Dads Share the Sweetest, Most Heartwarming Father’s Day Gifts They’ve Ever Received

The stories on this list made us officially overrule our plan to get dad a tie he'll hardly wear.

Channel your inner fanboy

"My son loves Darth Vader (despite the fact that he's never seen any Star Wars' movies). Every week for a month when we would go grocery shopping, he would stop by the rack that had the key chains, whisper something to his younger brother and then nonchalantly ask, 'Dad, you like Star Wars, right?' It was obvious what I was getting for Father's Day. Unfortunately, I'm not a huge Star Wars' fan! Plus, there's nothing worse (for me at least) than a pocket full of bulging keys. For the past year, I haven't been able to put my keys in my pocket and everyone assumes I'm a Star Wars' nerd. But when I think of how proud my son was to give it to me, well, I'll always be sporting my Darth Vader key chain. I can only pray for a new key chain this Father's Day!" —Gerald Craft, Washington, father of two

Score special tickets to the big game

"This year, my twin sister and I are surprising our dad with tickets to an MLB All-Star game in Miami's Marlins Park when he comes to visit. (Our dad is a baseball-loving, retired Army veteran living in Panama.) He was here last on devastating terms, the sudden funeral of one of his closest friends, his brother. This return to Florida will be special for many reasons: a reunion, the game, Father's Day, and our dad's 60th birthday (also in July). Our dad is frugal and simple and rarely asks for anything; we knew we wanted to accomplish this dream for him." —Luisa Irene Yen, Florida

Outdo yourselves with food, music, and love

"For Father's Day, we have a tradition to visit new restaurants that play fun music. We've tried places that serve Russian, Argentinian, and Colombian food. Last year the family took me to a good ol' American cafe. We listened to country music on the way. I can't wait to see where we 'travel' this year and what new music we will listen to in the car." —Edward L. De La Loza, California, father of two

Start the day with "dad" pancakes. End it with a game.

"My favorite Father's Day celebration was two years ago. The day began with an amazing brunch with pancakes that spelled "DAD" and a picture frame from my daughter. Then we made a trip to Madison Square Garden to see a New York Liberty basketball game. My daughter and I were on the Dad Cam and we caught a free T-shirt and stepped onto the Garden floor." —Christopher Persley, co-organizer of NYC Dads Group, New York, one child

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Why Do You Believe in Superstititons? Here’s What the Science Says

Most Americans know superstitions are nonsense. But why do more than 50 percent of people still believe in them?

By their very definition, according to Merriam-Webster, superstitions are nonsensical: “A belief or practice resulting from ignorance, fear of the unknown, trust in magic or chance, or a false conception of causation.” In other words, a superstition is “an action that is inconsistent with science,” Stuart Vyse, a psychologist and professor at Connecticut College, told CBS.

Still, for a set of supposedly irrational beliefs, superstitions have a surprisingly large following. An estimated 17 to 21 million people in America. are afraid of Friday the 13th, 74 percent of those in the U.K. say they knock on wood to avoid bad luck, and 13 percent of Americans cringe at the sight of a black cat.

So why does more than 50 percent of the country, as per a recent Gallop poll, consider themselves superstitious? And why, even when people don’t truly believe superstitions can impact our fate, do they continue to participate in them?

For one, superstitions have been ingrained in our lives since the very beginning. “People teach them to us when we’re young,” Vyse, the author of Believing in Magic: The Psychology of Superstition, told LifeHacker. “They’re part of the lore of any culture. The basic process of socialization is a major part of it.”

Secondly, they can be a soothing control mechanism. “We live in a world where you can’t always control the outcome,” says Vyse. “Superstitions tend to emerge in those contexts. You do everything you possibly can to ensure that things will work out.” Together, those two factors have made a very real impact.

“One of the interesting things about superstitions is their seemingly arbitrary nature,” Tom Gilovich, a psychology professor at Cornell University, told CBS. “Like, why 13? Why black cats? Why can’t you walk under that ladder? It has no rational bearing. Yet somehow you feel like you’re tempting fate, and the outcome, a bad outcome, that could befall you is going to be worse because you deliberately did something that people say you shouldn’t do.”

Evolution might also be at play here. “A prehistoric human might associate rustling grass with the approach of a predator and hide. Most of the time, the wind will have caused the sound, but if a group of lions is coming, there’s a huge benefit to not being around,” Kevin Foster, an evolutionary biologist at Harvard University, told the New Scientist.

Speaking of the benefit of superstitions, many of the ones that indicate good fortune—a lucky penny or a trusty charm bracelet—can have their perks. In one study published inPsychological Science, researchers gave golf balls to all of their participants and told half that their golf ball was lucky. The subjects with the “lucky” golf balls made 35 percent more successful putts.

