The Dad Gift Guide

Our son is two and is now at the age where he grasps onto ideas and family traditions. Unlike the previous holidays, this year he will actually remember what he got. My wife and I have already knocked out gifts for our son (and most of our family for that matter) just out of protest of the holiday hustle that brings out the chaos in all our lives.

As we gear up for long lines, increased traffic and nonstop Christmas consumerism, I’ve been reflecting on additional small, but meaningful gifts I could give our son this holiday season. It’s such an impactful list, I checked it twice and wanted to share it with you in hopes we could grow it:

• The gift of my attention. I try to put the phone down and on “do not disturb” when I get home from work. With a new job and running a dozen social media accounts between work, podcast and personal, I sometimes fall victim to needless scrolls and checks of the inbox that takes me away from focusing on my job at home. That’s why I’ve pulled all social apps into one folder called “NOISE” and put it in a place that I’d have to work to get to just to take a moment of my attention away from him.
  
• The joy of one more improv song. I like to sing and now my son is trying to find his voice, too. We’ll sing in the car, during diaper changes and before bed. Each improvised duet together is one more memory and one more closer to our last song together as he gets older. I’m ready to teach him the 12 Days of Christmas just to spread the joy of song with him this holiday season and to ensure I get the most time possible singing with him.
• The gift of five more minutes. Some of us want five more minutes in bed, while others want five more minutes of screen time. My focus is to give the gift of five more minutes. That’s 300 more seconds of hikeball (football) or grounders (rolling of the baseball with his new glove) or even one more round of hide and seek. We all can find five more minutes in our days.
• The excitement of one random adventure. We have a little hiker on our hands. He loves exploring the woods and now that he has his first backpack he likes it even more. I also introduced him to the world of fort building. Either way, I’m going to try my damnedest to give the little guy a great December adventure. I have a few ideas and close to pulling it all together. 
• The everlasting memory of… In all honesty, I’m not sure what that memory is going to be, but I want to make one. I want to make one so badly that I actually think it would be the best gift I could receive this Christmas.

​As we enter this holiday gift giving season, I hope that you dads reading this are able to give the gift that keeps on giving to your children. Let’s keep this list growing. Please, comment below, and add to this list!