Christmas Shopping, an Enjoyable Family Event?

Bazaars, Markets and Craft Sales Christmas shopping can be such a chore, so my daughter and I like to make it fun by chasing the Christmas bazaars, markets and arts & crafts sales around the Ottawa region. There’s no shortage of bazaars in Ottawa starting last weekend and throughout the holiday season, located in high schools, churches, community centres, museums and art centres near us. We love the ambiance and get inspired by the decor, the music and the crafts. We walk around soaking in the Christmas spirit, we take breaks with a drink and play the “who would love this” game.  And even when we don’t buy anything, we rush home to make our own masterpieces.

The three shopping events we’re looking forward to this year are the following. I have no idea what they look like, but we’re up for the adventure.

The Barnyard Bazaar at the Canada Agriculture Museum on December 1st: http://www.agriculture.technomuses.ca/english/activities_events/barnyard_bazaar_2012.cfm

The Baz’Art at the Shenkman Centre in Orleans, December 1st and 2nd: http://shenkmanarts.ca/en/events_evenements/december_decembre_2012/bazart/index.htm

The Holiday Art and Show Sale at the Ottawa School of Art, November 29 to December 19th: http://hosted-p0.vresp.com/747279/b43aa9ca7f/ARCHIVE

Why not support local artists and artisans this year by giving an original gift and have fun doing it? Search Google for a full listing of bazaars starting this weekend.

Street Shopping I have wonderful memories of having breakfast with my daughter in a little restaurant in early December, watching light snow fall and getting ready to shop.  Why brave nasty malls in the suburbs when we can get fresh air in a lovely setting while walking from boutique to boutique and stopping for food along the way?  Ottawa is full of great neighourhoods to enjoy this activity, such as the Glebe, Westborough, Elgin Street, Sparks Street and of course, the Byward Market.  I wonder if the cat still lives in the little bookstore on Sussex Street...

Last year, we tried something new and headed to Merrickville, just a short drive down the 416. Not only is the shopping great, but the town’s Christmas calendar is booming with activity! We enjoyed personalized service, artist studios, local everything and a nice lunch at the neighbourhood pub.  Now that’s the way to turn a chore into a memory. I don’t know about you, but I’m ready to shop.

The Glebe: http://www.shoptheglebe.ca/?act=home Sparks Street:  http://www.sparksstreetmall.com/ Byward Market: http://www.byward-market.com/ Merrickville: http://www.christmasinmerrickville.ca/Merrickville.html

Angèle is a goofy mum to a daughter and a wife to an evil genius (retired, apparently). She's also a social media strategist, a podcast host and a teacher in training.  In her other life, she's a fan of fresh air, yoga, good friends, new places and keeping things simple.  She is the author of two blogs: More of Less (http://moreoflessblog.blogspot.ca/ ) and My C Word (http://mycword.blogspot.ca/ ).  PS. She often overshare. You’ve been warned.

Elf on the Shelf – Making Family Memories

by Gwen I am big on traditions in my home so I’m always looking for ways to create new memories with my children. Some of the fondest memories of my childhood revolve around the holidays, so when I heard about Elf on the Shelf, I knew that we could have lots of fun with it.

Elf on the Shelf has been around for many years, but the idea only became a household name when the digitally animated television special entitled An Elf's Story: The Elf on the Shelf premiered in 2011. Because of this TV special, Elf on the Shelf hit the big-time. Craziness ensued which caused stores everywhere to sell out, but we were lucky enough to snag ourselves the very last Elf on a Shelf from our Chapters Indigo store last year.

When our elf was “delivered” to us, the kids quickly named him Andy (because they think he resembles Andy from the Toy Story movies). The pictures in this post are of Andy and some of the trouble he got himself into last year!

Now, the whole idea around Elf on the Shelf is that he comes to live with your family in the weeks leading up to the big day. Each night he travels back to the North Pole to bring Santa a report on how the kids he belongs to behaved that day. When he returns each morning, he sometimes gets into a little mischief and this is the fun part.

There are many sites on the web showing different situations elves have gotten themselves into, so the sky is the limit when it comes to the fun things you can come up with for your elf. The true fun though, is seeing the kids find the elf each morning and giggling about the silliness they discover. And the best part of this whole thing? You will be creating holiday memories that your children will remember for a lifetime.

Keep your eyes open for the Elf on the Shelf television special, I am certain it will air again this year, and if you do decide you want to get your family its own elf, hurry, because they sell out fast!

Have fun!

Where to find Elf on the Shelf in Ottawa: Tag Along Toys Kanata Chapters/Indigo In store and online

Gwen is a mom of 2 and owns/operates Nayla Natural Care, an online store that specializes in carrying the best organic, natural and eco-friendly products.

Simplifying Christmas

by Kamerine

I like the idea of getting my kids whatever they want, providing them with all the toys that I never had growing up.  I want them to be happy.  But then I think about it and realize that more toys isn't the way to make them happy.  I want them to understand that Christmas isn't about the stuff, it's about the memories.  I want them to appreciate what they have and know that they're lucky because they have a bed to sleep in and roof over their head, toys to play with and each other.

They are kids though and kids like stuff.  So what now?  How do I give them stuff without giving them too much?

It was a few years ago I was reading posts on a pregnancy/baby forum that I came across a little idea about Christmas.  A way to make it simple but special for the kids.  It's something that we've adopted for our family and you might want to as well.

It's easy, and it rhymes.  Here it is:

Something you want,

something you need.

Something to wear,

something to read.

Every Christmas my kids will be getting 4 gifts from us:  a toy of some sort, something practical, a new outfit and a book.  We add in a new pair of pajamas to be opened Christmas Eve, because I love that tradition, and a gift from Santa.

