2017 Holiday Gift Guide and Giveaway

At Kids in the Capital we love to help our readers by answering questions about places to visit, things to do, and where to shop with the family in the National Capital Region. This holiday season we are excited to be solving your gift giving dilemmas by providing you with an exclusive look at some of our favourite local businesses!

Stay tuned throughout the month of November, as our brand founders share their unique gift ideas, holiday traditions and more! 

Without further ado, we are so happy to introduce these fantastic Canadian businesses to our 2017 holiday gift guide:

Saunders Farm

Canadian Museum of Nature

Ooka Island

Tag Along Toys

To kick things off, we have put together an amazing giveaway, featuring gifts that are sure to get your holiday shopping off to the right start.

TWO families are set to win:

• $50 gift card to Tag Along Toys
• Full family admission (including special exhibits) to Museum of Nature
• Annual family pass to Saunders Farm (including Haunting Season)
• One year subscription to Ooka Island & set of books

Enter now using Rafflecopter, and tweet about this giveaway every day for extra entries! Contest closes Wednesday November 30th at 12 p.m. EST. Contest is only open to Ottawa-area residents. Good luck, and happy shopping!!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Giveaway! Ottawa Boat and Sportsmen's Show

You might be wondering - what does the Ottawa Boat and Sportsmen's Show have to do with kids? Well, I'm excited to tell you!

Here are some examples of the  program for the show (running from February 19th - 22nd at the EY Centre). There are events and exhibitors geared to all ages:

• Husqvarna’s West Coast Lumberjacks: Aimed to be a crowd pleaser, this family-friendly action-packed axe wielding group will amaze crowds with their fearless skills and even offer up a chance for attendees to try their hand at hitting the target
• Learn to fish with the Ministry of Natural Resources: This year Canadian Sportsfishing will feature a fishing stimulator giving children and adults the chance to get in on the thrill and feeling of catching a fish.
• Tips from a Blind Fisherman Pro: Can you feel the bite? Learn from Lawrence Gunther, North America’s only completely Blind Fishing Pro honed his skills fishing commercially for Cod off Canada’s East Coast and now competes in tournaments throughout Canada
• Get WILD with Birds of Prey: Get up close and personal with live Falcons, American Kestrel, Owls and Peregrine Falcons
• Memory Lane: The Manotick Classic Boat Club will display stunning antique classics from a 1930 ‘Dippy’ (disappearing propeller) boat to a canoe that’s over 100 years old

I spent many summers up at our family cottage in Haliburton, Ontario, and boating was a huge part of the experience. I learned how to fish with my uncles, and loved to motor around the lake before parking in a quiet corner to see if the fish would bite. When I was a teenager and got invited to other friend's cottages, there was nothing better than a day out on a speedboat, hitting the wakes with a giant tube. With access to rivers and lakes here in Ottawa, I'm looking forward to getting my own kids out on the water! 

So I'm excited to be giving away 2 family passes (each pass includes 2 adults and 2 juniors) to this annual event. To enter, simply leave a comment below, and tell me your favourite part about living near the water. I will draw a winner using Random.org on Friday February 6th at noon. ***CONTEST NOW CLOSED***

CBC's Will Stroet: CD Review and Giveaway!

Many offers land in my inbox here at Kids in the Capital. My favourite ones are those that ask me to review a book or a CD. Music is one of my passions, and I've been sure to introduce a wide range of music to my children. Unfortunately, some children's music is not only terrible, but insufferable! That's why I'm so happy to be reviewing Will Stroet's new CD "Just Imagine." It's a breath of fresh air for parents who can't take another rendition of "Do Your Ears Hang Low."

You may recognize Will's name from Will's Jams, which air on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays on Kids CBC. The songs are catchy and educational, covering a wide range of topics (eating your veggies, getting exercise, and creativity).

Will Stroet is embarking on a cross-Ontario tour this Fall, and you'll have a chance to win tickets to see him play at the Bronson Centre on November 23rd. Make sure to follow our Facebook page for details of the contest!

When I received the CD in the mail, I immediately popped it in our player and my girls started dancing around the room. The first track - Chuggada Choo - is reminiscent of Johnny Cash, and super catchy! Same goes for the Brazilian "Mama Samba," and I found myself humming "My mama loves to dance, she's gonna do the mama samba" for the rest of the day. The girls, of course, loved to see me attempt the Samba :)

Will and his Backstreet Band (Elliot Langford and Kevin Romain) show their musical chops with  a wide range of influences - bluegrass, blues, folk, rock and so much more. Each song is very different, so you don't run the risk of getting totally and utterly bored as a parent listening to this CD.

And it's clear that Will is a devoted father of his own two girls (Ella, 4 and June, 4 months), as evident in the final track on the CD - Daddy's Lullaby. Very sweet!

If you're looking for some new music to pop in the CD player while driving your car, then I would definitely suggest purchasing Just Imagine. You can buy Will's CDs from his website and also give him a follow on his Facebook page.

