John Gruber at Daring Fireball nails what it means to be a Dad at Christmas:

Late last night, inspecting Santa’s handiwork, a simple thought occurred to me. A decade or so from now, when, say, I’m waiting for my son to come home from college for his winter break, and, when he does, he wants to spend his time going out with his friends — how much will I be willing to pay then to be able to go back in time, for one day, to now, when he’s eight years old, he wants to go to movies and play games and build Lego kits with me, and he believes in magic?

How much then, for one day with what my family has right now? How much? Everything.

The truth is, I’m the luckiest person in the world today. I hope you are too.

This time of year can drown in stressful chaos, if you let it, or you can bathe in the glow of the best day ever.

That trip to Disney World was one of the greatest times of my life.

A video meme that modern parents are loving to do to their kids is surprising them with a trip to the happiest place on earth. The concept is simple, whip out the video camera and start rolling as the kids piece together where they’re going on vacation.

Disney encourages the meme by building ad campaigns around “the surprise”.

I couldn’t do that with my kids. They’d have no clue.

Maybe it’s because we’re trying to raise character kids without characters, but Zacharie is 4 and has no idea what Disneyland is. He doesn’t know who Mickey is. Has no clue about Goofy, Space Mountain or any of it.

My mom is starting to talk about wanting to take her grandchildren to Disneyland (to continue the trend her mother started) and I couldn’t be more thrilled – because then I won’t have to do it.

I went with my ex-wife and stepdaughter to Disney a number of years ago and it felt like my Grad night in high school – the experience could never live up to the anticipation.

The lines are long, and the rides are lame. (Especially if you’re going with the 6 and under set). How many buggies driving past painted characters that pop out can one handle? It’s crowded. Expensive. Stressful, and, honestly? Boring.

I took my sons to our local amusement park, Calaway Park, this past summer. I didn’t have to pay for parking. You can get an annual pass for cheap. The lines are measured in minutes, not hours. They had bumper cars, trains, twirlies, merry-go-rounds, log rides and popcorn – things Disneyland has without any of the stress.

That day in the summer with just me and my 2 boys was spectacular. They loved going on the rides and running around the park and playing the games. And I didn’t have to go all the way to California or Florida to make that magic happen.

I love re-living life through the eyes of my children. I love the genuine thrills they have at discovering something new. Perhaps if my sons had an inkling as to what Disney is I might be more excited to see that dream come true, but as it stands now – I’m not going.

Are you doing “The Disney Thing” with your kids?

The devices come built in with stock charts, email, and a camera, but that doesn’t cut it on Christmas Day

Here’s a list of 55 apps to get on your kids’ iDevice before they unwrap the excitement.

Tickle Tap Apps has over a dozen apps that they bundle into collections [$3.99 each] of fun games that are perfect for toddlers.  They’re interactive and make silly sounds.  They help them count, explore, sort and laugh.

The Monster At The End Of This Book [$3.99] and the sequel Another Monster At The End Of This Book [99c] are must installs if you have children under 5.  My two boys play them over and over and over again.  The classic book starring Grover (and the sequel with Elmo joining) is beautifully re-imagined as an interactive story.  You still “turn” pages, but the way interaction has been woven into the game is hours of giggling fun for the kids.

Another incredible book app is The Fantastic Flying Books of Morris Lessmore. [$4.99]  It’s a book that reads like a Pixar movie and each page has another interactive element for the kids to take part or a puzzle to solve.  This one has been “read” dozens of times by my boys.

Wood Puzzle Maze HD is a great old school toy given the iPad app [$1.99] experience.  Your child can practice problem solving with over a dozen different mazes that have them dragging puzzle pieces on a board as if it was a slot wood puzzle.  My boys took to this app immediately doing them over and over and over again.

Balloonimals brings the fun of our favorite family restaurant to our own kitchen table for $1.99 (or a free trial app).  All you have to do is choose a balloon, blow on the microphone and shake and twist the device to make your own Balloonimal.  You can touch them to perform tricks and of course pop them to start fresh again.

