Yay! This is it, the final shot in my 365 project this year, and also, my Christmas wish for all of you:

May all your Christmas wishes come true!

Much love from DaniGirl & Beloved, Lucas, Simon and Tristan

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There I was, minding my own business, playing with the Charlie Brown Christmas tree and taking pictures of the reflections in the shiny red ball …

… when all of a sudden — dun dun DUN — I saw him: the Creeping Mischief Monster!

And even more terrifyingly, at that exact moment, he noticed it. The shiny red ball!!

After that, you knew this was inevitable.

This is why we can’t have nice things.

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Seriously? You thought you might get through one Christmas season without the annual Donder reindeer rant? Sorry to disappoint you. As long as I have pixels to purvey my message, the reindeer rant will play out at some time in the month of December.

New around here? Darling, this one is for you!

“You know Dasher and Dancer and Prancer and Vixen;
Comet and Cupid and DONDER and Blitzen…”

As you might know, my last name is Donders. As such, it has been my lifelong quest to set the record straight and right the wrongs entrenched by Johnny Marks and Gene Autry.

Here’s a little history lesson for you. The poem “A Visit From St Nicholas”, commonly known as “The Night Before Christmas”, was written back in 1823 and is generally attributed to American poet Clement Clarke Moore (although there have been recent arguments that the poem was in fact written by his contemporary Henry Livingston Jr.) The original poem reads, in part:

More rapid than eagles his coursers they came,
And he whistled, and shouted, and called them by name.
“Now Dasher! now, Dancer! now, Prancer and Vixen!
On, Comet! on, Cupid! on Dunder and Blixem!

As explained on the Donder Home Page (no relation):

In the original publication of “A Visit from St. Nicholas” in 1823 in the Troy Sentinel, “Dunder and Blixem” are listed as the last two reindeer. These are very close to the Dutch words for thunder and lightning, “Donder and Bliksem”. Blixem is an alternative spelling for Bliksem, but Dunder is not an alternative spelling for Donder. It is likely that the word “Dunder” was a misprint. Blitzen’s true name, then, might actually have been “Bliksem”.

In 1994, the Washington Post delved into the matter by sending a reporter to the Library of Congress to reference the source material. (In past years, I’d been able to link to a Geocities site with the full text, but sadly, Geocities is no more.)

We were successful. In fact, Library of Congress reference librarian David Kresh described Donner/Donder as “a fairly open-and-shut case.” As we marshaled the evidence near Alcove 7 in the Library’s Main Reading Room a few days ago, it quickly became clear that Clement Clarke Moore, author of “A Visit from St. Nicholas,” wanted to call him (or her?) “Donder.” Never mind that editors didn’t always cooperate. […] Further confirmation came quickly. In “The Annotated Night Before Christmas,” which discusses the poem in an elegantly illustrated modern presentation, editor Martin Gardner notes that the “Troy Sentinel” used “Dunder”, but dismisses this as a typo. Gardner cites the 1844 spelling as definitive, but also found that Moore wrote “Donder” in a longhand rendering of the poem penned the year before he died: “That pretty well sews it up,” concluded Kresh.

So there you have it. This Christmas season, make sure you give proper credit to Santa’s seventh reindeer. On DONDER and Blitzen. It’s a matter of family pride.

BUT WAIT! There’s more!! After six years of recycling the same holiday post, I was thinking I needed something a little extra to drive my point home. I’m not sure whether this is a testament to the fact that I’ve been spending WAY too much time on Pinterest lately, or the fact that I need to get the heck out of Photoshop once in a while. I am sure, though, that I am no iminent danger of quitting my day job to become a graphic designer, because designing these damn things is WAY harder than it looks!

Ahem, anyway, for all you pinners out there, do me the favour of pinning this one around? I’m thinking there’s a great untapped medium for my message out there on Pinterest!

Easy-peasy one-click pinning: Pin It

And to all a good night!

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With the last of the leaves of the season finally (mostly) raked up and bagged, I could finally turn my attention to decorating the porch this weekend. I swear, I have as much fun (and take as much time!) decorating the porch as I do the inside of the house. It takes a long time to hang 25 feet of garland, lights and balls and affix them firmly enough that they don’t blow away before spring thaw!!

And with that, I officially give myself permission to start getting excited about the holidays! I feel like I’m a wee bit ahead of the curve this year, but I’m sure whatever lead on the season I have now will be lost by mid-December. I’ve got the fixin’s for my famous shortbread and peanut brittle in the cupboard, and I bought a new set of cookie cutters so we could try one of those stacked-stars-into-a-Christmas-tree thingees this year. I’ve got some wrapping paper and tags stashed away, and I’ve even started my Christmas shopping. Yay!