And if you're looking for a fun family outing, don't forget he's playing at the Bronson Centre on November 23rd.  Here's the link to purchase your tickets!

Disclosure: Kids in the Capital was compensated for this review, but all opinions are my own.

A Review and Giveaway from Mastermind Toys!

I'm so excited to be posting this giveaway from Mastermind Toys! Growing up in Scarborough, Ontario, our favourite store to visit (other than Stedman's in Haliburton during our summer cottage months) was Mastermind Toys in the Scarborough Town Centre. Unlike the toy aisles in Kmart (yes, I'm old) or Sears, which had distinctly separate rows of pink and blue, Mastermind Toys curated the best toys from around the world and marketed them to.....wait for it.....children!! Not boys or girls, but all children. There were science sets for any young person keen to see things smoke, bubble or explode. There were toy trains, tracks and miniature people for the kid eager to build a village, and of course, coveted items such as Skip It and Marbles (and remember Slap Bracelets?)

My mother loved Mastermind, because the majority of the toys were "educational" - in other words, they awakened creativity, enhanced fine motor skills and developed imagination. And bonus points for the fact that my brother and I were never the wiser :)

So when Mastermind contacted me about their new store opening in Barrhaven (71 Marketplace Ave., in Chapman Mills Marketplace), I was stoked! The Grand Opening will be July 10th - 13th, and there will be free loot bags for kids, a great offer from the store, cupcakes (Saturday Only), and giveaways! Staff will be on hand to help you with all your shopping needs, and complimentary gift wrap service will also be available all weekend.

Mastermind gave me one of their amazing summer-themed toys to try out with my girls. Most of the toys were for older ages (my girls are 20 months and 4 years old), so we chose to try the Kidnoculars. These are the only binoculars designed specifically for kids! The eyepieces are more than three times the size of ordinary binocular, and the perfect-fit goggles with placement guide enable kids to see up close.

The 20-month old was a little too young to appreciate the Kidnoculars, but my 4yo loved them! She ran around the backyard inspecting bugs, plants and spying on the neighbours :) These are certainly worth the $16.99!

As well, Mastermind is giving away a $50 Gift Card to one lucky recipient! Entering the contest is easy!

• Comment below with YOUR favourite toy that you had as a kid
• For a second entry, head to the Mastermind Toys website, and tell me which toy your kids would love for summer
• Winners need to pick up their gift card at the store

I will draw one name using Random.org at noon EST on July 9th, 2014. I’ll contact the winner via email at that time. Good luck! Comment #31 was the winner - congrats Jo!!

Welcoming the NAC French Youth Theatre

Giveaway Closed It’s pretty cool that we live in the Ottawa Capital area, home to the National Arts Centre and some amazing children’s theatre. As Ottawa is a fully bilingual city and many of our Kids in the Capital readers are French or have kids in French immersion or French language school, we are particularly pleased to be able to introduce our new sponsor - the NAC French Youth Theatre. What a great way to get your kids to fall in love with both the theatre experience and to be able to practice using their French in an everyday situation. And since it’s French theatre, this post will be in both French and English - a first for Kids in the Capital.

The French Youth Theatre season has a pretty awesome lineup this season. The first French theatre event this month is Pomme, a delectable tale brilliantly told solely in French by Isabelle Payant in a performance that brings to mind the popular children’s television character Fanfreluche, who liked to retell stories and legends—in her own unique way!

In rhymes and images, through the interplay of shapes and objects in an ingenious set made of giant boxes that captivates young audiences ages 3 and up, the show unfolds an evocative fable about the great adventure of life. Through the magic of puppetry, Isabelle skillfully guides her engaging protagonist through a host of exciting adventures.

Un délice de spectacle à savourer en famille

Une délicieuse épopée menée brillamment par Isabelle Payant. L’interprète a un petit quelque chose de Fanfreluche : À l’aide de poèmes et d’images, de jeux d’objets et de formes, surgissant au milieu d’une ingénieuse architecture de cubes qui émerveille les enfants, le spectacle compose une fable évocatrice sur la grande aventure de la vie. Pomme a de beaux et grands rêves. Elle voudrait bien défier les lois de la nature et devenir un homme… À travers mille et une péripéties, l’épopée de ce sympathique personnage compose une fable évocatrice sur la grande aventure de la vie. À croquer!

As a kid, I loved the idea of getting dressed up and going to the NAC and I’m so excited to be able to share it with my children as they get older. Each month, the NAC French Theatre will host a spectacular presentation of poems, puppetry and fun for kids of all ages. The lineup includes Cendrillion, Le Grand Mechant Loup and Gretel et Hansel and your kids will have a blast and get to hear French at it’s finest. Take a look at the full lineup here.

And to get our readers involved, we’re giving away tickets for one play in the lineup. To win, just tell us in the comments why you’d like to see Pomme, or any other of the the awesome plays in the Youth French Theatre Lineup. We will pick one winner at random on October 15th.