16 Days to 16

Our youngest child, daughter Brooke, has reached Sweet 16. It’s a bittersweet moment, as most parents know. We want our kids to grow up and venture into adulthood. But it’s not always easy watching this happen. But I digress.

Months ago, Brooke shared a TikTok (sorry, I don’t remember the creator) with us, showing a countdown to Sweet 16. The idea is to get one gift each day for 16 days leading up to the big day. My wife and I agreed this was something we were going to do. To her credit, my wife and my mom hit the store and stocked up on the gifts. I was responsible for getting the parts to create our ‘game board’ and document each reveal.

Here’s how we did ours. My wife cut out 16 holes into a piece of poster board (in the shape of a 16). Each hole had a disposable coffee cup lid with a number inside. The lid was then covered with a couple of pieces of tissue paper. The 16 gifts were wrapped and numbered, and each day Brooke would poke through the tissue paper, reveal the number, find the corresponding gift, and open it.

The gifts were pretty simple; an inflatable sloth for our new pool was the first thing she opened. Other things included a Starbucks gift card, chapstick, accessories for the car to listen to music, and items for a spa day at home.

It was a fun 16 days, watching Brooke go through the process. It was another one of those bonding moments my wife and I got to share with our daughter. It is something I think all of us will remember, and who knows, maybe she’ll do this with her children one day.