Home & Garden
It's not too early for Father's Day shopping
By Penny Heater
Jun 6, 2008 - 1:17:36 PM

In our house Dada rules. When we hear the garage door open at night a scream of "Daddio’s home!"can be heard several doors down while my son runs to the door and patiently waits at the top of the stairs for my husband. Dada can do no wrong in my son’s eyes. So to honor this man worthy of all this adoration I have found him a few Father’s Day gifts fitting for just such a superhero.

Technically this column is a week early, but as a couple of these gifts require some lead time I wanted to give you a week’s jump start.

Our first stop for the perfect Dada gift was at Kiln’ Time over on Bowman Road across from Kmart. I have to admit I was skeptical. A 2-year-old in a room with nothing but breakable ceramics and a dish full of paint did not sound like the way I wanted to spend my morning. Boy, was I wrong. We had a ball! In one hour we had created not just one, but three masterpiece-quality coffee mugs for Dada, Grandpa and Papa and never once did I feel like I was losing my marbles or would require a stiff drink, and all for less than $55 total. If, like me, you struggle with the creative side of your brain, take heart. They have tons of examples to get you started and even a book full of fun ideas. Your one-of-a-kind gift can be picked up usually within 2-4 days but they do get crowded for Father’s Day, so be sure to get there soon. Kiln’ Time is open Tuesday-Saturday from 10 a.m.-6 p.m., with a lunch break every day from noon to 1 p.m. Questions? Give them a call at 843-856-4811, and be sure to bring extra wipes for all those painted handprints you are sure to be making.

My mother-in-law often comments that my son is the most photographed child in the world. I am sure she means that in the kindest way. However, the funny thing is I have very few pictures of me with my son. Seems I am always the one capturing the memory. Normally this annoys me, but for Father’s Day it worked to my advantage. I went through our photos and found one of my favorites of my two guys and sent it off to www.art-hammer.com to have it magically transformed from a puny photo into an 11"x14" wall canvas for only $25. This site allows you to edit and even change the color of your photos - all for free. Once you pick your final photo you can then choose from a basic wall canvas or add an edge of either .75" or 1.5" for about double the price. You can blow up your picture all the way to 36-by-48 inches for only $150. Art Hammer beats attempting to get the two of them to a professional photography session with the same professional results. Order now and you can enjoy free shipping as well!

I realize that daddies aren’t as sentimental as mommas, so to balance his gifts. I have always appealed to his fisherman-wannabe side. My husband’s luck at fishing is, well, non-existent. The man repels fish. So to help his chances, I have registered him for a fun day of fishing at the Sewee Center’s pond fishing day on June 21. I am hoping that a morning spent fishing a stocked pond will up his fishing confidence and finally give him a reason to use all the fishing gear I bought for him last Father’s Day. Since the event is free, I have thrown in an Igloo Ice Cube Marine Ultra Roller Cooler I picked up on sale over at West Marine for only $63.99, regularly $79.99. This cool contraption allows him to not only put two fishing rods in the attached pockets but also holds up to 90 12 oz. cans of beer, the real reason he loves to fish.

While some days all I may see is the child lock left off the kitchen cabinet yet again or the mismatched, often dirty, outfit chosen by Dada, my son on the other hand sees pure perfection, and frankly who am I to argue.

Happy Father’s Day to our own real-life superhero in khakis.