Unique Twist on a Classic Father's Day Gift: Soap-on-a-Rope

Bill Cosby said it best, "Fatherhood is pretending the present you love most is ''¹..."soap-on-a-rope.'" Father's day and soap on the rope are forever connected in my mind along with the unmistakable scent of Old Spice and a bag of red pistachios. In order to keep part of this tradition going with my children, minus the spicy aroma and red dye, we made a batch of soap for the important dads in our life. Shaping the soap like fish, the soap-on-a-rope gift looks like a good catch.

For your soap-on-a-rope gift you will need:
2 pound block of glycerin soap for each batch
Food coloring and fragrance oil if desired
8-inch square baking pan
Wax paper
Fish shaped cookie cutter
Wooden skewer
Cotton Twine

How to make a string of fish-shaped soap

Melt the soap in a double boiler or the microwave according to manufacturer's instructions.

Drop food coloring into the hot soap until it is the desired color. Add scent at this point as well if desired, a drop of Old Spice, maybe? If you are making several batches like we did, you can color some fish red, others blue and leave a batch clear to mix up the "catch."

Line the baking pan with a sheet of wax paper. Allow the paper to hang over the sides to make it easy to remove. Pour the melted soap slowly into the pan. Let cool for several minutes.

Lift the wax paper to remove the layer of firm soap. Use a fish-shaped cookie cutter to cut out fish from the soap. If you do not have a fish-shaped cookie cutter, you can form one from an old tin can. Remove the top and bottom of the clean and dried can. Use pliers to create a fish shape.

Poke an eye and a mouth hole in each fish with the skewer. Place a piece of clear tape on one end of the cotton twine. On the other end, tie a large knot. String the fish by threading the tape end through each mouth hole. Tie a knot in between each fish to keep the soap separated.

Present to dad in a plain cardboard box lined with tissue paper and decorated to resemble a tackle box or cooler. My kids are little jokesters and decided to slip their soap-on-a-rope in a Chinese take-out container. They wrote, "sushi" and "Happy Father's Day" around the outside. Even if it is the tried and true soap-on-a-rope gift, it will be a surprise. For my dad, I am throwing in a bag of natural pistachios, because some traditions should be tweaked.


More by Sylvie Branch:

What I learned from my dad
Gifts for Car Guys
Homemade gifts kids can make for dad, uncle or brothers