Dashing Dad’s Holiday Gift Guide & Giveaway!

Nov 19, 2019

6 min read

Welcome to the second annual Dashing Dad Holiday Gift Guide!

This year’s focus for the gift guide was on mental health. I wanted to provide you opportunities to take a break, relax, go on a date, or to give back. Each of the products included in this years gift guide were added to help you relax, to help your health, or to provide you sanity at home. Parenting is hard work 24/7 and we all deserve some mental relief.

In addition to all of the gifts listed below in my Holiday Gift Guide, I wanted to focus on giving back this year. That’s why I have created this donation page, with all proceeds going towards the Children’s Hospital Foundation.

By donating to the Alberta Children’s Hospital Foundation you help to ensure children receive the best care possible by supporting child health programs, specialized life-saving equipment and advanced pediatric research. Your donations are invested in the hospital’s highest priority needs and thanks to these donations, the Children’s Hospital is becoming leaders in the fields of childhood cancer, life saving care and brain health.

My goal is to reach $500 and I’d love your help! Whether you’re donating $1 or $100, every little bit helps. Visit my donation page to donate now.

Additionally, members of Dashing Dad’s Inner Circle get a discount code for $20 off of one of the products listed. Sign up for the Dashing Dad Inner Circle and enter to win at the very bottom of this post!

The Holiday Gift Guide

We Are Knitters

At first glance, knitting and knitting products aren’t something you would think to find on my gift guide. Knitting, however, has many proven benefits from keeping patients from ruminating about their problems, to reducing the awareness of chronic pain, to relaxing people as much as, or more than yoga.

We Are Knitters is a sustainable knitting brand that offers knitting patterns and kits for all ages. The brands latest – the Cable Collection – includes 8 different knitting kits perfect for staying cozy, warm, relaxed and occupied during the cold winter season. It also makes a great stocking stuffer and holiday gift idea, The collection was created around the knitting technique ‘cable’, which resembles braids and offers 8 different kits that can be used to create everything from beanie hats to scarves, sweaters and ponchos that will keep you stylish and warm this winter.

For more information on We Are Knitters, visit their website here and check out all their collections.

Jaylife13

Jaylife 13 Sensu Pack

While Jaylife13 might sound more like a screen name than a brand of outdoor gear, it actually comes from the owners name combined with his favourite number.

The benefits of being out in nature are well documented. It’s been proven to reduce anger, fear and stress and increase pleasant feelings. It contributes to reducing blood pressure, heart rate, muscle tension and the production of stress hormones.

I’ve written TONS of posts about our love for getting outdoors and the Jaylife13 Sensu waterproof pack will help you do just that.

Made from 500D PVC the Sensu pack has welded seams so no water can get in. The zippers are weather-proof and it has a built-in, padded computer bag. Whether you’re journeying to the jungles of borneo or heading on a family outing to Fish Creek this pack will keep all of your stuff safe and dry.

Check the pack out here, and visit my Amazon Shop to purchase! Subscribers to my mailing list get a code for $20 off of a pack along with free shipping for anyone located in Calgary. Sign up for my mailing list at the bottom of this post.

BuddyPhones

I’ve written before about our disaster of a road trip and the tips and tricks we used for flying with a toddler and of the few things that made these trips ok, headphones was one of them. If traveling long distances without having your child scream and cry the whole time isn’t a sanity saver, then I just don’t know what is.

The BuddyPhones are the perfect headphones for kids and come in two wireless options – the Play and the Wave.

The PLAY headphones were created with fun-loving kids in mind. They have four distinct SafeAudio listening modes, connects wirelessly with over 14 hours of battery life and, perhaps most importantly, comes with kid proof durability.

Meanwhile, the WAVE headphones are perhaps the best headphones ever made for kids. They are the world’s first waterproof and wireless kids headphones. They come with 20 hours of battery life and feature all of the same great qualities as the PLAY headphones.

Additionally, each pair of headphones comes with:

Micro-usb charger cord
BuddyCable audio sharing cord
Soft travel bag
Custom nametage stickers

Visit my Amazon Shop to purchase a pair.

Avenida Food Hall

Enjoying a good meal and checking off all of your Christmas shopping in one place is the perfect de-stresser in the holiday season. I grew up in Lake Bonavista, so I was thrilled when Avenida Food Hall opened in a space that has been a revolving door for businesses since I was 10.

Avenida Food Hall & Fresh Market isn’t a typical food court, nor is it a standard farmers’ market. In fact, they’ve brought to Calgary something the city has never seen before: an upscale urban food hall incorporating the elements of farmers’ markets which Calgarians know and love.

So what exactly is a food hall?

A staple in both historical European cities such as London, Paris, and Lisbon and in vibrant North American metropolises such as New York, Boston, and Montreal, food halls offer diners a unique opportunity to experiment, enjoy, and discover. They give visitors the chance to affordably and conveniently explore diverse tastes from vendors specializing in cuisine preparation and production methods spanning the globe. All with a local slant.

This Holiday season, in addition to their variety of food vendors, they will also be offering a unique mercantile concept with more than 40 vendors selling local products.

Some of the food and mercantile vendors in Avenida Food Hall include:

Planet Wrap beeswax wraps
Mex-Can Imports
Casa Corazon – Guatemalan Christmas tree ornaments, coin pouches and shawls
Adila Chocolaterie
High Country Soap Company
Sunworks Farms – for your Christmas turkey
So Fresh Produce
Grainz Bread Shop
Patisserie du Soleil
Devils Head Coffee
Sipilicious
Essential Honey
Sunshine Blends Kombucha
My Cheesecake Addiction
And MANY more!

Seed

I’ve written before about being a T1 Diabetic and what that means for raising my kids and I’ve also written a number of times about our mental health and why mine continues to be an issue. T1 Diabetes has given me ongoing stomach issues and because of that I’m always on the lookout for ways that I can make that better.

Seed is an ecosystem of scientists, doctors, innovators, entrepreneurs, storytellers, technologists, and environmentalists who are pioneering the inquiry, application, and communication of microbiome science to improve human and planetary health. Seed created the male and female Daily Synbiotic (combination of a prebiotic and a probiotic) which was developed for systemic benefits beyond digestive health, including cardiovascular, dermatological, immune, metabolic, and reproductive and has also been linked to helping combat depression.

These pills have a host of good things about them that go well beyond my comprehension, but what’s important to me is that the science behind the effectiveness of these pills has been validated in 23+ clinical studies.

You can read all about them here.

Rattlestick

Fiercely Canadian, Rattlestick is a family-run company creating handcrafted wet shaving brushes, razors, men’s skin care products, and artisan beard care products for men who are striving for excellence in themselves and the world. Rattlestick’s studio is located in the shadow of the Rocky Mountains. Every piece is made by hand, prioritizing local and ethical sources.

Personally, when I look better I feel better and Rattlestick helps every man look better.

Featured in GQ, Vanity Fair and recent winners of the inaugural made in Alberta Awards, Rattlestick is making quite a name for themselves.

Rattlestick takes pride in producing all natural, palm oil free, shaving products including Beer Shaving Soap. Their latest collaboration is with Village Brewery using their dark beer – Blacksmith.

Rattlestick soap contains 100% all natural ingredients, with a healthy dose of Beer. One thing you will note with Rattlestick Beer Shaving Soap is the way your razor will “slick” over your skin. This is purposefully created by using Bentonite Clay.

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*******Some of these products were gifted to me in exchange for coverage, however all products were included based on my own assessment and opinions.******