Unique Gift Ideas for the Holiday Season

The holidays are a season of giving, but it can be hard to find that perfect gift for a friend or loved one. Many times our kids are overwhelmed with presents, and parents spend the year trying to purge and organize. We want to cultivate gratitude in our children, which is hard to do when gift giving gets out of control! The same goes for the adults – when we’re buying something because we feel like we have to (and not because it’s meaningful) it can make the holiday season stressful.

To take the stress out of shopping, we’ve come up with unique gift ideas for the whole family. Thanks to our readers and sponsors for providing such cool ideas!

FOOD

Everyone has that foodie in the family, or the kid that’s going to become a “Cheffer” (as my 7 year-old puts it) when they grow up. For little ones you can buy mini kitchen items for pretend play. Older kids would love a cookbook for children, and adults may be lusting over a new kitchen gadget. OR, you could just get them food! Treats on Christmas morning is the best:

“In our opinion, food always makes the best gift! The challenge is knowing what to get for your friends and loved ones that is truly unique and amazing...that's why we LOVE fudge! It's gourmet, creative, and can be personalized for the recipient. Plus, it's fudge!!!” - Mark Saunders, Saunders Farms

BOOKS OR MAGAZINES

Have you heard of the holiday tradition “something you want, something you need, something to wear and something to read?” I love that idea! Maybe you have a "bookoholic" in the family that’s provided you with a list of no more than 36 books they would like. Or maybe you have the child who needs a bit of encouragement. Pairing books with electronics may be your ticket to success:

“With a ticket to Ooka Island you’re not only giving a child the gift of reading for life, but they’ll have access to 80 hours of educational games and 85 e-books anywhere, anytime – it’s a gift for Mom and Dad as well,” said Kelly Shaw, CEO, Ooka Island.

Some of our readers also suggest a good ol' magazine subscription, which can be full of fun activities, craft ideas and short stories. Kids love getting mail!

EXPERIENCES

In my mind, there's nothing better than the gift of an experience. Last year I bought my mom a mom-daughter pedicure at my favourite spa; concert or theatre tickets would also go over well with Grandma!

For the little ones, you have ample choice here in Ottawa for experiential gifts. We're known all over Canada for our fantastic museums! We are partial to our fantastic sponsor, The Canadian Museum of Nature.

"A membership gift certificate is the perfect gift!" says manager Laura Sutin. Enjoy the museum all year long, and enjoy special perks as a member - discounts on museum programmes, and discounts on purchases at the Nature Boutique (another great place for gift items) and Nature Cafe.

GAMES AND PUZZLES

We've just implemented game night at our house, and although my 4 year-old is still a little young, she can still take part. Once she's bored, we send her off with a puzzle and she's happy to sit on the floor beside us. My 7 year-old is into all kinds of card games, and recently discovered Monopoly. She's playing the original with me, but I'm thinking Monopoly Junior might be a good choice for a gift under the tree!

UNIQUE TOYS

The best toys are the ones that spark imagination and creativity. They are usually quieter (ahem, no batteries) and allow children to create their own worlds of play.

"We love the Fairy Cottage. The Fairy Cottages and Tree Hollows are popular as the children can look after their own Garden indoors by watering it and maintaining it at home and moving the small Fairy Figurines inside the garden." - Patti Taggart, Owner of Tag Along Toys

Disclaimer: this post is part of our 2016 Holiday Campaign, with support from Tag Along Toys, The Canadian Museum of Nature, Saunders Farm and Ooka Island. Make sure to enter our giveaway post before the end of November!

Holiday Gifts from Tag Along Toys

Throughout the month of November we're offering our readers some ideas on where to get great gifts for the holidays. Today we're highlighting our favourite local Toy store - Tag Along Toys!

What is Tag Along Toys?

Tag Along Toys has two locations - one in Kanata (499 Terry Fox Dr) and one in the Blue Heron Mall (1500 Bank Street Ottawa). They carry unique quality items with a great selection of fun and educational toys and games. Tag Along prides themselves on their customer service and they offer free gift wrapping on all purchases. Also, receive 20% off on the last Thursday of each month for grandparents' day and 10% off to teachers and educators. 

They have gifts perfect for infants through to adults, expectant moms to tweens. They even carry adult 1000 to 5000 piece puzzles!

