December is here and so comes the time for THINGS. The time when we start thinking about the many gifts, toys, crafts and everything we want to give to our kids for the holidays. It’s 2025 and gifts and toys are more vibrant and engaging than at any point in history — I’m certain of it. As parents, we want to give our kids all sorts of gifts. It’s a natural parental instinct to shower our kiddos with the very best playthings we can imagine for them. For my brothers and me, we loved getting army soldiers, knights, trains, hot wheels and Legos. For my sister, it was — yikes … I really don’t know. Maybe dolls? That’s what we got as kids, but now? We’re the parents. We’re in the driver’s seat. We have the ability to look into our kids’ lives and think about what would bring them the most joy imaginable and act on it. What a gift!
COME PLAY WITH ME …
For my daughter (who will be creeping toward 3 years old around New Years), I know she loves baby dolls, chalk, riding in her crazy coop — and simply playing outside. I can push her around in her crazy coop all over our driveway — and I love doing that for her — but there are times when she wants to explore and do other things outside, too. It’s not always easy to understand exactly what she’s looking for or wants. Sometimes she wants to be on her own and lead in her own play, but other times she has a role that she wants me to fill — and nobody else can fill it.
Yet, one of my biggest joys as a kid was when my dad would get a gift that he wanted and then invited me to enjoy it with him. It was slot cars. I was never particularly good at them, but being able to play with him and control the little cars going around the track was wild. Like some sort of initiation into a world of fun I hadn’t yet experienced.
I didn’t know what the “slot cars” meant when he first mentioned it with the huge box in his arms and an even bigger grin on his face, but they became trigger words for — let’s have fun, let’s compete and maybe even beat dad (I don’t think we ever did). That’s the bridge we get to create for our kids. Yes, there are times when it’s their world and how we fit into it, but there’s also times when we get to be the one who invites them into a new adventure. I think this is both wild and comforting to them that they get to be invited into our worlds and our joys.
A KITE
Recently, I bought a kite. A butterfly kite. I don’t think I ever flew a kite successfully as a kid and so this was new to me and I wanted to do something fun with my daughter. I invited her into a new adventure and all of the trial and (much) error that came with it. What I found is that while I thought I was doing this for her … I was also doing it for me. Truth be told, I like flying that kite. And truth be told, I flew the butterfly kite by myself in the front yard for Lily and all the neighbors and passers by to see.
Lily loves it when I get out the butterfly kite and being able to enjoy it and do it together is a good, good thing. I become young when I play and less caught up in the details of the adult world. I’m definitely not saying that we should just think of ourselves when we buy gifts for our kids, but I’m also saying that we get to craft adventures for our kids to go on with us. I think that’s something they love.
MORE FROM “THE DADSIDE”
- “I Ditched My iPhone for a Flip Phone,” Nov. 2025
- “Safe in Our Arms,” Oct. 2025
- “Toddler Travels Are No Joke,” Sept. 2025
- “Is THIS a Time Out?,” Aug. 2025
- “Pebbles in My Hands,” July, 2025
