When a Calgary dad lost his job last October, he found himself at home all day with his two-year-old son — with a whole lot of time to kill.

Bryan Goehringer had to get creative when it came to finding fun things to do with his son, Brodie, without breaking the bank.

"It was a little bit frightening actually, Goehringer recalled on the Eyeopener Monday morning, "It didn't take long before some of the Netflix cartoons wore out and he got bored and we both got anxious and had to get out of the house."

So off they went — to the airport, Bass Pro Shops, Devonian Gardens and various other places in the city.

"Really what it came down to was, selfishly, I needed to get out of the house too," Goehringer said, laughing. "Trying to find a common interest with a toddler can be a little bit challenging."

Eventually, he decided to share his ideas for low-cost activities on Twitter and Instagram under the handle YYC Daddy.

Brodie, 2, looks through the fence at a plane at the Calgary International Airport. (Instagram)

"I started thinking, 'there's got to be some more stuff out there,'" said Goehringer. "I started looking online at different things popping up and there were a lot of mommy blogs out there and they didn't really appeal to me."

Goehringer starts a new job on Monday and said he'll miss the time he's had to get out of the house with little Brodie.

Thankfully, his new job affords him some flexibility to continue exploring the city with his son. Goehringer said he plans to maintain YYC Daddy in the hopes of helping other dads in the downturn take advantage of the time they have to spend with their kids.

Bryan Goehringer and his son, Brodie, during a hike in the mountains. (Bryan Goehringer)

"It's all so fleeting, that time when they're growing up and you just see leaps and bounds how much he's growing," Goehringer said.

"To be able to be a part of it, an intimate part of that, has been an incredible thing for me."

With files from the Calgary Eyeopener