What On Earth Is WADD?! Part 1

June 17 is WADD.  Aren't you excited?!

"Hang on," I hear you asking, "What exactly is WADD?"

That's pretty much what Dr Dad said last year, on the occasion of the inaugural WADD.

We spent the month leading up to June 17 evading his questions, however I'll spare you that process and just tell you straight up that WADD stands for...

We Appreciate Dad Day

It all started when I discovered my son reading an old book that I absolutely LOVED in my childhood, Secrets with Ciphers and Codes by Joel Rothman and Ruthven Tremain.

The night before WADD, after my other half was in bed, I covered the kitchen table with balloons, taped streamers across the door, and left him this coded message that the kids and I had created on the computer (Australian Curriculum, Year 3 and Year 4):

Before he could eat breakfast, he had to decode it.

"We Abbreviate Dad Day?" he said.

Each message from that first one led to a different part of the city that was special to him, with a different gift hidden at each location.

You can probably guess that the first one was at the Frog Ponds.

Number 2 took him to what he calls The Friendly Spot, a beautiful jetty.

The next one took us to the sailing club (Frog In A Blender is one of his previous boats).

And the final clue was really, really obscure... too obscure... but it took us back home, where we had a lovely dinner and mini-party.

SO...

It's almost time for WADD again... and I have a ripper of an idea to surprise him!  Stay tuned.

We invite you to celebrate the dads in your life with us!  Spread love in the world!  Please let us know in the comments your ideas for making your dad feel special.

If you liked this idea, try a fun family outing using our Leaf Hunt Printable, or How To Make Someone Feel Special For A Year!