“Feeling lucky gave them a better sense of self-efficacy (a belief in your own competence), which then enhanced their performance with the golf playing,” Matthew Hutson, science writer and author of The 7 Laws of Magical Thinking, told LifeHacker about the study. “The same researcher did several other experiments where she crossed fingers for them or the subjects had lucky charms on them. Their superstition helped them perform better on certain cognitive tasks, memory games, and physical tasks.”

So go ahead and wear your trusty charm bracelet, and ditch your fear of Friday the 13th. It could bring you a little bit of—dare we say—luck.

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These Songs Will Give You the Best Night’s Sleep, According to Science

Music can make you laugh, make you cry, give you chills, shake your booty, or—as anyone who has ever attended an evening performance at the symphony knows too well—put you to sleep. Emerging research from sleep scientists around the world says that there’s a good reason for this, and now you can exploit it to make your own bedtime even cozier.

Music has been used in healing ceremonies for thousands of years and across cultures—but let’s talk about a surprising new study out of Hong Kong. Researchers found that study participants who listened to music for 30 to 45 minutes before bed every night for three months fell asleep more quickly, slept more deeply, and felt better the next morning. The catch: The songs they listened to were all set at tempos between 60 and 80 beats per minute—our approximate heart rate when falling asleep.

That’s right: You can literally trick your body into relaxing by syncing your heart rate with peaceful music. In this way, listening to music becomes a form of meditation; by mindfully listening to your surroundings, your heart rate slows, your blood pressure lowers, your anxiety abates, and life becomes a peaceful song.

Of course, the same is true of energetic music: The Royal Automobile Club Foundation for Motoring ranked Wagner’s “Ride of The Valkyries” as the world’s most dangerous song for motorists, thanks to a frenzied tempo (nearly 100 bpm) that challenges drivers’ normal sense of speed. (Saying “Sorry, officer, I was just Wagner-ing” probably is not a magic phrase to get you out of a speeding ticket.)

Armed with findings about the irresistible link between backbeat and heartbeat, sleep therapists have even begun collaborating with musicians to create what could become known to history as the chillest music ever. In 2011, the English trio known as Marconi Union worked with the British Academy of Sound Therapy to create an eight-minute instrumental track called “Weightless,” designed to lull the listener into relaxation through proven heart-rate-lowering sounds and tempos (beginning at 60 bpm, and stealthily slowing to 50 bpm by the end.)

And it worked, too. In a recent UK study, participants challenged with solving difficult puzzles while listening to various types of music showed a whopping 65 percent reduction in anxiety (and therefore an improvement in performance) while listening to “Weightless.” (That pretty much makes “Weightless” the anti-Valkyrie.) As an addendum, study moderator Dr. David Lewis-Hodgson of Mindlab International even said: “I would advise against driving while listening to the song because it could be dangerous.”

Want to boost your relaxation before bedtime? Make this your official playlist for a sweet slumber:

• “Weightless” by Marconi Union

• “Clair de Lune” by Claude Debussy

• “Canzonetta Sul-aria” by Mozart

• “Nocturne in E flat Major Op.9 No.2” by Chopin

• “The Boxer” by Simon and Garfunkel

Sleep tight.

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Every Book Lover Will Love These Sweet Stories About Local Bookstores

Jerry Seinfeld once said, “A bookstore is one of the only pieces of physical evidence we have that people are still thinking.” Well, it appears we’re thinking less, because there are fewer and fewer bookstores around. Writer/artist and Reader’s Digest cartoonist Bob Eckstein seeks to rectify that with his wonderful homage to these temples of thought, Footnotes From the World’s Greatest Bookstores (Clarkson Potter). It’s chock-full of sweet, funny, and poignant stories. And a few celebrities make appearances, too.

The Golden Notebook: Woodstock, New York

Once, a customer came in looking for a book for his daughter. Our children's buyer, Gaela Pearson, was busy trying to put together a cardboard book display. She told the man, 'I would be happy to help you. In fact, I'll give you 20 percent off your purchase if you help me put together this display.' He said, 'No, I don't need a discount, but I'd be happy to help.' Gaela and the man sat on the floor and assembled the display. The man bought a book and then left. Gaela's daughter, working in the back of the store, said, 'You know who that was? Didn't you notice his eyes were two different colors? That was David Bowie.'" —Jacqueline Kellachan, owner

City Lights: San Francisco

"We once received a letter from a young woman who wanted us to know, and hoped we wouldn't be mortified by the fact, that she had surreptitiously placed her father's ashes in various nooks and crannies throughout our poetry room. She said it was her father's favorite place in the world and she was comforted by knowing he was there." —Stacey Lewis, City Lights

Books and Books: Coral Gables, Florida

"One night when I was just about to close, my bookseller, George Henry Keen, tapped me on the back of my shoulder and said these seven magic words, 'Paul McCartney needs your help in fiction.' I showed him (his pregnant wife, and two bodyguards) around the store, but he was most interested in anything Dickens. He fondly remembered the Penguin editions he read at university and regaled me with stories of a particular literature professor who had a great influence on him."—Mitchell Kaplan, owner

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Tricks for a Picture-Perfect Gingerbread House

Get the right base

Without a sturdy base, your hard work could be ruined as soon as you try to move your gingerbread house. Cut down foam board the size of the spot you want to display your creation, leaving room for a sidewalk, trees, snowmen, or any other fun details in the “yard.”