My kids are still a bit young but we will be explaining this to them as they get older and plan to stick to these 4 things to keep Christmas simple but special.  I really hope this will help them understand that Christmas isn't just about the stuff and while it's nice to get toys it's nicer to spend time with family and friends.

I would love to hear about any traditions your family has for keeping things simple at Christmas.

Kamerine is mom to 3 year old Little J and 1 year old Baby K.  She documents her life with two toddlers, a husband and a cat at followk.blogspot.ca.

Fall tye-dye cupcakes

by Carly

I really wanted to make something nut-free for the Little Man to eat for dessert at our Thanksgiving dinner tomorrow.  Since I knew the pie I was bringing had nuts, I decided to make some fall-themed cupcakes.  I didn't have time to fuss with fondant, creating fancy turkeys or pilgrim's hats (not that we really do the pilgrim thing here in Canada anyway).

Since Jake really likes rainbow coloured cakes and cupcakes, I used that as my jumping off point.  We made white cake batter, then divided the batter into three bowls.  One bowl of batter was tinted yellow, one orange and one terra-cotta (I'd run out of red but had terra-cotta lying around for some reason).  I used food paste as you need less of it to get a nice strong colour.

To make it easier to get the batter into the cupcake liners, I put it in plastic baggies and snip a tiny bit off one corner.  I started with the lightest colour, pouring some into each cup.  Then we added the orange and finally the terra-cotta.  Don't mix the colours as the batter will turn out muddy - just leave them "piled" on top of one another.

While the cupcakes were baking in their plain white cupcake liners, I nosed around our cupboards looking for some pretty fall-themed liners to put them in for added colour, but I came up empty handed.  So I tinted some extra white liners I had with yellow, orange and terra-cotta food paste mixed with water.  Using a spoon I poured the different colours over the liners while they sat upside down on a wire rack nestled in a rimmed cookie sheet to catch the run-off.

I didn't want to completely cover the liners, so I left a fair bit of white showing.  When I had tinted all the liners, I poured any excess dye off them, then put them right side up in a cupcake pan.  After taking out the baked cupcakes, I turned the oven off and put the liners into the warm oven to help them dry.  Keep a close eye on them - they only need a minute or two.  The bottoms were still damp, so I turned them upside down on the wire rack and popped them back into the still warm oven for another minute or two.

While the cupcakes cooled I made some buttercream frosting and divided that into three bowls.  I coloured each bowl using the same colours I'd used in the batter.  Each colour was then put into it's own individual piping bag and twisted closed at the top using a twist-tie.  I loosely attached the three bags together around the middle using a pipe cleaner, and put all three into another piping bag with my largest round tip attached.

I did a test swirl on a plate to make sure the three colours would come out nicely and fairly uniform, then piped the cooled cupcakes, starting at the outer edge and moving toward the middle.

Ta-da!  Tye-dyed cupcakes with tye-dyed frosting and tye-dyed decorative liners.

Carly has red hair and occasionally the temper to match.  She loves potatoes, rainy nights, photography, her husband, her 6 year old son, Jacob and her 10 month old son, Noah.  Probably in reverse order.   She also blogs.

Mother’s day in and around the Capital

by Jenny After spending a lovely morning at the Billings Estate museum Easter weekend, we knew, as a family, that it was a place we wanted to visit again. Centrally located on a gorgeous property, the museum was a perfect venue for my kids, 3 and 5. The staff was welcoming, friendly and had really thought of everything. There was a chocolate Easter egg hunt (complete with a nut-free option for my eldest), face painting, a giant hopscotch board, an egg basket sewing session and all-natural egg dyeing. We went around from station to station, my kids keeping track to make sure we didn’t miss a one. The Easter Bunny was also on hand for pictures and encouragement on the egg hunt.

While this Sunday is my day (to sleep in a bit, I hope), I can’t wait to get out and explore another one of the great museums in Ottawa. Here are some of the special Mother’s day events they have going on this Sunday, May 13. Take note of the mini-manis & chocolate offerings at the Deifenbunker! Mother’s Day Tea at Billings Estate What better place to celebrate Mother’s Day than on the idyllic lawns of Billings Estate National Historic Site? Enjoy a Victorian tea service in the garden, stroll through the grounds, and explore the new Victorian medicine exhibit in Ottawa’s oldest wood-framed building. Tours, crafts and live music will take place from 10a.m to 4p.m. There will also be a flower and plant exchange from 11a.m. to 1p.m. Mother’s Day at the Diefenbunker :  A celebration of the women who served in the Diefenbunker.  A special women's history tour will be given every hour in English, featuring clips from the Diefenbunker's oral history project. Mothers can relax at the mini-manicure station as children craft. Mini-manicures will be offered to mothers and children from 12-3. A colourful display by Ottawa’s own Cold War artist, Marcia Lea, will surely be a thing to see! And what’s a women’s day out without chocolate? Of course, the Diefenbunker will be partnering up with local and surrounding chocolatiers and bakers to offer fabulously themed desserts. Program runs from 11am-2pm.

Cumberland Heritage Village Museum - Famous Funnies-Family Cartooning Workshop It’s the good guys versus the bad guys as the super heroes take over a family cartooning lesson led by our professional artist! Families can discover early cartoon super heroes like Superman and characters like Little Orphan Annie. Young visitors can dress in their favourite character costumes. Program runs from 1pm to 3pm. Cost: Regular admission applies plus $10 workshop fee.

What are your plans this Mother’s day? Any special requests or are you just looking forward to a day with your family?

Jenny is mom to 5 (and ¾) year old Ryan and 3 year old Jaime. A communications specialist with a love for food, wine and outdoor fun, you can find Jenny on twitter @jblatts or in the Kids in the Capital Facebook group.