Gifts for the Weekend Dad: Gear for the Days He Has the Kids

A lot of good fathers live by a calendar now. Every other weekend, a Wednesday dinner, alternating holidays. He's not a babysitter and he's not a guest. He's Dad, on a clock, and he wants every hour to count.

This list is for him. Nothing here is about decorating. It's all about doing something together that the kids will still talk about when they're grown.

Saturday Morning

Waffle maker

Saturday waffles are how traditions start. It's cheap, it's easy, and the kids get to pick the toppings. Ten years from now, that's what they'll remember about weekends at Dad's.

Big electric griddle

Pancakes, bacon and eggs at once for a crowd of short people. Even the apartment kitchen can handle it.

Getting Outside

Four-person tent

A tent that one man can set up while the kids "help." Practice in the backyard or the living room before the first real trip.

Kids' fishing combo

A starter rod sized for small hands. Pair it with a trip to a stocked pond, where the odds of a catch are good.

Youth baseball glove

Playing catch is a conversation without the pressure of a conversation. Some of the best talks happen with a ball going back and forth.

Beginner telescope

Moon craters and Saturn's rings from the back porch. It turns "it's time for bed" into "five more minutes, Dad." Check the moon phase before the first night out.

When the Weather Won't Cooperate

Family board games

Phones in a basket, game on the table. Pick a few that work across the kids' ages so nobody gets left out.

Instant camera

Prints they can hold, put on the fridge and take back to the other house. It's a small way to make his place feel like home to them.

Air mattress with a built-in pump

For sleepovers, cousins and the living-room campout when it rains. Look for a built-in pump so setup takes a few minutes.

He doesn't get every day, so he makes the ones he gets count. The kids won't remember the apartment. They'll remember Saturday waffles and the night they saw Saturn.