Family Vacation: Mont Tremblant

We just returned from March Break in Mont Tremblant. My parents graciously gifted us a week's stay at a cottage near Sainte-Agathe-des-monts in the Laurentiens, about a 30 minute drive from the ski resort of Mont Tremblant.

Getting There

We took a bit of a scenic route north-east of Ottawa, and the entire trip was 2.5 - 3 hours. There had been significant snowfall the day before, so we were held up by icy roads and snowplows. The more straightforward route along highway 50 to the 15 in Quebec would make the trip about 2 hours. A perfect length of time to be stuck in a car with little ones.

Where to Stay

Our cottage was fantastic - there was a beautiful view of (frozen) Lake Manitou from the porch, and we could warm our feet by the stone fireplace. It was everything that I like in a cottage - not too fancy, chock full of antiques, and that cozy cottage smell. And the price of renting a modest cottage is affordable. The hotels and condos at the base of the mountain can run you hundreds of dollars per night.

That said, there are disadvantages to staying outside the ski resort area. The main one is all the driving you have to do. With young children, I could definitely see the benefit to staying at one of the resort condos, and being able to hit the slopes right outside my front door. If cost is an issue, Tremblant runs flash sales and packages, so getting on their mailing list is a good idea. 

The second disadvantage to this cottage was that it wasn't very pedestrian-friendly. The road was small and windy, which made going for walks slightly terrifying when cars whipped around the corners. I think summertime would have made outdoor play much easier, with close access to a beach, playground and the cottage property (knee-deep snow was not great for trudging around with a 2 year-old!)

What To Do

What isn't there to do? If you're outdoorsy, a winter vacation can be fantastic - our daughter tried three different activities for the first time - cross-country skiing, downhill skiing and snowshoeing. There are many trails located at Saint-Bernard but my parents discovered an even better (and closer) location in Sainte-Agathe, where the town's campground has been turned into cross-country and snowshoe trails in the winter.

And of course, the downhill skiing is fantastic! Our tiny hills in Ontario are no match for this mountain. After realizing that it had been 16 years since I'd strapped on a pair of downhill skis (and after taking out a poor kid on a snowboard in my attempt to get off the chair lift), I got some tips from a friend and stuck to the easiest green hills.

My daughter and I also checked out the Aquaclub, where you can find indoor pools, a hottub, and slides for the little ones. Some hotels on-site will include free passes to the pools, but we paid a whopping $24 to swim for 3 hours. That said, it was a great indoor activity for those who aren't keen on skiing every day.

Tips

• The "village" at the base of the mountain is pedestrian friendly, so no cars allowed. You need to park in one of their three (free) parking lots, and then catch the (free) shuttle bus into the village. It's here that you can buy lift tickets, rent ski equipment, get some lunch, shop or check out the Aquaclub. Just remember to tack on lots of extra time to your trip for parking and the shuttle runs.
• There's also the actual village of Mont Tremblant (with an old and newer section), where you can find shops and restaurants. When they say "Tremblant," they really mean the entire area including both the mountain and the town.
• If I were to do it again, I would want a bag like this. Walking around in your ski boots for even a short period of time is painful and really tiring for kids. There are lockers available for $2 to store your stuff. 
• Alternatively, you can take a longer drive over to the North side of the mountain, where the parking lot leads right up to the ski lifts. Much easier when dealing with kiddos, but alas, the bunny hills (and magic carpets!) are on the South side.
• We brought lots of snacks, but found it easier to just buy a meal while skiing. It's pricey, but the food is REALLY good. And you can even enjoy a beer or wine with your lunch!
• Don't want to ski? Our friends tried dog sledding, and as I mentioned, there are many snowshoe trails. Or just go shopping in the quaint little shops you can find in the older part of town on Lac Mercier. Unfortunately, we didn't get around to checking out the snow tubing, and the outdoor skating rink was closed for the season.

We'll definitely go back to Mont Tremblant one day, and we've all been bitten by the skiing bug. Later this week I'll be writing about our experience skiing with younger children - what worked and what didn't.

Have you ever been to Mont Tremblant? Did you enjoy yourselves?

Getting away to the Six Flags Great Escape Lodge

This March break we decided to get away without going too far away. I've been thinking about Great Wolf Lodge for quite awhile but heard there were closer and cheaper options in New York State.  A little online research and I found the Six Flags Great Escape Lodge near Lake George New York. 

How far is it?

By the map it's about 4.5 hours.  It took us closer to 6 or so including bathroom breaks, the wait and the border and lunch.

We drove through Montreal, though you can also drive through Ogdensberg. The Montreal route is longer but on faster roads.  The route down the 416 takes you through smaller towns at slower speeds.

Either route takes you through the mountains and it's quite a lovely drive.  There isn't as much as usual to be seen along the highways as I usually see on our trips to the States though - not a single Cracker Barrel between Ottawa and our destination, but fortunately there was an Applebees :)

What is there to do there?

