Dads Just Wanna Have Fun

Dads Just Wanna Have Fun Cool things to do in Hamilton with your kid that you'll actually like too. Weekly. Free.

21 garage sales across Hamilton this weekend.I mapped every one so you can plan the route instead of driving in circles....
08/14/2026

21 garage sales across Hamilton this weekend.

I mapped every one so you can plan the route instead of driving in circles. Grab a coffee, drag the kids, go find the toolbox.

Full map, updated every Thursday: dadsjustwannahavefun.com/garage-sales

Free weekly newsletter for Hamilton dads at dadsjustwannahavefun.com

08/12/2026

Summer’s almost over, so we went and did as much as we could with the kids around Hamilton before it slips away.

Smokey Hollow Falls in Waterdown. A Cars and Coffee full of Trans Ams and DeLoreans. The pool at Brant. A Forge FC game at Tim Hortons Field. Tiffany Falls. A waterpark down in Niagara. The cliff at Mount Nemo.

You’ve still got a few weekends left, man. Get out and have fun before it’s over.

We find the best things to do with your kids around Hamilton every single week and send it straight to your inbox, free. Link in bio

Smokey Hollow Falls, Waterdown. You see the waterfall the second you arrive, then an easy trail down to the creek with j...
08/06/2026

Smokey Hollow Falls, Waterdown. You see the waterfall the second you arrive, then an easy trail down to the creek with just enough roots and rocks to keep a toddler busy.

Free parking off Mill Street. Stay close, there are no guardrails.

Full story Thursday. Link in bio.

We just mapped every donut, ice cream, and candy spot worth stopping at across Hamilton and Burlington.Sometimes the who...
07/30/2026

We just mapped every donut, ice cream, and candy spot worth stopping at across Hamilton and Burlington.

Sometimes the whole outing is a donut on the way home. You don’t need a full day out, you need a good scoop and somewhere to sit for 20 minutes.

So we added a Treat Stops filter to the activity finder. Donut shops, ice cream and dessert cafes, candy stores, and a few of the old-school diners the kids love. Dozens of them, all in one place.

Open the finder, tap Treat Stops, filter by neighbourhood. Point at the map, pick a spot, be a hero for the price of a cone.

Link in bio.

Picture courtesy of Jax Sweet Shoppe in Dundas

There’s a full indoor waterpark on top of a parkade in Niagara, and somehow we’d never been.The Fallsview Indoor Waterpa...
07/30/2026

There’s a full indoor waterpark on top of a parkade in Niagara, and somehow we’d never been.

The Fallsview Indoor Waterpark, the big dome behind the old Planet Hollywood. Wave pool, four tube slides, a hot tub, an outdoor pool with basketball nets, cabanas if you want them, a restaurant inside, and lifeguards every ten feet.

Behind the little kids’ slides there’s a splash pad for toddlers, warmer water, puddles everywhere. RiRi was in heaven.

It’s a day pass, so you can leave and come back. $50 at the door or online, or $40 if you grab it through Costco. Cheaper than a day on Clifton Hill, and about a tenth of the chaos.

Our new winter move, clearly.

Full story in Thursday’s email. Link in bio.

Took Kiki to Toy Story 5, just the two of us. The whole movie is about old toys versus tablets and tech.Walking out, the...
07/30/2026

Took Kiki to Toy Story 5, just the two of us. The whole movie is about old toys versus tablets and tech.

Walking out, the first thing he wants is the arcade. We didn’t have time so we left. I started the debrief. What did you like about the movie? What were the lessons? Eventually transitioning to “this is why we cap screen time,” full dad monologue.

He goes quiet. Turns out he’s just upset about the arcade. And that’s when it hits me, the exact thing the movie was about was happening on the ride home, in real time, how ironic!

When I made him aware of that, he conceded. Wasn’t happy about it.

My fix for an overstimulated kid? Dropped it into fourth on the exit and punched it. Woke him right up. Big grin, no words.

My cure for too much stimulation was more stimulation. In my defense, it worked.

Full story in Thursday’s email. Link in bio.

“This isn’t judo, buddy!” Kiki, dead serious, watching a Forge player go in hard on a tackle.He plays soccer every week ...
07/30/2026

“This isn’t judo, buddy!” Kiki, dead serious, watching a Forge player go in hard on a tackle.

He plays soccer every week but he doesn’t really watch the game. He watches the crowd. Takes their energy and hands it right back, at full volume, to a stadium full of strangers.

Second year we’ve done Forge FC for Father’s Day. Here’s the secret nobody tells you: a pro game is the low-stress version of a day out. I parked on someone’s driveway across the street. Grabbed snacks. Sat down. Watched a good game.

He got bored eventually. That’s what the foosball table in the concourse is for.

Full story in Thursday’s email. Link in bio.

I crossed the finish line limping, and there was my kid at the rail, cheering me in.Last year I showed up to support a b...
07/30/2026

I crossed the finish line limping, and there was my kid at the rail, cheering me in.

Last year I showed up to support a buddy and ended up paying in and running it with him. He walked half. I told myself next year I’d actually run.

This year I registered, and I signed the kids up too. I did the 5K, they did the 1K. July 1, sweltering, sore ankle, ran anyway.

What got me wasn’t the heat. It was the crowd. You surge past someone, then brake, then surge again. My ankle hated all of it.

But how many times has my son asked me to come watch him? This time he watched me. For a minute the roles flipped.

He already wants the 3K next year.

Full story in Thursday’s email. Link in bio.

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