YourHub.com \\ Camarillo \\ Blogs \\ Family & Community \\ Home & Family

Blog Entry 8 of 47 What's happening in YOUR neighborhood?

Hi everyone, I'm the YourHub.com editor for the Ventura County Star. I'm glad you found your way to the blog section. If you're not familiar with them, "blog" is simply short for "Web log" and you can think of it as an online journal where you can wax philosophic on subjects large or small, international or personal. Just remember if you choose to add the blog to the YourHub listings, anyone can read what you write. My blog tends to be about random thoughts and observations that hopefully will spur conversation either on local topics or local effects of wider-reaching topics. Please feel free to leave comments with your own views -- or better yet, start your own blog and write about it!

Blog Url: http://vc.yourhub.com/~BeccaBlog

Fathers Day thoughts

e-mail to a friend | print this | link to this

Contributed by: Becca Whitnall on 6/14/2007

Dads seem to get the short end of the tie when it comes to holidays. For Mothers Day there are flowers and brunches and gifts galore. For dad, well... not so much.
With Fathers Day just past, it's something I'm noticing a lot. And it's not just in my head.

In fact, an article I read recently said that about 86 percent of Americans say they spend more on moms than dads and a National Retail Federation survey found that while folks were planning to spend a whopping $16 billion dollars for Mothers Day spa visits, roses, jewelry and such, dads were only getting a measly $9.9 billion in the way of wallets, golf games, and Frys gift certificates.

Yeah, I know, it's the thought, not the amount of money, that counts ...if that's the case, my own dad's Fathers Day gifts are worth a ton.

My brother, sister and I spend huge amounts of time trying to figure out what to get him. It's not that he's any less deserving of some special treat or treatment than my mother, but he's a lot harder to think of gifts for. If there's something he wants or needs, he's just more apt to go get it himself. And he has a very specific idea of what he wants.

So instead we get him something he doesn't know he wants. And on occasion doesn't want. This isn't just a Fathers Day occurrence. We run into the problem on his birthday, Christmas, etc., and we've had to get creative.

This year we chose to stay away from the live lobster delivered to Mom and Dad's door in a Styrofoam cooler (go ahead animal activists, let me have it; but I hear they were delicious). And as we'd already put in an extension on Mom and Dad's back patio (to accommodate the big patio swing we got mom for Mothers Day) last year, we went back to giving him some clothes and silly but intriguing toys we found.

He actually enjoys the toys, I think, if for no other reason than the grandkids like to play with them and we all end up having fun together and probably that's the best gift.

And so another Fathers Day has come and gone. I may not have found the perfect gift but I've avoided resorting to giving dad a tie for another year.

Still, I don't know how bad that would really be. I imagine you can buy an awful lot of nice ties for 9.9 billion bucks.

< Previous: 'Fathers Day thoughts' | Next: 'Fathers Day thoughts' >

[Report this as objectionable content.]

SUBMIT COMMENT

Rate the above blog