Have you started your Christmas shopping yet? Are you an online shopper, or do you still prefer to head out to the shops? I was quite pleased with myself on the weekend when I knocked off a good chunk of my to-do list with two online stores and a visit to the Third World Bazaar sale here in Manotick. What a great selection they had this year!

If you’re an online shopper, you might enjoy this. As you know, I’m blogging for Fisher-Price this year, and Mattel is pleased to offer this online gift-finder. Or, if you’re more of a hands-on shopper, the Mattel Holiday helpers will be at various stores this Christmas season providing useful advice on appropriate toys for kids of all ages. If you’re in the Ottawa area, you can visit them on the following dates and locations:

• November 24 – 25, Zellers at Place d’Orleans
• November 26 – 27, Zellers at Billings Bridge
• December 3 – 4, Sears at Rideau Centre
• December 10 – 11, Sears at St Laurent Shopping Centre
• December 15 – 16, Zellers at Bayshore Shopping Centre
• December 17 – 18, Zellers at Hazeldean Mall

Mattel has also partnered with Holiday Helper Tarra Stubbins, a professional organizer. Mattel’s partnership with Tarra gives consumers access to expert shopping and organizational advice this holiday season on a series of YTV vignettes and on Mattel’s Facebook page. Mattel’s Holiday Helper will give families everywhere tips for holiday travel with the kids, efficient shopping strategy and advice for gift-giving.

Between now and Christmas, I’ll write a couple of posts with my recommendations for some of the best toys and gear I’ve seen this year with Fisher-Price. I’ll start this week with my favourite ideas for older kids, and we’ll work our way down to the wee ones. Sound good?

In the meantime, tell me: are you feeling the holiday spirit yet? Are you like me, a bit of a kid who delights in the anticipation? Or are you dreading the extra work you’ll have between now and the end of the year? What do you do that makes you feel like Christmas is finally on the way?

Disclosure: I am part of the Fisher-Price Play Panel and I receive special perks as part of my affiliation with this group. The opinions on this blog are my own.

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Last Christmas, inspired by Andrea, I took one picture each hour from 8 am to 8 pm on Christmas Eve — the Christmas Eve photo project. And I loved the results.

This year, since we’re having a quieter Christmas (my brother’s family only joins us every second Christmas) and because I had to work for a few hours this morning, I was going to skip the Christmas Eve photo project. But it’s a lovely day and I think it’s going to be a wonderful Christmas. With the big boys at an afternoon movie with Beloved and the little boy napping, I find myself with the choice between cleaning and posting my pictures. Guess which one I chose?

The prequel:

Tried to be kind and bring doughnuts for the skeleton team at work today, but the wind caught the box just as I was stepping out of the car. Grandma’s not the only thing that got run over by a reindeer on Christmas Eve!! It’s Christmas crueler carnage!!

12 pm: I’ll be home for Christmas!

1 pm: I love my porch, and I love my porch decorated for Christmas even moreso!

2 pm: Aaaand the wrapping is done. Finally!

3:00 pm: There’s always time for Christmas cookies.

4:00 pm: The calm before the storm of Christmas crazy!

5:00 pm: Granny and her elves.

6:00 pm: They look so grown up to me here — but still not too grown up to sit in Dad’s lap.

7:00 pm: Papa Lou is adjusting his antenna to make sure the alien signal comes through clearly.

8:00 pm: A favourite Christmas tradition — the viewing of the annual family photo calendar.

The post script: Christmas morning!

And finally, the picture that I was going to post as my Christmas greeting to all of you to make the project an even dozen photos:

From all of us to all of you, Happy Christmas! May all your dreams come true.

.

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Hmmm, something’s just not quite right. The tree is up, the stockings are hung, the malls are filled with frantic holiday shoppers and Magic 100 has switched to all-Christmas-music-all-the-time format. I’ve blogged about Santa parades and the Portable North Pole. I’ve got all my bloggy holiday traditions covered, but it feels like something is missing.

Oh riiiiiiiight. It’s time for the annual reindeer rant! If I can educate one misinformed soul every year about the correct names of Santa’s reindeer, my mission will be a success.

“You know Dasher and Dancer and Prancer and Vixen;
Comet and Cupid and DONDER and Blitzen…”

As you might know, my last name is Donders. As such, it has been my lifelong quest to set the record straight and right the wrongs entrenched by Johnny Marks and Gene Autry.