Buld A Train is a fun way to play witih an old school train set anywhere. Your kids choose the engines and cars they want on their train and then can swipe through a variety of track environments from mountains to islands to towns and cities.  They control the speed and the horn as the train travels in loops. They can even flick the switches to change the path of the train to pick up and deliver cargo.  Recent updates to this app make it worth the $1.99. 

For more, check out the 36 apps I use the most on my devices.

This article was originally published at The Future Shop’s Tech Blog.

New media is so easy to create anybody can do it. It’s becoming pervasive. We can all write a blog, we can all post to YouTube, we can all become iReporters for CNN with our smartphones and Twitter for breaking news.

But because new media is so omnipresent and so easy to create, it doesn’t feel special. Old media is still important and makes your differently when you get recognized by it. (Ask any blogger. There is a legitimacy added to their work when they are recognized by old media)

I’ve had my own blog for years but yesterday when my son was Kid Canada on Kids’ CBC, I beamed with pride. He’s been on YouTube from the day we could first here his heartbeat and my channel has nearly a quarter million views, but my. son. was. on. TV!

I wanted to tell everybody I knew.

And then this morning we’re in the Globe and Mail. I’ve got a blog network that has had more than 500 000 views. But that’s old hat. Today I’m in the paper all across Canada.

Don’t get me wrong, print is dead. I read this Globe and Mail article online last night a full 12 hours before I could get it on my doorstep. The way we consume our news is changing, digital is supplanting physical as the medium of consumption.

Unfortunately when print dies that special feeling of recognition it brings goes away too.

Or you can get them to go and get you things. First, start off small. Have them go and pick up your shoes before you head out the back door. Have them get the remote that is just out of reach on the other end of the couch. Have them open the garage door when you go outside.

Then, once they’ve established the ability to consistently follow directions, you’re ready for the good stuff. Have them go to the fridge in the basement while you’re on the couch upstairs watching the game and get you a beer.

The best part? They are totally eager to do it and pitch in.

Kids are good. They bring you beer.

What’s your favorite trick you’ve taught your kids?

First the backstory: Carol Aebersold and Chanda Bell are a mother daughter team who came up with the story of The Elf on the Shelf. After sending out their idea to major publishing houses, only to be turned dow, they self published.

They created CCA and B, which stands for Creatively Classic Activities and Books, alongside Bell’s twin sister, Christa Pitts. Starting with only 300 copies of The Elf on the Shelf, CCA and B has since sold over 1.5 million copies. Not bad.

The tale of the Elf on The Shelf was created to help add believability to Santa’s magic monitoring the naughty and nice list. He dispatches elves to watch over the kids, and then each night the elf returns to Santa to file a report. By morning the elf has returned to his home, but situates himself in a different room.

We told our 4 year old that you could write to Santa and ask him for an elf to watch over you. We “wrote an email” to Santa and 2 days later a box appeared on our stoop. Your children are supposed to name the elf, and that’s what triggers their magical powers. My son chose George as our elf’s name, and I filmed the naming to add a little movie magic in post production.

It’s the moving each night that mystifies the children. My son absolutely lost it the first morning he saw George in a different place. He couldn’t believe it was happening.

Each morning he now runs around the house to find where the elf has moved. He has conversations with him about his day and even says “Goodbye George!” as he leaves for school each morning.

It’s been a fun addition to our family’s tradition, and even better that it was a small, home-based, mother-daughter idea that gave birth to this multi-million dollar empire.

I run marathons for Team Diabetes.

I’m not a diabetic. I don’t have a direct connection to anyone with diabetes in my immediate life, but this is the cause I have chosen to support for selfish reasons – it makes me healthy.

Type 2 Diabetes is reaching epidemic proportions in our country. More than 9 million people are living with diabetes or prediabetes, an illness that is, mostly, preventable.