What are some great gift ideas you can find at Tag Along Toys?

Tag Along Toys has science sets, crafts, construction toys, puzzles, board games, Schleich animals and play sets, easels, scooters, and Our Generation dolls and accessories - just to name a few.

I took my kids into Tag Along Toys and asked them to each go and find a few of the things they might like to bring home with them. I suggested they find family type activities and I quickly had a pile of all kinds of options to choose from (and I'll give it to them, MOST of them were good options for the entire family!)

What did we walk out with?

We got two family board games - 5 Second Rule (which we had to adapt a bit for the 7 year olds because it was difficult) and Apples to Apples. Both are a lot of fun for us to play as a family, and have also been really educational. We get a chance to explain new vocabulary, ideas, and talk about all kinds of topics that come up with the games. There may have also been some uncontrollable giggles when we were playing Apples to Apples. :)

I know we'll be back before Christmas because I have a puzzle lover, a science enthusiast and a kid who is looking for a new doll and some crafts. Plus did you see the child-safe nail polish advent calendar? *swoon*.

If you're looking for a great local toy store to buy different, fun and educational toys for the kids of all ages in your life - check out one of Tag Along Toys' stores (or shop online). BONUS? They offer free gift wrapping all year round.

Make sure to enter our giveaway - one of the prizes is a $50 gift certificate to Tag Along Toys!

*This post is part of a paid Holiday Gift Campaign.

WE Day Ottawa & The WE Movement

The morning of November 9th I woke up to somber political news from south of the border.  Like many, I was left feeling shocked, confused, scared, and uneasy. I also didn’t know how to share the news with my eight-year-old daughter, who was greatly interested in the possibility of a female president of the United States.

I spoke to my disappointed daughter about the fact that people will work together for the greater good under the new American presidency because that’s what good people do - but I remained doubtful. There was good news that morning though; my daughter would be joining me as a Junior Reporter at our first ever WE Day. She was very excited to be going, especially once she heard Prime Minister Justin Trudeau would be speaking.

Until that day, I had only heard about the WE Day events that are held across Canada (and the US) every year, but I had never attended. I had heard kids at my daughter’s bus stop talk about how excited they were to go and how inspired they were once the event was over. I knew the youth-focused event consisted of musicians, actors and well known public figures, but what I didn’t realize is that WE Day is a part of a powerful movement that brings people together and gives them tools and resources to change the world.

WE “engages and empowers youth to lead through service, build compassionate communities and transform participants into active world-changers in the process.”

WE Day Ottawa opened with Governor General David Johnston entering the stage with a joyful little dance that made everyone smile. He explained what the day was all about.  Co-hosted by E! hosts Tyrone Edwards and Chloe Wilde as well as award-winning singer-song writer, Jully Black and Canadian TV Host Maripier Morin, the motivational day kicked off with a positive and uplifting vibe that made everyone in the Canadian Tire Centre applaud, cheer and smile.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau

Every adult in the room hung onto Prime Minister Trudeau’s words that morning. Everyone listened as he told us, “ no matter one’s age – we all have a responsibility to take a positive role in shaping the future of Canada and the world.”

WE Are Canada

Prime Minister Trudeau also spoke about an exciting new WE initiative called #WEAreCanada. In celebration of Canada’s 150th birthday, WE has created a bilingual educational curriculum that will directly engage millions of young Canadians to focus on making local, national and international impacts. For every We Are Canada Pledge made at WE.ca, $10 will be donated to support WE’s local and global programs. The #WeAreCanada movement is a great way for Canada's youth to celebrate our country’s unique diversity and culture.

Paula Abdul, onstage at WE Day Ottawa

Paula Abdul

Throughout the day we heard from numerous motivational speakers including American singer-songwriter, Paula Abdul, who talked about making the things we want to do possible. Paula talked about how her passion to be a dancer superseded the negative comments she received and that her passion is what led her to be a cheerleader for the Lakers, which in effect opened the doors to future opportunities. She also emphasized the fact that we need to lift each other up and make each other better.

Inspiring speakers and performers of WE Day Ottawa

The rest of the day followed the same principle – to lift each other up, help one another and spread love and acceptance. Margaret Trudeau spoke about mental health stigma and shared stories from her own battle with bipolar disorder.

