Is that from the 70’s? And who is ‘Price’?

I'm Ben from MyRadDad.com

What is one of the most exciting things to do when you are a kid? It is open presents. 

In my family my dad is one of those re-gifters, but not in the normal sense of giving away gifts that were given to him. Oh no, he would take things from my brother and give them to me, or he would take things from some 70’s high school athlete and give it to my sister.  

He built a habit of this and soon it became part of our family tradition.

I was a young boy and had just opened up the sweetest, most incredible, coolest Seahawks jacket I had ever owned.  And to make things even better my older brother, who I idolized at the time, already had the SAME COAT!

Next was my brother’s turn to open a present.  What the heck?!!  He opened another of the same Seahawks coat, but he already had one.  That’s when the suspicion set in. 

I started doing some investigative work on my coat and discovered, although the coat had been cleaned thoroughly, the paint on my buttons had peeled off.  Someone had already worn this coat!  

I meandered over to check out my brother’s coat.  OH COME ON! His buttons are brand new, in fact his whole coat is brand new.  That means… My dad wrapped up my brothers old coat and gave it to me for Christmas, and gave him the new coat!

Just a few Christmas’s later my oldest sister, a senior in high school at the time (1996), asked for a letterman jacket.  My dad got his daughter a letterman jacket just like she asked.  It’s just that there were two glaring problems with it. One, it was from the 1970’s with one of those sweet zipper hoods. You know the ones that lay flat when they are unzipped. Two, the jacket had… (wait for it)… someone else’s last name on the back! Who is ‘Price’?

These events are not your typical “traditions”, but they formed and shaped the traditions our family has today.  They are all a part of my favorite tradition in our family, which is … Laughter!

My family is incredibly close.  Whenever we get together it ends up a laughing fest. Whether it is making fun of dad’s re-gifting, laughing at my brothers enormous head (seriously… the guy uses a sleeping bag as a beanie and I can’t let my children get too close to him because they’ll start orbiting around his head.) or laughing at both my sisters’ attempts at trying to be funny.  There is always laughter.  At birthdays my family sings Happy Birthday completely off key, at different volumes, different tempos and it sounds like total chaos.

I poke fun at them in this post, but my family is unbelievably amazing and has shaped me into the person I am, and the father I am to my children. They have helped form the traditions I am bringing into my own family.  Whether good or bad, it’s in me. Each Christmas I find myself crawling through the attic finding extra presents the girls can unwrap.  

I hope and pray my wife, three girls and I have the same level of relationship, trust, love and tradition as my family.  I sure am working my hardest to create that for them.

(I'm Ben from MyRadDad.com and I approve this post...  Vote Ben!)

From the Judges:

Daddy's in Charge pretty much said exactly everything I was thinking. I loved the post, but it didn't go in the direction I thought it was going to, and it kind of left me feeling wanted. I think it could have been wrapped up a little bit better if you would have talked about some of the traditions you started with your girls, or something like that.

-Tessa Taboo

I loved the beginning... The whole story about your dad and the gift giving was classic. I thought for sure that you would have continued along those lines with your kids, but it almost seemed to me that the post fell apart after that. Once you started on about laughter being the family tradition it lost me. I was actually kind of disappointed that it didn't continue along the same lines as the beginning. I did get a good idea of who you are out of this though which is a good thing. It just would have been nice to see you get your daughter a Seahawks jacket or something, because that's where I thought it was going.

-Daddy's in Charge?

I can appreciate that you were trying to highlight laughter as an important everyday tradition in your family toward the end. But I agree with the other judges that the post, as a whole, kind of threw me for a loop once you transitioned away from talking about your (very hilarious!) Christmas tradition.

Your story about the Seahawks jacket was classic, though. You really had me laughing.

-The Spaghetti Westerner

I think your dad's a genius for even thinking about "re-gifting" items. It's just too bad you found out about it. And I love the photo that shows your brother's big head with something orbiting around it! LOL!

I like your opening and where you were going towards the middle part. Like the other judges, I did not see the "Laughter" part coming. Perhaps recounting a time when you re-gifted something (which also resulted in laughter) would have been a better ending.

-Bay Area Mommy

Dang. What else is there to say? I do love the photo, but I have to agree with all of the other judges' comments. I was hoping for more. That's really less of a criticism as it is an expression of my genuine disappointment.

It felt like a stretch. I know writing to a prompt can be a challenge. Maybe try focusing less on the assignment when you sit down to draft. Write the way you write, then revise and edit to fit the assignment.

Minor note: Double-spacing after each sentence is antiquated. It was fine for secretaries with typewriters, but you're a modern dad. The single space is your friend. Embrace the single space.

-From the Bungalow

I must say, laughter is so important! It brings us together as a family, it gives us things to talk about at awkward family gatherings, it makes for great blog posts. I appreciate that you made me laugh and I completely relate with the re-gifting.
Unfortunately, I must agree with the other judges. The change in topic threw me for a loop. I was hoping for more about how YOU have continued the tradition with your girls.

- You Know It Happens At Your House Too (Guest Judge)