Indoor Water Park

The indoor water park is included in your stay at the hotel (so is the outdoor amusement park when it's open) and it has a lazy river, a treehouse, a toddler area, 3 4-story enclosed slides and a boogie board ride.

My kids aren't very adventurous so they were thrilled with the lazy river and the slides in the treehouse. I was really impressed with the lifeguards on staff.  They were monitoring everything very closely and are constantly showing that they are doing visual checks of all sections of the water.  We were comfortable letting the kids have free run of the lazy river and treehouse on their own at ages 5 and 8.

Adventure Trek

I didn't really understand what this was before we arrived but in the end we invested and I'm really glad we did.

The hotel has an indoor video game called Adventure Trek.  You need to buy a wand (about $30) and then you use the wand to complete missions.  Once you've completed all the missions in one section of the game you get to play a game on a big video game screen.

We only bought one wand for the three kids.  Most of the groups of kids we saw had each kid with their own wand.  We were fine with just the one.  We also didn't get the upsell of fancy toppers for the wands nor did we buy them adventure capes.  We're the boring parents apparently ;)

What was great about this is that it kept the kids moving even when we weren't in the water park.  They were running all over the hotel, up and down the stairs from floor to floor, to try to find all the things they needed in each mission.  We always had one of us with them while doing this but had the twins been a bit older we would happily have left them to their own devices.  

The perk here is that your kids get to go running around the hotel and it's perfectly acceptable and part of the way the hotel works!

Kids Klub

They have a kids' club that was great for keeping the kids entertained.  We went and coloured a few times, and the twins also spent some of their pocket money on colouring t-shirts.

There are mascots that make appearances daily and one night we had bedtime stories with Scrappy Doo which the twins really enjoyed.  At eight and a half, my older son was pretty uninterested in the mascots though.   There's also an arcade. The kids loved this but it's just a typical arcade with the tickets and prizes.

Lake George

This area is mostly closed down in the winter. I would love to go back when we could take advantage of the hiking, the outdoor mini putt, and the amusement park.  There are outlets and lots of restaurants, though many were closed for the season.  There's also skiing but we aren't winter sports people :) 

Overall, this was a great trip and I'd definitely go again. I think that for the winter months two nights would have been enough and three pushed it a bit long with only the adventure trek and the water park to keep us busy.  

Have you been to Lake George? What did you think?

Save money by using Flipp to price match

by Cheryl Snelleman

Mobile devices can do pretty much anything these days; you can use them as cameras, keep in touch with friends and family, keep your kids entertained while you run errands, and even track your health and fitness goals.  They're well worth the money you pay out to own them.  But your mobile device can also end up paying for itself when you use it to price match your every day purchases.

Price matching  is a great way to save money without having to visit every store in town, and it has become much easier to do with the introduction of flyer apps.  (Want to know more about price matching? Here's a How To guide I put together.) Flyer apps allow anyone access to any store flyer across Canada.  One of the more popular apps to use for price matching is Flipp.  This article aims to help people understand the app a little better in order to help make price matching less of a struggle.

About Flipp

First, if you don't have the app, you can download it here (Apple users) or here (Android users).

When you first open your new app, you'll need to enter your postal code or allow the app to auto-locate you.  This allows Flipp to locate stores nearest you to optimize your searching when using the app.  You then can choose flyers to save as your favourites- that is, they will be saved in your favourites section, available immediately whenever you tap the heart icon at the bottom of the screen.

Tapping on the magnifying glass icon will allow you to easily search all of Flipp's flyers either by store or by product, the latter being particularly helpful and one of Flipp's unique functions.  Searching for a specific product will bring up all the stores who currently have that item featured in their flyer.

Choosing an item to save to clippings folder

The Shopping List feature allows you to add your shopping list directly to the app, eliminating paper lists (which are too easily forgetten at home!).  When viewing your shopping list you have the option to view the flyers that feature your list item, or simply tap the checkbox to check it off your list.

The final feature on the app, and perhaps the best feature for price matching, is the clippings feature.  While you are going through the flyers, you have the option to tap on an item you wish to purchase and save that item automatically to your clippings folder.  There is sometimes confusion surrounding how to use this feature, so I will go into that in a bit more detail.

Using the app in store

When you're done checking out the flyers and making your shopping list, the clippings folder will provide easy access to all the items you wish to price match including the store name and flyer dates- most essential to the cashier when price matching.  When you arrive at the checkout, open up the app and go to your clippings folder.  You will find all of your items listed right there, and you only need to tap on the relevant item and show the cashier your phone.  The app will open the flyer and zoom in on the item you're purchasing.  When you're finished with one item, simply tap 'back' to go back to your clippings folder, and move on to the next item.

Your clippings folder- see the clipping icon circled in red

Most cashiers have experience using Flipp when price matching so you shouldn't have too much trouble using the app in-store.  They want to see that the store is within their price matching area (store name usually tells them this), that the sale is still valid (flyer dates show them this), and that the two products match.  All of that information is available when you show them your saved clipping, making the process of price matching using Flipp fairly straightforward.