Other inspirational speakers included Rick Hansen, Jacob Hoggard, Michael Downie (brother of Gord Downie) and the sisters of Chanie Wenjack. We also heard empowering speeches from the 17-year old author of Kakuma Girls, Clare Morneau, who spoke about the stories she collected for the book from girls in the Kakuma Refugee Camp, and artist and Make-A-Wish recipient, Annie Bartlett.

KaliAndrews Dance Company

Intermixed with the inspirational and philanthropic messages and stories were uplifting performances from Classified, Serena Ryder, Tyler Shaw and Hedley.

The WE co-founders, Craig and Marc Keilburger spoke about the amazing achievements made by WE Day youth activists and energized the crowd with their passion to promote positive change at the community and global levels.

Craig and Marc Keilburger, co-Founders of WE

At the end of the day, the message I took away from my time at WE Day Ottawa was that the world can be changed by just one person - and it starts with our youth. In addition to taking the time to familiarize ourselves and our children with the issues that are affecting the global community, we need to also create positive change in our own neighbourhoods, including helping our kids #RiseAbove cyberbullying.

Anyone can participate in the WE Movement – all it takes is a commitment to make change in the world. And what better time to work toward positive changes in our world then right now!

In the words of my Junior Reporter, “WE day is a day where people inspire other people and where people talk a lot about the good things they do, and not the bad things they do. If you go, you will see people on stage and people cheering. You will feel inspired too.”

The WE Movement celebrates people coming together. Did you know you can’t buy a ticket to WE Day? People (mostly youth) earn their ticket by taking action on one local or one global cause. WE Day celebrates these changes and encourages more people to join in and participate.

WE Families

It’s for that reason that Kids in the Capital has decided to become a WE Families Ambassador. What does that mean? It means we have committed to raise kids to care, to be compassionate and to make a difference locally and globally.  WE provided us with a kit to get started with activities that are fun, easy and will make a difference.

At home we talk about global issues of inequality and homelessness. We work together to see what we can do to make changes close to us that could affect the world at large. We donate to food banks and volunteer when possible and where needed.

We also make environmental issues a priority through the WE Take Charge campaign by setting our thermostat up two degrees in the summer and down in the winter (and discussing why this matters). We recycle, donate and reuse everything possible and are vigilant of our water usage and make conscious conservation efforts such as using a rain barrel to water flowers in the summer.

Craig Keilburger and Jacob Hoggard talking about how to get families involved with the WE Movement

There are so many things families can do to bring the WE Movement into their homes and encourage children to learn about the world around them, teach them how their actions impact others, and show them that what they do matters to the world at large. For more information on how you can get your family involved in the WE Movement visit: https://www.we.org/we-at-home/we-families/ 

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

Santa Claus Parades in Ottawa

While some houses in your neighbourhood may still be sporting a jack ‘o lantern, Christmas is coming and that means Santa Claus parades will be popping up all around Ottawa!

2016 Santa Claus Parades in Ottawa

Help Santa Toy Parade
http://toyparade.ca/
Saturday, November 19th at 11 a.m.

The Ottawa Professional Fire Fighter’s Association has helped organize the Help Santa Toy Parade since 1969. This is the big one that takes place downtown and is favoured by many in the Ottawa area. Firefighters collect new toys and cash donations along the route. Can’t bring your toy donation? They will also accept new toys at any Ottawa Fire Station until mid-December. Depending on your spot along the route it can get busy, so keep this in mind if your family doesn’t like crowds.

Santa’s Parade of Lights
paradeoflights.org
Saturday November 26th at 6 p.m.

Also hosted by the Ottawa Professional Firefighters Association, this parade takes place on St-Joseph, Blvd. in Orleans. Toys and cash donations will be collected by firefighters along the route.

Stittsville Parade of Lights
stittsvilleva.com/parade-of-lights
Saturday, November 26th at 6 p.m.

This parade is a favourite community event. The parade proceeds south down Main Street to Village Square. Parade goers are welcome to stay for the lighting of Village Square Park and to warm up with some hot chocolate.

Kanata Santa Claus Parade
http://www.hazeldeanmall.com/events/hazeldean-2016-hazeldean-mall-santa-claus-parade Saturday, November 12th at 10 a.m.

