My dad was never one for holidays. If he bought a gift it was because one of us kids bugged him until he caved and then he'd buy the wrong thing. After his heart attack in 1999, he completely changed his attitude about holidays and became extremely creative in not only gifts but, in how they were given. 

One year, just before Christmas, Dad came knocking on my bedroom door. He asked if I had any Avon boxes on hand. I handed him the only one I hadn't thrown away and asked why he wanted it. He had me follow him in to his bedroom where he proudly showed me a beautiful black cowboy hat. He then showed me a ring that he'd bought in addition. He stuck the ring in the band of the hat and placed it in the box. Grinning, I left him to his wrapping and went about my business. Later, he brought me the gift and asked me to hide it in my room.

Christmas morning he was like a kid himself watching her open her gifts. It amused us all that Mom took the hat out of the box without even seeing the ring in its band. We had to draw her attention to it.

Another of his great ideas came on Mother's day. He bought Mom her very first set of golf clubs so that he could take her golfing with him. He also bought her the Mystic Fire ring she'd been wanting for a while. He slipped the ring into one of the golf bag pockets and proudly presented her with the clubs. Mom, bless her heart, began to unwrap each club. After a few minutes, I couldn't take any more and I asked if he'd bought her any golf balls. She checked the pockets and he beamed when she found the ring.

Even though I was grown when Dad became involved in the holidays, I am warmed by these later memories. I loved watching Dad with the grandkids on Christmas morning and I loved watching the pride on his face when he gave Mom the gifts he'd bought himself, without having had a kid buzzing around his ear. It made me smile when he would plan gatherings for Mother's Day or Mom's birthday. My Dad went into the new millennia with the determination to make my Mom as happy as he could manage. Holidays were important to her and to us and so they became important to him. I loved watching that evolution. It made the holidays even more fun because we were not quite as worried about what we got as we were anxious to see what Dad had in store for Mom.