5 Ideas for Spending more Time with Dad

Dads are all about advice, practicality, and fun. Spending time with your dad is guaranteed to involve some important insight, some teaching, and laughs. For a lot of us, it’s all too easy to spend family time with Mom or with everyone together. Family time is important, but so is time with each parent individually and time with Dad is probably less common than time with Mom for a lot of us. When you’re searching for something to do with your dad, consider helping him with a project, joining in on a hobby, starting a new hobby, scheduling a recurring dad date, or learning from him.

Help with a Project

It seems like our dad's always have a project going on, from fixing an old car to putting shelves in the hall closet. When you’re looking for a way to spend time with your dad, he will appreciate a practical hangout involving an extra hand in one of these projects. This also gives you an option to learn something from your dad while you work. If your dad doesn’t have a project going on, suggest one. Build some raised beds for gardening, install better lighting in his basement , or re-tile the bathroom. Not only is it practical, you’ll increase property value in your parent’s home, and spend some time with your dad in the process.

Take Part in Each Other’s Hobbies

Take turns taking part in each other’s hobbies. One weekend, go golfing with your dad. Ride the cart, try to learn the right technique, and ask your dad for advice on your swing. The next weekend, take your dad with you to go kayaking. Even if you aren’t the biggest fan of his hobby, and him not a fan of yours, it’s still fun to support each other and do something new. Keep your dad’s limitations in mind as well, if he’s got a bad knee you might not want to take him on a difficult hike. Instead, encourage him to have a hobby that gets him outside while still remembering limitations. Things like metal detecting might seem like a cliché hobby for an older man, but it has a lot of positives for older folks . Walks in the park, bowling, and woodworking are all other options for spending time together with a hobby, it’s just important to remember ability as well as interest.

Take a Trip

Dad-cations are a blast and can be designed based on anything you and your pops are into. Consider taking a trip to a car show in Vegas, a concert in a nearby city, or to a pro football game for the weekend. Instead of eating at nice restaurants like Mom would want, eat at breweries and try new beer. If you and your dad want a more adventurous vacation, consider consider trying some outdoorsy locations for your Dad-cation. Whether you’ve done it or not, there are plenty of tours and guides to help learn to fly fish, whitewater raft, surf, or whatever other outdoor sport you’d like to try on your trip. While sitting in the bar, driving to your destination, or hanging out in your hotel room, take this time to really talk to your dad and hear his stories.

Schedule a Dad Date

Make your dad date something that works for both of you. Maybe it’s just watching the football game together every Sunday, maybe it’s going to your Grandma’s together to mow her lawn every weekend, or maybe it’s dinner together every Monday. This is a much more low-key and casual hangout for you and your dad, but it doesn’t make it any less meaningful for the both of you. Your time with your dad doesn’t have to be a big vacation or even a long planned trip. It can also be something that fits seamlessly into your schedules without much disruption.

Learn from Him

Spend time with your dad by learning from him. He won’t be around forever, so it’s a great idea to start learning as much from him as you can. If you’re looking for something to do with your dad, ask him if he can come over and teach you how to change your oil. Ask him for a night to show you how to cook your favorite BBQ chicken that he makes. Chances are he’d love to help you out and would love to share his knowledge with you. If there’s anything that your dad can do that you always need his help with or that you’ve always admired, ask him to show you how to do it. Dad wisdom isn’t around forever, to take advantage of it while you can.

Father’s Day is a day to celebrate our dads, but it’s not the only day where we should make an effort to spend time with our dads. Whether it’s helping your dad fix the car, spending a day fishing, taking a dad-cation, watching your favorite baseball team, or learning to weld, it’s valuable time spent with your dad helping him, laughing with him, learning from him, and just being around him. Remember to spend time with your mom, spend time with your family together, but don’t neglect one on one time with your dad.


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#hobbies
#parenthood

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