the entire family or make it an adults-only event, so grown-up kids can spend some time with dad.
9. ‘Daddy cool’: A 70’s dance party event
Effort: 🏋️🏋️
Cost: 💰💰💰
Fun factor: 🥳🥳
You’re never too old to have a dance with your old man, so this year, give attendees the chance to boogie all night by throwing a 70’s-inspired dance party.
Take note from GBH’s Donna Summer Disco and lean heavily into the disco vibe. We mean it — if you don’t have streamers covering every inch of your venue and a disco ball lighting up the dancefloor, you haven’t truly captured the essence of disco.
10. ‘Dance with my father’: A music battle event
Effort: 🏋️
Cost: 💰
Fun factor: 🥳🥳
There’s nothing kids love more than witnessing their dad’s embarrassing dancing in public, right?
Allow fathers all over town to show off their ‘dad moves’ by hosting a music battle event. And no, we’re not talking about a hip-hop breakdance battle. We’re talking about a ‘robot vs chick dance-off’ where the cringier your moves are, the better.
💡Pro tip: To make your event more profitable, sell VIP ticket packages where attendees get ‘fast-tracked access’ and a free bottle of champagne at the door.
11. ‘Papa don’t preach’: A silent disco rave party
Effort: 🏋️🏋️🏋️
Cost: 💰💰💰
Fun factor: 🥳🥳🥳
Despite what you might think, not all Father’s Day events have to be family-friendly to be popular. In fact, adult kids will love you forever if you add a bit more spice to your event.
Organize a silent disco rave party at a top-secret, underground club where dads can let their hair down and get down simultaneously. To keep with the Father’s Day theme, fill the venue with ‘ironic’ dad jokes, like a cocktail list serving ‘dad-a-tonics.’
Father’s Day activities for the ‘infinitely cool’ dad
Some dads were born cool. They’re the Tom Selleck’s of the world, the whisky-drinkin’, cigar-smokin’ fathers who have far better taste than anybody you’ve ever met.
How do you impress such a specimen on a day as important as Father’s Day? By bringing your A game.
12. ‘Nice try sugar plum pie’: A movie event (with an unexpected surprise)
Effort: 🏋️
Cost: 💰💰
Fun factor: 🥳🥳
Create an immersive cinematic bar experience where performance artists help recreate iconic film scenes.
Partner with an ultra-cool bar, like Nothing Really Matters, and have waitstaff transform into different characters every hour.
One hour, they’re the creepy red waiter from The Shining, addressing your guests as ‘Mr Torrence,’ and the next, they’re characters from the Rocky Horror Picture Show.
For an idea this cool, you need an equally cool social media marketing strategy to promote it to your event community. The best way to do that is to partner with yours truly.
With advanced AI tools that help you write engaging copy and real-time data insights delivered straight to your dashboard, with Eventbrite, you can create compelling event ads that drive engagement and ticket sales.
Market your Father’s Day event with Eventbrite
13. ‘Come, our favorite people, return from the dead’: A haunted house event
Effort: 🏋️🏋️
Cost: 💰💰
Fun factor: 🥳🥳
Serious question: Is it fair that no Father’s Day experiences cater to horror fanatics?
We think not, which is why we’re begging you to make all of our dreams come true with a haunted house immersive experience for your next Father’s Day event.
Bring the spooky fun by encouraging attendees to dress up as their favorite horror film characters. Then, turn your haunted house into a lively party by setting up party zones, like the ‘witches lair’ or the ‘ghoul gathering.’
💡Pro tip: To add another layer of excitement, host the event in one of the freaky historic buildings in your local area and leave ‘notes from a ghost’ around the venue.
14. ‘Video games or Videodrome?’ : A virtual reality video game event
Effort: 🏋️🏋️🏋️
Cost: 💰💰
Fun factor: 🥳🥳🥳
There’s a special group of fathers whose favorite pastime is staying ahead of the curve with the latest tech trends and innovations.
We have the perfect activity in mind for the tech-savvy: a chance to participate in a real-life, role-playing video game event.
Set up a large space with project screens covering each wall. Then, hand out VR goggles to each attendee.
Throughout the night, the interactive gaming experience will transition from virtual reality adventures to immersive simulations or live-action role-playing games, creating a truly memorable experience that dads will never forget.
Father’s Day activities for the ‘still a kid at heart’ dad
Father’s Day should be all about ‘bringing the fun.’ We all know how stressful it is to be an adult at the moment, let alone a father. So give your attendees the chance to gift their dad an experience full of childish wonder.
Heck, we’d even set up a sign that says, ‘Worry or Stress of Any Kind Is Strictly Prohibited.’
15. ‘Adventures after dark’: A National Park circus event
Effort: 🏋️🏋️🏋️
Cost: 💰💰💰
Fun factor: 🥳🥳🥳
Nothing conjures up child-like wonder quite like the circus. So why not organize a late-night circus event in a National Park?
Feature multiple attractions and fun things to do with your dad with different circus tents spread out across the park. One tent could showcase a circus juggler, and the next could be a tight-rope walker — the excitement will be hitting all the tent landmarks and finding out what act is inside.
Just make sure you put QR codes outside the tent for any 18+ tents, like sword swallowing. If you need some inspo, Paranormal Cirque III is an excellent example of a circus event with an edge.
16. ‘Go-karts and stolen hearts’: A retro arcade event
Effort: 🏋️🏋️
Cost: 💰💰
Fun factor: 🥳
Bring back the good ol’ days of flared jeans and ice cream cones that cost 15 cents with a retro arcade event.
Partner with a large venue, like a fair showground, and conjure up a retro arcade out of thin air. We’re talking fairyfloss machines, pac-man arcade games, and hotdog stalls.
It’ll be the perfect summer party theme and an incredible night out with Dad.
💡Pro tip: Market your event on Instagram with the tagline ‘so many fun things to do with your dad, he’ll never want to leave!’
17. ‘Frankenstein and neon-lights’: A science-gone-wrong party event
Effort: 🏋️🏋️🏋️
Cost: 💰💰
Fun factor: 🥳🥳🥳
Okay, this one’s a bit of a weird one, but hear us out: a ‘monster mash’ themed event.
Think of it like a weird fever dream, complete with red strobe lights, bartenders with Frankenstein stitching, and body parts hanging from the ceiling.
Plus, it gives you a chance to finally use all of your crazy science, experiment-themed catering ideas, like an ‘exploding lava cake’ or a ‘slim shot.’
Give attendees experiences on Father’s Day that won’t bore dads to tears
Just like Mom on Mother’s Day, Dad deserves to feel a little bit (or a lot bit) spoilt on their special day.
Show your attendees that finding the best things to do with their dad is as simple as visiting your Eventbrite creator page and purchasing a ticket to your event.
Register with Eventbrite’s marketing tools to expand your reach and create event ads that catch people’s attention. Eventbrite has a 90-million consumer audience reach, so you can reach new audiences and sell more tickets!
