A Taylor-Made Life: A local Father’s Day celebration

This past Father’s Day, I challenged myself to gift my dad something unique and local. This turned into the idea I had written about last month for Mother’s Day – posing the challenge of keeping gift-giving local.

Holidays, birthdays and just-because days are great opportunities for supporting local businesses and organizations. And there’s plenty of local goodies available for dads at any stage in their fatherhood.

For dads who enjoy beer, put together a fun basket of locally made brews from BrickStone Brewery and Knack Brewing & Fermentations. For those not into beer in the traditional sense, grab a half-gallon of homemade root beer from Jaenicke’s.

For dads with a sweet tooth, you could do a basket of sweet treats. Grab cookies from spots like Sweet Darren’s (in the mall), Cakes & Goodies in Bourbonnais (Mom’s Chocolate Chip is my favorite) or Candy & Cake in Bourbonnais, and put together a basket of delightful confections. Or, you can pop by the farmers market Saturday morning and grab several sweet items (like from Sweet Darren’s or the mini doughnuts truck) and have it ready to go for Sunday’s holiday.

Last year, I did a mix of sweet and savory and got my dad a cookie, mini doughnuts and some Cranky Mike’s popcorn. I usually grab him some Jaenicke’s root beer for his birthday as it seems to coincide with the hot dog stand’s last day of the year.

If your dad is interested in history, take him to visit the Kankakee County Museum or the French Heritage Museum. Both have a root in local history but with information spanning other areas that will interest those who aren’t from the area.

If Dad likes history with a bit of architecture, take him to the B. Harley Bradley House in Kankakee. This is Frank Lloyd Wright’s first prairie-style design, and this year marks the house’s 125th anniversary. There are a number of fun events on the schedule, including a Sip, Shop & Stroll event on June 17 with live music.

If none of the above sounds appealing, any parent would love quality time with their children, so mixing a gift that allows a chance to make memories is always a winner. Happy Father’s Day!