When you dad always asks for practical gifts, what can you give him that he would enjoy and appreciate? Here’s what I did.
The photograph hints at the story. I sit on my new tricycle in front of the Christmas tree, the surrounding floor displaying my other gifts from Santa Claus. There is a book and a small chalkboard. There are other toys. And there is a small train track, the cars set up and ready to run.
My dad wanted to get me the train set. Despite my mom’s protests that “you can’t give that to a girl”, he thought it was a fine gift for any two-year-old child. Please don’t think my dad was a feminist. As the second of 3 boys growing up in the 1920s, he wasn’t often around girls. Since he enjoyed playing with trains at that age, he reasoned any child would.
I probably played with the train a bit, but the family joke was he bought it for me so he could play with it. My dad had to share toys with his brothers, but this time, he was in charge.
My dad was hard to buy gifts for. When asked what he wanted, he usually mentioned something practical that he needed. When I asked my mom what I could get him, she’d reply with equally practical suggestions, such as pajamas or socks. As he got older, his usual reply was “just come home for a visit.”
I would buy the practical gifts, but I always tried to find something extra to add to it, something unexpected that he would enjoy. One year, I had the ultimate idea. I’d get him his own train set for Christmas.
This one would be his and his alone – no sharing with his brothers, no pretending it was his daughter’s gift.
I bought a set that included track and a few cars, then added a second set of cars. Carefully wrapping the boxes, I put them under the tree, eager to see his reaction when he opened them. I didn’t often surprise my dad, but I crossed my fingers that this gift would.
The look of joy on his face when he tore off the paper and saw the box is one of my favorite Christmas memories. I don’t think he stopped smiling for hours as he continued to pick up the boxes and look at them.
Over the next few days, he carefully padded the dining room table, then lay a piece of painted plywood on top. Next, he attached the track, then set the cars in place. He turned on the switch and watched his train come to life, spending hours watching it go around, making any adjustments that were needed.
Over the next few months, he added more cars and more track to handle them. Visits from grandchildren gave him a chance to show off his train set, their young eyes fascinated at the scene before them.
A few years later, my parents moved and the train set sold at a garage sale. It seemed my dad had finally played with it enough to let it go.
It was over 30 years ago when I gave my dad his own train set for Christmas, but the memory of the joy on his face that morning will stay with me forever.