The Kanata parade (a.k.a the Hazeldean Mall Santa Claus Parade) is presented by the Kanata-Hazeldean Lions Club in cooperation with the Kanata Sports Club. The parade starts at Terry Fox and Castlefrank, moves along Castlefrank to Abbeyhill and then on to the Hazeldean Mall. Nonperishable food donations to the Kanata Food Cupboard are appreciated.

Barrhaven Lions Santa Parade
santaclausbarrhaven.com
Sunday, November 20th at 5:30 p.m. 

The annual Barrhaven Lions Club Light Up the Night Santa Claus Parade runs down Strandherd Drive. Forgot to pack snacks? There will be food vendors along the route.

Richmond Village Santa Claus Parade
http://richmondvillage.ca/event/santa-parade/
Saturday, December 3rd at 5:30 p.m.

Carp Santa Claus Parade
Saturday, December 10th at 12 noon
Parade route starts at The Diefenbunker, 3911 Carp Road, and follows Carp Road.

Carleton Place Santa Claus Parade
http://downtowncarletonplace.com/the-downtown-carleton-place-santa-claus-parade/ 
Saturday, November 26th at 5 p.m.

Other Christmas Activities in Ottawa

Besides parades, there are many Christmas activities in Ottawa, including:

Alight the Night
http://www.uppercanadavillage.com/events/alight-at-night/
December 2nd to January 7th
Upper Canada Village

Step back in time while walking around the beautifully lit heritage buildings, trees and fences of Upper Canada Village. There are festive activities and a chance to meet Santa Claus all throughout the month of December leading up to Christmas.

Almonte’s Light Up the Night!
lightupthenightalmonte.com
Friday, December 2nd at 7 p.m.

Bundle up, this is an open-air concert and fireworks display on Main Street in Almonte. Now in its 26th year this night is full of music and memorable outdoor festivities.

Manotick - Olde Fashioned Christmas
http://manotickvillage.com/event/olde-fashioned-christmas/
Saturday, December 3rd and Sunday, December 4th

Horse drawn wagon rides with Father and Mary Christmas to sunset carolling, this wonderful weekend is full of traditional events not to be missed. 

Merrickville - Breakfast with Santa
christmasinmerrickville.ca
Saturday, December 3rd from 8:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m.

Sponsored by the Merrickville Royal Canadian Legion this is one of the most popular Christmas-in-Merrickville events. You and your family can enjoy a hearty, home-style breakfast with Santa at the Royal Canadian Legion. After breakfast, your children can share their wish list with Santa, or you can enjoy a horse-drawn wagon ride as a family. The wagon stop is right outside the Legion’s door. Donations for the horse drawn wagon rides are appreciated. Breakfast with Santa costs $6.00 for adults and $3.00 for children ages 12 and under; children ages 6 and under are free.

Cumberland Heritage Village Museum Vintage Village of Lights ottawa.ca/en/liveculture/museums/cumberlandmuseum

30,000 Christmas lights, decorations everywhere, a gigantic reindeer and sleigh and – of course – a visit with Santa Claus in his workshop! Kids will have fun sledding, playing broomball or street hockey, making a snow globe, decorating gingerbread, and sending your Christmas wish list to Santa via telegram. Regular admission applies. 

A Nepean Christmas
ottawa.ca/en/liveculture/museums/nepeanmuseum
Saturday, December 11th from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Grab the family and head to the Nepean Museum with kids to have fun learning about old-fashioned Christmas traditions. Take home a gingerbread house and a Christmas card, and maybe even see Santa Claus! Cost: $6.15/individual, $10.20/pair, $16.35/family.

Proulx Maple & Berry Farm Winterfest
http://proulxberryfarm.com/ 
December 1st to the 18th

Drop by Proulx Maple & Berry Farm in Cumberland for a beautiful display of Christmas lights, a photo booth, wagon rides and more! Visit their website for more informaton. 

The CP Holiday Train
cpr.ca/en/community/holiday-train
November 27th: Perth (7:40 p.m.), Smiths Falls (6:20 p.m.) and Merrickville (4:45 p.m.)

You may not see Santa here, but this is a great holiday event all the same. The CP Holiday Train started in 1999 and raises money and food for the Food Bank. Over the three weeks of the program, musicians will play more than 150 concerts from a boxcar that’s been turned into a travelling stage.