Divorced dad rock party

What do Creed, Nickelback, and Bud Light have in common? They’re the unofficial mascots of the American divorced dad. Lucky for me, I got to dress up as one.

As you know, I love a good theme party (Barbie, Bridgerton, holiday bar crawls, summer camp, pickleball, third shift bar crawls, etc., etc.). And this was a great one: my friend Ryne, in his ultimate wisdom, decided to throw a “divorced dad rock” themed party for his 34th birthday. It was pretty simple. We watched a playoff football game at a bar. However, it was imperative for the friend group to show up and out.

I loved every moment.

Here’s how I dressed up for the divorced dad rock themed birthday party.

The character

For the party, I decided to go in a direction I see pretty often, especially in Wisconsin. It comes down to the three C’s: comfortable, camo, can-of-beer. I sourced the clothes from both Goodwill and my closet. (I’m a little ashamed to say how easy it was to find everything I needed.)

Initially, I was hoping to go for a Guy Fierri-inspired look; a gas station hat with spiked hair, perhaps a shirt with flames. But when I saw the camo hat gleaming in the florescent lights of the Brookfield Goodwill, the character came to me in a vision.

His name was Tommy, and he’ll forever pine over his ex-wife, Darlene. He’s always dressed for hunting season, on the prowl for the day Darlene takes him back. He still wears his wedding ring (a mood ring, of course), ready for the day his calls are returned.

My divorced dad look:

• A long-sleeved shirt
• A vest
• Light wash jeans
• Camo hat
• Hiking boots (or moccasins or Hey Dudes)
• Bangs
• Stubble
• Sad eyes
• Can of Miller Light

Chad’s look

Chad dressed up too, with a different interpretation of the character. He channeled an inner hockey bro, too busy catching the game with his drinking buddies to pick up his kids from school.

Chad wore a nondescript jersey, khakis, tennis shoes, and a backwards baseball hat. He, like me, had a fondness for Nickelback on the Touchtunes and a draft beer in his cup.

In the end…

“It doesn’t even matter.” You know the words!

We had such a blast celebrating Ryne. Thanks to him for an incredible theme, and to the rest of our crew for being willing to be embarrassed in public.

If you need a reason to be a little silly, let this be it.

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