Whether you love or hate the phrase “we” are pregnant, one thing is for sure — having your first child is a transition for men as well. It’s a transition worth celebrating especially as involved fathers, paternity leave and stay-at-home dads are increasingly the norm.
And now during COVID, as many dads are working from home and spending more time with their babies, it's time to give them a celebration of their own.
Enter: the dadchelor party, a baby shower just for men.
Celebrate the dad-to-be: Dadchelor party ideas
Becoming a dad: Why dadchelor parties matter
Does every dad want or need a dadchelor party? Of course not. Do men go to baby showers? Of course they do. But who is to deny a man who is excited to rise to the challenges of fatherhood a moment to celebrate with friends and family.
There are those who are making this “dadchelor” moment their own, too. Justin Galster, a 35-year-old dad-to-be from Oakland California, decided to take one last boys trip before his daughter arrives. He and two college friends drove from the Bay Area to a cabin by a lake in the Sierras, stocked with expensive cuts of wagyu beef, hundreds of dollars worth of craft beer, nice wine and some tequila. They took long hikes and brought Nerf guns, laser, footballs and frisbees.
“We did what we used to do in college,” Galster told Mom.com — except, of course, this trip involved following Covid protocols. But the weekend was also punctuated by what he calls, “quiet moments of recognition with my friends.” He was going to become a dad. And, dadchelor or not, recognizing that was always the point.