Think ahead

Piping on intricate frosting patterns and attaching heavy candies is harder when your house is upright. Decorate your walls and roof while they’re still flat on the table so you don’t have to work against gravity at awkward angles or risk knocking down your creation.

Try a new glue

Icing is the classic “glue” for gingerbread houses, but it isn’t your only choice for keeping those pieces together. Glue is an obvious option, but purists who want only edible ingredients can still get that durability. On a mission to make an “indestructible gingerbread house,” NPR found that melted marshmallows, gummy bears, or caramels create a sturdy cement. In fact, melted gummies make such a strong bond that it’ll be hard to clean up, so keep your table covered with newspaper, wear gloves, and don’t bite into those sections.

Accept it will take time

To keep your creation from collapsing, give your structure plenty of time to dry before you keep building on it. Leave at least an hour after sticking the walls together before you add the roof, then wait another couple hours before adding decorations. Work on it for a little every day throughout the weekend, spend the waiting time watching Christmas movies with your kids, or try one of these useful things to do at home when you're bored.

Make accent trees

An ice cream cone makes a great base for a Christmas tree in your gingerbread house yard. Just dip one in white chocolate mixed with green food coloring. Decorate it with M&M ornaments, or add Rice Krispies before dipping to create a pine needle-like texture. Don't miss these creative ways to decorate your real Christmas tree.

Let it snow

Give your gingerbread house a white Christmas by covering the base with fake snow. Shaved coconut and silver edible glitter add texture with all the radiance of freshly fallen flakes.

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This Grandfather’s Sweet Christmas Tree Picking Tradition Will Warm Your Heart

These sisters always found a "perfect" tree behind Grandpa's house, but it wasn't by accident.

I was in my early 20s when I discovered the truth about the perfect Christmas trees my sister and I found each year in the forest behind my grandparents’ farmhouse.
When we were growing up, Colleen and I rode the train 300 miles from Seattle to Spokane every summer and Christmas vacation. Then we took a taxi five miles to the Greyhound terminal, where we’d wait two hours for the bus to Loon Lake. Forty miles and another hour later, we would hop out at the Loon Lake post office, where Granddad and Gammie met us with smiling faces and Granddad’s green 1954 Chevy pickup.

Our warmest childhood memories are of their farm on Grouse River Road. We bumped along on the broad back of their horse, Jenny, who was 15 hands high and blind in one eye. We milked cows and goats, slopped the pigs, ate berries off the vine and ran through newly plowed fields with dirt squishing between our toes, gathering worms for the chickens.
Christmases were always white at Loon Lake, with snow piled deep for building forts and playing with Blondie, our grandparents’ cocker spaniel. Before we finally ran inside to warm up, little balls of snow dangled from her long fur like Christmas ornaments.
But the fondest memory of all was when Granddad would hitch up Jenny and we’d trudge up the hill into the forest behind their house. It was slow going, partly because Colleen and I couldn’t resist flopping down regularly to make angels in the untouched snow. Then we’d search the grove of pine trees looking for that special one to honor as our Christmas tree. The search always involved excited chatter, for all three of us had to agree that we’d found the perfect tree before Granddad would swing his trusty ax.
After we girls gently guided the cut tree to the ground, Granddad would hitch it to Jenny and drag it back to the house. As we returned, we followed the snow angels back to our little bit of heaven on earth.
Granddad passed away when my sister and I were grown. Only then did Gammie reveal his secret: He’d pick out a tree early each spring, then trim and shape it through the summer and fall so it would be ready for our big day in December.
As Colleen and I raced through the trees searching for the perfect tree, he would cleverly guide us toward its location, without actually pointing it out. We always thought we’d discovered it ourselves.
As Gammie told us this story, we realized that was why she always had that extra twinkle in her eye when we came rushing in the door, bursting with excitement about how this year we’d found the best Christmas tree ever.
Of all the Christmas presents we ever received, none is more special than the memory of Granddad’s secret gift. It remains as bright and beautiful as the snow on a clear December day or the twinkle in Gammie’s eyes.

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