Here’s a little history lesson for you. The poem “A Visit From St Nicholas”, commonly known as “The Night Before Christmas”, was written back in 1823 and is generally attributed to American poet Clement Clarke Moore (although there have been recent arguments that the poem was in fact written by his contemporary Henry Livingston Jr.) The original poem reads, in part:

More rapid than eagles his coursers they came,
And he whistled, and shouted, and called them by name.
“Now Dasher! now, Dancer! now, Prancer and Vixen!
On, Comet! on, Cupid! on Dunder and Blixem!

As explained on the Donder Home Page (no relation):

In the original publication of “A Visit from St. Nicholas” in 1823 in the Troy Sentinel, “Dunder and Blixem” are listed as the last two reindeer. These are very close to the Dutch words for thunder and lightning, “Donder and Bliksem”. Blixem is an alternative spelling for Bliksem, but Dunder is not an alternative spelling for Donder. It is likely that the word “Dunder” was a misprint. Blitzen’s true name, then, might actually have been “Bliksem”.

In 1994, the Washington Post delved into the matter by sending a reporter to the Library of Congress to reference the source material. (In past years, I’d been able to link to a Geocities site with the full text, but sadly, Geocities is no more.)

We were successful. In fact, Library of Congress reference librarian David Kresh described Donner/Donder as “a fairly open-and-shut case.” As we marshaled the evidence near Alcove 7 in the Library’s Main Reading Room a few days ago, it quickly became clear that Clement Clarke Moore, author of “A Visit from St. Nicholas,” wanted to call him (or her?) “Donder.” Never mind that editors didn’t always cooperate. […] Further confirmation came quickly. In “The Annotated Night Before Christmas,” which discusses the poem in an elegantly illustrated modern presentation, editor Martin Gardner notes that the “Troy Sentinel” used “Dunder”, but dismisses this as a typo. Gardner cites the 1844 spelling as definitive, but also found that Moore wrote “Donder” in a longhand rendering of the poem penned the year before he died: “That pretty well sews it up,” concluded Kresh.

So there you have it. This Christmas season, make sure you give proper credit to Santa’s seventh reindeer. On DONDER and Blitzen. It’s a matter of family pride.

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This post was inspired by a CBC article about how Shaw Cable moved its beloved Yule Log channel to a Video On Demand channel. The previously free stream featuring nothing but a Yule log burning in a fireplace, now entering its 25th year, will now cost 99 cents. The fee, plus a matching amount from Shaw, will be donated to charity. Thanks to the Twitter conversation about the change to Shaw’s Yule log channel, I discovered that of course there’s an app for that. And then I fell down the rabbit hole of iPhone Christmas apps.

Here are five of the most interesting Christmas-themed apps I found. (Caveat: I have not tested many of these. Use at your own risk!)

1. The Yule Log app. As soothing and oddly compelling as Log itself.

2. Christmas Music by Nutsie. Thousands of Christmas songs wrapped up in dozens of playlists like Top 100 Christmas Songs, Children’s Christmas, Krazy Kristmas, and (I’m so curious, I may just have to fork out the $1.99 for this one) the Jingle Bells Playlist.

3. Postcards from Santa. This one is getting such great reviews that I think I might have to try it myself! “Select from a number of charming santa images, use our pre-written santa message or write your own, and enter the name and mailing address of the child you want to send the postcard to. We will print the customized postcard and drop it in the mail. Your child’s postcard will arrive only a few days later in the mail.” Fun!

4. Talking Santa. “Talk to Santa and he will repeat your words. Poke, swipe or tickle Santa to see his various reactions. Run Santa over with a huge snowball. (I can hear my boys howling over this already!) Give Santa milk & cookies. Touch the bag to see more than 20 gifts. Shake your device and see what happens.”

5. The Christmas Tree Decorating App. No space for a tree? This seems like a silly little app to help you feel like you decorated the tree. “Decorate your tree however you choose with colored lights, ornaments, candy canes and icicles. But be careful not to drop any ornaments or you will hear that dreaded shatter! Watch your individually decorated tree sparkle as you countdown the days till Christmas.”

And, for those of you who don’t have an iPhone or an iPad, here’s four more 21st Century Christmas sites and services!

I’ve said before how much of a huge fan I am of the Portable North Pole application. Upload a picture and make a few specifications on Santa’s site, and Santa will e-mail you a link to a personalized video that mentions your child by name AND shows a picture of him or her in Santa’s big book. This is a delightful service and my boys are already asking if Santa will be sending them a new message this year. (Um, note to self — next task on list = upload pix to Portable North Pole!)

Along the same lines, Sympatico’s Magic Santa is an online video service you can use to make free personalized videos messages from Santa for your kids. Sympatico.ca is partnering with Kids Help Phone and will be giving $0.25 to them for every video made up to $50,000. There’s also is a contest… one family will win a trip to Walt Disney World by capturing a photo or video of a child’s reaction to a Magic Santa video and submitting it to the contest site by December 19, 2010. And there’s even a Magic Santa iPhone app.

