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Holidays
Time off together, gifts and giving, long drives to family, and handoff days between two homes. Plans for the holiday stretch, whichever holidays your family keeps.
11 plans · Most useful November and December · Every one says plainly whether a real dad has tried it yet.
The plans
Pick by age and time →
Spend, save, give: three jars
Three labeled jars, real coins, and one goal worth waiting for. Half an hour at the table, then two minutes a week.
Date night at home after bedtime
Kids asleep, phones in a drawer, food that isn't a weeknight dinner, five good questions and one game. Ninety minutes.
Pancake Saturday
Measure, crack, stir, flip. A real recipe a kid can make with you, and breakfast at the end.
Make-your-own pizza night
A toppings bar, a ball of dough for each kid, and one rule: Dad runs the oven. Everyone names and rates their pizza.
A two-person book club with your teen
Same book, two sticky notes each, one meal out. They pick first. You listen first. Every week or two, about 30 minutes.
Blanket-fort reading den
Two chairs, a sheet and a flashlight. Build the den, stock it with books and pillows, and read inside with the lights off.
Living-room campout
Tent or fort on the floor, flashlight games, a story in the dark, and everybody sleeps at camp. Battery lights only.
The car-ride talk: hard topics, side by side
One drive, one topic. Open small, ask and wait, say your one thing, and stop before the driveway. Side by side beats face to face.
A calm handoff-day routine
Pack the bag the night before, keep the exchange short and friendly, say the same goodbye, and go easy the first hour back.
Set a holiday gift budget with your kids
A set amount, a list of names, real prices and one handmade gift. Your kid plans it and tracks every dollar on paper.
Play their video game with them
Your kid teaches you their favorite game. You ask questions, lose a lot, then check the rating and the chat and spending settings together.
Tick a few on Start here to print them as one pack. Other times of year: Back to school · Winter indoor days · Summer break.