Our Favourite Holiday Traditions

Every family has their special way of celebrating the holidays. From favourite movies and songs on the radio, to family gatherings and special presents, traditions help create lasting memories for children.

The Kids in the Capital team is excited to share some of our favourite Christmas traditions with you, and we've invited our holiday campaign sponsors to join in!

Misty

Growing up, my mom would buy my brother and me a children's book each year, and sign the inside with a quote or message. Now I have a huge stack of books that I read to my own children. I cherish these books so much!

Other family traditions included watching the BBC's "A Child's Christmas in Whales" and tracking Santa's progress on the radio.

Lara

"Each child receives a Christmas ornament every year, so they'll have a collection when they move out. Each ornament commemorates things they liked that year."

Tracy

"Every Christmas morning we check outside to see if Santa's reindeers left any hoof prints in the snow... which they always do (and they often look a lot like a horseshoe)." ;)

Here are some holiday traditions from our Holiday Giveaway sponsors: 

Saunders Farm

"While not open to the public anymore, Saunders Farm once housed a cut-your-own Christmas tree farm. Hundreds of guests would visit us each December for a chilly hayride to find their perfect tree, and then enjoy some hot chocolate by the bonfire in our 180-year-old Log Barn. Cutting Christmas trees is our favourite holiday tradition!"

Patti, Tag Along Toys

"We always let our son open one gift the night before Christmas and it is always a new pair of pajamas and a book."

Ooka Island

"A favourite holiday tradition is gifting each child in our lives a classic hardcover children's book for Christmas and writing an inscription on the inside along with the date." 

Canadian Museum of Nature

"We love hiding tiny reindeer in the exhibits during the holiday season. Fun for the kids to find!"

The holiday season is full of so many traditions including putting up Christmas lights, baking and, of course, quality family time. The Kids in the Capital team also seemed to share similar traditions, such as opening the gift of pyjamas on Christmas Eve.

What are your family traditions? Leave a comment and let us know!

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!

Give the Gift of Saunders Farm

Ask my daughter what she likes the most about Saunders Farm and she will say "the jumping pillows!" And she's not alone. Thousands of kids flock to this unique family-run farm, which has been in operation since 1976. It is now considered a must-see destination for all things fun and fright! As part of our 2017 Holiday Gift Guide & Giveaway we are introducing you to some of our favourite local businesses, and today we are highlighting Saunders Farm.

What is Saunders Farm? 

Located in the small community of Munster in Ottawa’s west end, Saunders Farm is best known for their Haunting Season and Summer Mazes. Their mission is to create a space that provides fun, food, and memories for everyone, which they accomplish through opening their doors to tens of thousands of guests each year.

Between April and September, Saunders Farm welcomes guests to its Mazes Season (they have the world’s largest collection of hedge mazes and labyrinths), birthday parties, Farm Camps, Farm Dinners, and corporate events and team building. During this time, the Farm also hosts dozens of weddings where they provide an amazing experience for brides, grooms, and their families.

Each October, their Farm opens Haunting Season, Ottawa’s largest fall festival, where they delight and entertain guests through their numerous haunted attractions, live performances, and delicious farm fresh foods. The daytime Haunt is more child-friendly and still offers families the opportunity to explore the mazes and the rest of the farm, while the night time haunt, Fright Fest, is guaranteed to make you scream. 2016 celebrated 25 years and 1 million screams! Fright Fest makes for an unforgettable date night.

Saunders has grown one of the largest collection of hedge mazes in the world and their property is always clean, well kept and is a great space for kids to run, have fun and play. In addition to the mazes and jumping pillows, there is a unique farm-inspired play structure, a huge slide and a splash pad. Families can easily spend (many) summer days making memories at Saunders Farm. 

Award winning family attraction

Saunders Farm has won numerous awards for their innovation, marketing, leadership, and overall excellence.

How can you give the gift of Saunders Farm from Christmas?

This holiday season, Saunders Farm will be offering its guests special discounts on Annual Passes. Annual passes include the Summer Mazes Season and the Haunting Season!

Make sure to enter our giveaway - one of the prizes is an Annual Pass (which, don't forget, includes Haunting Season!) to Saunders Farm. The good news is that you don't have to wait until spring to learn more about Saunders Farm. You can follow their fun all year round online:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/saundersfarmfun/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SaundersFarmFans
Twitter: https://twitter.com/saundersfarm 

Disclaimer: this post is part of our 2016 Holiday Campaign. Make sure to enter our giveaway post before the end of November!

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/