Recent estimates show 90-95% of those with diabetes in Canada have Type 2. That’s 8 million people, almost a quarter of our population, that are drawing on our health care system’s resources unnecessarily.

1 million Canadians don’t even know they have diabetes, the 7th leading cause of death in Canada.

Preventing Type 2 Diabetes is easy. Eat right. Get active. Care about your body.

That’s it. It’s that simple. So, by being a part of Team Diabetes, and setting annual goals of marathons, 10k races and half marathons around the world, I’m putting a finish line ahead of me and dangling a carrot to watch what I eat and keep active.

It’s that simple.

While doing that, I’m creating awareness about diabetes. I’m educating friends, colleagues, listeners and readers about how nasty this disease can be and how easy it is to prevent. Hopefully I inspire other people to get on board and join Team Diabetes to get their own health on track and keep themselves out of the system.

I’m also raising money as I train and prepare for the Team Diabetes raises (more than $20 000 so far) to help researchers find an end to this illness. While Type 2 Diabetes is largely preventable, there are still those who are Type 1 Diabetics, those who were “born with it” and didn’t have a choice in how their pancreas controls their blood sugars. Pregnant women are also susceptible to gestational diabetes and the money I raise helps fight that side effect some face while going through the miracle of life.

It’s important we all give back in some way in our lives. Scan the comments on Erica’s post and see if there’s something that inspires you.

I’d love it if you joined me on Team Diabetes.

I’m currently recruiting people to come on board for a 10k, half marathon or marathon in Reykjavik, Iceland in August 2012. You have more than 9 months to do the training and get the fundraising done. As you get on board, you’ll be putting you and your family on a healthier path, you’ll be raising money to help others living with diabetes and the carrot at the end of it all is a trip to the land of fire and ice (flights, accomodations, transfers, training are all covered by your fundraising with Team Diabetes).

I can’t think of a better day to join – today is World Diabetes Day, the birthday of Sir Frederick Banting, the Canadian who discovered insulin 90 years ago.

Join me and become a Diabetes Champion.

To monitor it you could do some fancy statistical analysis or you could just look at two hashtags on Twitter. #kidcount and #yyc are the tags people are using to track trick or treaters in their communities around Calgary.

Many are talking about few if any kids coming around.

@MalloryEvasiuk wonders where all the trick-or-treaters are in #yyc i remember as a kid mom would count 300+ kids per year i have had 10 #sad #morecandy4me

@TSG36 I had a total of 3 kids this year-3 more than last yr…where are all the trick or treaters in New Brighton?! #kidcount #Halloween2011 #yyc

@DarciBrianne Only 41 kids tonight. Thats depressing considering we used to get about 150-200. =( #yyc #kidcount #shawnessy

@JenFuchs Next kid that comes gets the rest of the bowl! #kidcount #yyc

I had a blast walking the 4 blocks around our neighborhood with my son tonight. I stood at the sidewalk chatting with other parents, laughing and smiling at the kids and their costumes.

I soaked in the enthusiasm of youth and bathed in the politeness of my boy saying “Thank you! Happy Halloween!” to each neighbour and then bounding down the driveway announcing “Daddy, I got more candy!” as if it was some biblical breaking of bread and fish that was producing his bounty.

@Pistachio we fell in with a crew of 5 neighbor kids and 2 other parents and our posse of 10 had a grand time going door-to-door and chatting.

That’s what this night is supposed to be about. The normal quiet streets of suburbia bursting at the seams with giggles, sharing and small talk.

Then you scroll the hashtags and you find that this neighborly enthusiasm wasn’t a city-wide event. Then you see what the schools are doing by discouraging kids to dress up and you see the spirit of the season start to fade. Not everyone was on the streets mingling.

Kiri W wrote a great post today with 7 reasons why you should take your kids out.

