Let’s face it, for all the crass commercialisation, over-hyped adverts, and endless repetition of bad music, Christmas time is magical for families.
And it’s fair to say that, with work and money pressures forgotten for a week or two, dads like to make the most of it.
Oh we really do. We make the most of it in ways that are often unique to dads: original, amusing, and sometimes just wildly over the top. Here’s our rundown of dads doing Christmas time in a way that is just so DaddiLife!
Dads do decorations
Credit where credit’s due, getting those decorations up can be tricky without the height and heft of a dad. So this one goes out to all the dads dragged off the sofa to put stars on the tops of trees and stick paper chains to the corners of ceilings. Christmas wouldn’t be Christmas without you.
Dads wear the pants – and the jumper
We don’t just wear the embarrassing Christmas jumper, we wear it with pride. In years to come our children will look back on those old photos from years gone by and think: “There’s dad, getting into the spirit of the season by wearing a really bad jumper. We love that guy.”
Or something like that.
Dads ace the Xmas shopping
Mums like to spend hours Christmas shopping, pushing their way through packed and overheated department stores and shopping centres. For dads, Christmas shopping is akin to a hostage rescue by special forces. We plan ahead, move in quickly and get in and out before anybody notices. And here’s How to Dad with another top notch tip for shopping with small children:
Dads love those Xmas toons
There’s nothing like hearing dad belting out “Fairytale of New York” in the shower every morning from 1 December on. Really, there’s nothing like it.
You see, for all our protestations, many of us can’t help getting into those cheesy Christmas hits come December, belting out Slade and Wham classics and much loved Christmas carols to our heart’s content. And, of course, to the delight of our children.
Dads build impossible dreams
What would Christmas Day be without the sight of dad silently seething as he fails to construct the mega-super-duper toy (with its 200 ill-fitting parts) for the tenth time? Yes, the instructions are rubbish. Yes, a crucial part is missing. But dads persevere. It’s what we do. Even if it takes till Boxing Day, the train set/garage/space station will get built.
Dads sometimes get it wrong
Although we always try our very best, we sometimes get it wrong and buy our children the wrong presents at Christmas. But we are dads and accept responsibility without complaint, and never even blame Santa. Sometimes we get punished rather harshly for it.
But mostly dads get it right
For all that, dads love Christmas. We love it because we get to spend lots of time with our children, at their most playful and happy. We love it because we can share their joy. We love it because we can wear matching jammies and not give a hoot. To all the good dads out there, have a very merry Christmas with the kids.
Wishing you a very happy Christmas from all of us at DaddiLife
