Christmas is that time of year where we are left wondering, pondering, scrambling. Just what on Earth am I supposed to get for dad this Christmas? Mum’s easy, Aunty Jean and the sprites are equally easy to buy for. But dad, well, he’s a whole other kettle of fish. He wasn’t very impressed with the year before last year’s homebrew kit, even though he’s a big fan of beer. Socks and jocks he’s mildly appreciative of, but it doesn’t show much originality. That time I got him a boxed set of Top Gear went over okay, but it’s gathering dust now.
So what exactly are you going to get dad for Christmas? The guy that never yearns for anything and is always a bit bemused by your choice of gifts? Well, this Christmas, I recommend you go big or go home. Like, really big. Think about literally the biggest present you’ve ever got your dad. Maybe it was a widescreen TV or a new tree for the backyard. Think bigger.
Think… A shed.
Yep, that’s exactly what I got for my dad last Christmas, and lo and behold; he was actually pretty stoked about it. Granted, it’s not the first thing that you would think of buying dad for Chrissy, but this one was a winner.
The idea came to me one time I was visiting the folks. I rocked up, and mum took me out on the veranda for some tea and biccies, saying, “Your father’s just busy pulling out the lawnmower”. Cut to about 5 minutes later, and dad emerges from our lousy old wooden shed (which now has a lean to it), red-faced and swearing. He has the lawnmower, but it looks like it took him a considerable effort to get it out.
“**** empty paint tin fell on my head and why is all that baby stuff still in there!!?”, He roared. I was suppressing giggles, but it was a pretty funny scene. He storms over to the house before he catches a glimpse of me and straightens up a bit, breaking into a wide grin. “Ah, number one child! You’ve rescued me from my lawn mowing duties. Thank YOU!”. My dad is funny sometimes.
While he appeared to think the whole situation was the grass’s fault for growing too long and the lawnmower’s fault for being an awkward size and in the wrong place, what I saw was our old lousy shed being the cause of his problems.
And so, the idea formed to replace it. I had a chat to mum about later on in a sneaky phone conversation, and she seemed delighted at the thought. I also thought it was a great chance for them both to clean out all the useless rubble in the shed that’d accumulated over the years.
So, I did some research and checked out some shed providers. It turns out there are some great designs out there in pretty much any size you could dream up. In consultation with mum, we picked out the best shed for the job (one that was far larger than the current one) and put the order in. Instead of getting a professional installation, we agreed that it would be a great bonding opportunity for me and dad to put it up together.
He loved it. And he loved putting the shed up with me too. While there were still a few, swear words thrown about during the process, we were both super proud when it was all up and good to go. So, if you’re thinking about what to get dad for Christmas, then why not consider a garden shed?