Halloween is one of the only times in the year that it’s normal to knock on the door of an unknown person, have that person happily open the door, have a bit of a conversation and leave with everyone feeling good about it.

Shopping centres host trick-or-treating events because it gets a prime demographic through the doors to spend a couple hours window-shopping. They’re billed as “safe” alternatives, giving the false impression that neighbourhood trick-or-treating somehow isn’t safe. Taking your kids to the mall instead of exploring your neighbourhood sends your kids the message that commercial entities are preferred (more trusted?) than people down your street. [source]

It’s all about breathing life into the community and sharing a festival with friends and strangers alike.

I wonder why the numbers are shrinking? Stats Canada says the population of trickers and treaters (5-14) is dwindling in the country, but I live in a community surrounded by 3 schools 5 playgrounds and the houses are less than 8 years old. This is a “young family community.”

If you took your kids to the mall for Halloween, you’re part of the problem. Stop being afraid that something bad is going to happen. There were dozens of us on the streets having fun tonight. It should have been hundreds.

What was your kid count? Who do you think is killing Halloween?

So I haven’t really had a chance to boast about either of my boys – until this week.

My son is on a box of Cheerios. Let me say it again. CHARLIE IS ON A BOX OF CHEERIOS!

Last year we entered him in the Cheerios Milestones contest. The grand prize was a $10 000 RESP from TD Bank. That’s worth an entry, I thought.

You had to write a paragraph about how Cheerios were part of a milestone in your son or daughter’s life. For us, as with many, Cheerios marked the first solid food our boys could eat on their own. I told the story about how Zacharie would help us make sure there were only 5 Cheerios on Charlie’s tray because if there was any more, he would throw them around the kitchen. So Cheerios became a counting tool and a finger food.

In January I received a call from General Mills saying Charlie (nickname The Chooch) had come in second in the contest. That meant a year’s supply of Cheerios AND .. .. .. HIS PICTURE ON THE BOX!

The best part about Charlie winning is that our oldest, Zacharie, has always thought he was on a Cheerios box. When he was 3 this picture was in the bottom corner. He insisted it was him in the photo – it’s not. So when Charlie won the contest we reminded Zacharie it was “Charlie’s turn to be on the Cheerios box.”

We’re pretty certain The Chooch was the cutest out of the 20 finalists in the contest, but congratulations to Melody for picking up the grand prize and to all the kids who get bragging rights for a lifetime .. pictures on a Cheerios box!

The prize winning box is on shelves across Canada. Point at The Chooch and wave tomorrow morning over breakfast.

My son hates getting wet. Can’t stand a splash on his sleeve or drop on his drawers. The moment he’s damp, he’s naked. I brought him to a radio promotion at a car dealership, my co-host brought her new puppy. My son played with the dog’s water, spilled it on his shirt – and immediately stripped down faster than you can say fahrvergnugen.

So what do I do on our daddy date to Calgary’s Calaway Park (the local amusement park)? I take him on the log ride.

“I don’t want to get wet, Daddy!” he whined while we waited in line. Each log would tip over the edge and cascade in a huge splash every 30 seconds.

“We won’t get wet,” I lied. “See how the water splashes OUTSIDE the log?”

He wasn’t buying it, but the line moved fast enough that I could get him into a seat and past the point of no return. The first bump came and my jig was up.

“I DONT WANT TO BE WET!” he screamed. Thankfully, he kept his shirt on.

“I WANT OUT!” was his next demand as he clawed the side of the ride.

We tipped over the top edge and screamed toward the puddle at the bottom – and got soaked.

Oh, he was not happy. Bawling, screaming, wailing like I had beaten him the entire 45 seconds of our trip on the water.

I immediately raced to the photo booth at the end of the ride and forked over $9 for the picture. A ridiculous amount, but when you’re a bad dad you’ve got to pay your penance to have the moment captured forever.

I was a bad dad today. And it was the best day ever. I’ve got the pictures and video to prove it.