Try out the app a few times on your own to get a feel for switching back and forth from one feature to another and it won't take long before you're comfortable enough to begin using the app in store.   It's easy to save a substantial amount of money especially when you have access to the best deals around!

Cheryl is a mom of two who blogs about couponing and saving money on her web site Thrifty Canadian.

March Break in Ottawa: Round-Up!

by Misty

We've got the inside scoop from parents all around this beautiful Capital! Here's a list of some fantastic activities taking place this March Break (and don't forget St. Patrick's Day too!):

Place D'Orleans: Best Break Ever: Activities each day, including Little Ray's Reptile Zoo and St. Patty's Day crafts and face painting!

LEGO: Workshop at Mastermind Toys (call 613-746-4882 to register in-store), 24th Annual Lego Contest at Canada Space and Aviation Museum and Lego Day at Chapters!  

Skiing: this may be your last chance to ski before Spring arrives! Check out Mont Cascades, Calabogie, Vorlage or Camp Fortune

Epic Indoor Bike Park: Nothing says Spring like riding your bike! Why not do it indoors and avoid the salt and slush? 

Tag Along Toys: Check out both locations for crafts, Snap Circuit demos, Bricktek make & take, and glitter tattoos by Sparkling Expressions

Sugar Bush: there's a plethora of sugar bushes to choose from, but some of our favourites include Stanley's Olde Maple Lane Farm, Fulton's, and Proulx Sugar Bush. Want to stay in town? Try Vanier's Museopark! 

City of Ottawa: March Break camp listings!

Our favourite museums are holding week-long programming, including the Canada Agriculture and Food Museum, History Museum (Children's Museum), Museum of Nature, and the National Gallery of Canada.

My family will be heading to Mont Tremblant for the week! Follow along on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram as I share pictures, and maybe even a video or two :)

What are you doing for March Break in and around Ottawa?

Making Art (Fun) with Elemenopaint

By Tracy

I first heard about Elemenopaint from my friend Anne. Her six-year old daughter had attended a few Elemenopaint art classes and absolutely loved them. Because our daughters are friends and are similar in a lot of ways, I thought my daughter would also enjoy the art classes. Unfortunately, I kept missing the registration and the classes fill up fast, but finally (thanks to Anne) I was able to register my daughter for a Flag Day themed workshop. 

When I first told my daughter about the workshop, she was very excited. She had always wanted to take an art class, but we could never find the time (or I failed to register before the class or workshop filled up). The Flag Day workshop was a two-hour, Saturday afternoon workshop held in the community room of a west end grocery store. Rochelle, the owner of Elemenopaint, typically runs the classes in similar spaces or out of her home in Ottawa’s west end. She currently runs classes in Kanata, Stittsville and Barrhaven, but you never know when a class might be held in your community!

When my daughter first walked in to the Flag Day workshop and saw a copy of the painting she was going to create she said, “I could never paint that.” Thankfully, it didn’t take long for Rochelle to put her mind at ease by telling the class, “there are no mistakes in art.” Elemenopaint is all about developing a child’s creativity; allowing them to express themselves and helping them see their artistic potential – perfect for children who doubt themselves. 

After a brief, interesting and interactive history of the Canadian flag, Rochelle taught the kids how to draw their version of Parliament Hill, including the Canadian Flag. She then explained how the painting would come together and made sure every artist had everything they needed. This was a child and adult class because some of the lines were tricky to draw and paint, but having said that, a lot of the kids did the majority of it themselves. Rochelle took the time to visit each child to see how they were doing, see if they needed help with anything and to add a few finishing touches to the masterpieces. By the end of the two hours every child had a large, ready-to-hang, canvas painting of Parliament Hill. 

My daughter was over-the-moon excited at her finished painting and couldn’t wait to get home to hang it in her bedroom. She also couldn’t stop talking about when the next workshop will be and to make sure I register in time (I must get better at this).

This will definitely not be my daughter’s last Elemenopaint class. In the near future, I am hoping to register her for one of the “Just the Artist” art series or one of the Frozen-inspired workshops, and I may even take an adult-only workshop (what a great idea for a moms’ night out!). Rochelle’s wise words, tips and tricks continue to stay with my daughter as she continues to fearlessly express herself through drawings and paintings at home and school.

For more information on Elemenopaint classes, visit Elemenopaint.com or “like” the Elemenopaint Facebook page where Rochelle regularly posts information about upcoming classes, boasts about the talent of her students and also lets fans know when her popular Rainy Day Kits are available for purchase (the Rainy Day Kits are basically everything fabulous from one Elemenopaint class in a box – the perfect rainy day activity!).

If you are looking for an ongoing art class or workshop for your child, I encourage you to take a look at Elemenopaint. It is friendly atmosphere that not only encourages children to learn art, but to also use their imagination and creativity to make the art their own, which in turns makes it fun and something your child will look forward to doing again and again.