It’s December 10th which means holiday traditions
are already in full swing around the Minderlein household and the kiddies
couldn’t be more excited!
Here’s our Christmas Line-up for 2018...
1. The One of a Kind Show The event has already come and gone but this
is a tradition I’ve had with my mother-in-law for 12 years. We always head down the last Thursday in
November and spend the day shopping for Christmas gifts. This year was the first time in seven years I
got to go on my own (baby free) and it was truly a special treat. I still got my baby fix though…my
sister-in-law was able to join us with my niece baby Claire.
2. Glow Barrie This was something new we tried this year and
we definitely weren’t let down. It took
place in Barrie, Ontario at the Bradford Greenhouses. It was the most amazing light display I’ve
ever seen! Our entire family loved the
event, even baby Irelynn. We got our
first visit in with Santa Claus, the kids got their faces painted, played in
the children’s castle and filled their passports as they traveled from one
country to the next enjoying the festival of lights. We finished the evening with beaver tails and
a peaceful car ride home.
For more info: Glow Barrie
3. Elf on the Shelf
Our elf Timbit and his bestie Bob the reindeer made their exciting
return last weekend bringing with them lots of fun goodies! We got the kids excited for their return with
a special delivery of Christmas cupcakes in late November.
I teamed up with my good friend and neighbour one evening to bake and
decorate them, then we took turns secretly delivering them. New this year: Timbit and Bob brought with them Christmas
PJs for the entire family. Normally I
give everyone their pyjamas on Christmas Eve but my neighbour suggested December 1st, allowing us to enjoy them all month long.
4. The Santa Claus Parade Every year we look forward to seeing the
Santa Claus Parade in our hometown of Bolton and every year we hope for good
weather. This year Georgia wasn’t
feeling herself so we decided to head down a little later than usual. We managed to see the last few floats and of
course the Big Guy – Santa! Then
afterwards we headed indoors to warm-up and enjoy some hot chocolate with our
good friends (who conveniently live downtown Bolton - right on the parade route).
5. Santa Visit This year I took the kiddies to Upper Canada
Mall. They always have the best Santa
and new this year – interactive games and activities, plus some fun photo
opportunities while you wait in line.
6. Christmas Family Photos They took place this past weekend so fingers crossed
we got some good ones. Our photographer already sent us an unedited preview and so far some of my favourites are the ones where no one is looking and Irelynn is screaming ha!
Tim Smith: Our Photographer
7. Magical
Christmas Forest at Kortright This is an
event we attended a couple years ago and loved it. It takes place at an Outdoor Education Centre
in Vaughan, Ontario. It offers lots of
fun activities for families to participate in.
You can start the evening indoors decorating cookies and making crafts,
then bundle up and head outdoors for a campfire and sleigh ride. On your way to visit Santa be sure to stop by
the elves workshop and check out the Nice
List…hopefully you made the list!
You
can check out my blog from our 2016 visit: Magical Christmas Forrest 2016
8. Decorating the Tree Ever since Hudson was born we have continued
our annual tradition of putting up a real Christmas tree. I don’t think I could ever go back now…who
doesn’t love the smell of a fresh pine around the holidays?, not to mention the
millions of pine needles I find on my floor every morning ha!
9. The Nutcracker This will be Georgia’s first time at the
Ballet. I’ll never forget how much I
loved seeing the Nutcracker as a little girl. I think the only thing more exciting will be enjoying it with my own daughter and
both her grandmothers (Girls Day!).
10. Cookie Exchange This year I was invited to two and
unfortunately I had to miss the first one.
But I’m looking forward to the next one because it’s been years since I've had the chance to participate in one. Now I just need to
figure out when I’m going to bake 8 dozen cookies!
11. Christmas Parties As much as I love hosting it’s always nice to
be a guest. This year we’ve been invited
to a few different functions and despite how busy things get it’s always fun to
dress-up with the kiddies and head out for a night on the town (in this case the neighbourhood – we always stay local ha!)
12. Brown Family Christmas Every year we celebrate Christmas at my mom’s
house on the 23rd. This
allows us to stay home on Christmas Eve, wrap gifts, bake cookies and watch the
Santa Tracker as we patiently await
his arrival.
13. Christmas Day My 11th Christmas at the
Minderlein Home. Seriously one of my
favourite days of the year! My mother
and father-in-law always host a great party and I love that they never forget
to include my own family. My mom and grandpa look forward to joining the celebration.
14. Blue Mountain For the past couple of years we have continued taking the family to Blue Mountain for a fun-filled day of tubing, swimming and dinner
out in the village. We’re hoping that this year my
brother might be around to join us.
15. New Year’s Eve We always host on New Years Eve because it’s
so difficult to go anywhere with four kids.
We’re excited to see who will be joining us this year for the last party of
the season!
As always I look forward to hearing from all of you. If you have a chance please share some of
your favourite holiday traditions in the comments!
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| A little preview of our Holiday photos. |
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| With my sister-in-law at the One of a Kind Show in Toronto. |
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| One of a Kind |
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| Glow Barrie |
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| Sound asleep after Glow in Barrie. |
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| Timbit and Bob are back! |
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| Ready to be decorated - 12 feet this year! |
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| Patiently waiting to see Santa! |
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| Magical Christmas Forrest at Kortright |
Have a great week!
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