The NORAD Santa Tracker site has been around for awhile, but now there’s a mobile version, too! This Christmas eve, join NORAD to track Santa’s flight from your phone. On December 24th, open Google Maps for mobile and do a search for “Santa” to see his latest location.

And of course, you can always follow Santa on Twitter!

Completely serendipitously, just as I was finishing this post, my brother e-mailed me this amazing video of a Christmas concert staged entirely with iPhones and iPads. As my brother said, how could you NOT want an iPhone or an iPad after you see this?

We’ve come a long way from letters the editor, haven’t we Virginia?

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The alternate title of this post is “In which she becomes convinced that natural trees are the best possible option for Christmas.”

It was about -10C with the faintest hint of snow in the air when we headed out to Ian’s Evergreen Plantation to find our very first not-plastic-and-metal Christmas tree. Did I mention it was cold? Free hot chocolate and a bonfire helped to take off the chill.

So did running around like goofballs on the play sets.

We took a hayride just for the sake of taking a hay ride, but one of the staff told us the best pickins’ were to be found out front of the plantation.

It didn’t take long to find the perfect tree. I’d worried that this part would be messy, but Beloved handled it in a manly way. “Hey Dad, don’t poke yer eye out!”

The boys were fascinated with the whole process, including the free “Christmas wrapping”.

“We are ridiculously proud of ourselves for going into the forest and hunting down and conquering this tree!”

It’s a little soft because I maxed out my ISO at 1600, but there’s just not a lot of natural light to be had in December. And besides, Lucas and noise just seem to go hand in hand.

He’s almost tall enough to reach the top of the tree. How did that happen?

This? Is worth everything.

So here’s my final thoughts about the natural versus artificial debate — now that I’m all professional about the formerly-live trees and all.

• It was not nearly as much work as I thought it would be to go out and cut down our own tree. Tying it to the roof, also something I’d dreaded, was a non-issue.
• I was also pleasantly surprised by how easy it was to find a perfect tree. I’d expected to have to settle, but there were many, many great trees to choose from. Ours is perfect and full and lovely.
• It’s easy to underestimate the size of a tree in the forest. Using Beloved’s 5’11″ height as a yardstick, I was aiming for 6 1/2′ to 7′ tall. I thought we’d settled for one on the small side, but it very nearly reaches the ceiling. Did I mention it’s perfect?
• I’m really glad we went the extra mile to actually head out into the wilds to cut our own tree, instead of just getting one from the corner lot. It was definitely worth the effort, and made the whole experience a memorable adventure.
• I Swiffered up needles not once, not twice, not three times but FOUR times in the first four hours. I expected some needles, but yeesh! Beloved, who had expressed early reservations about the mess and amount of care required of a natural tree based on experience with them during his childhood, could not resist throwing in a few “I told you so!”s, even though he does admit to liking the final product very much.
• The boys, who to my surprise were strongly advocating the purchase of a new artificial tree, also agree unanimously that this is the best! tree! ever! (I hope we have not set the bar too high for future years!)
• The glorious and festive tree smell that everyone goes on about? Meh. Smells kind of like my grandfather’s car from the mid-1970s. Not bad, but not quite what I was expecting.

All in all, we definitely made the right choice and found the perfect tree. Another successful example of living my life according to the will of the bloggy peeps!

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Looking for a great way to kick off the countdown to Christmas? Why not come on down to Manotick this weekend and enjoy the village that has completely captured my heart?

On December 4 and 5, the village transforms itself into a Christmas village with horse-drawn carriage rides, a crafter’s market, breakfast with Father and Mary Christmas, strolling carollers and yes, a Santa parade. There’s also a Victorian penny sale, face painting, pictures with Santa and a family Christmas party with games and crafts. Seriously, can you imagine anything more delightful? And the weather should be perfect, cool but clear and perfect for hot chocolate and apple cider! Click this link for a .pdf with the full schedule.

If you do come out to Manotick, make sure you check out some of the great little shops and businesses. There’s My Toy Shop, a great little independent toy store, and The Gingerbread Man — a bakery that specializes in, you guessed it, gingerbread cookies and houses. Yum! And don’t miss the Manotick Village Butcher for locally grown, sustainable and ethically raised meats that are completely affordable and cut to your specification.

So you know I love Santa parades, right? We find one to attend each year. But this year, the boys will actually be participating in the Manotick Santa parade, riding in their school float. I don’t know who is more excited, me or the boys! Stay tuned, I’m guessing there may be a photo op or two to be had!

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Okay bloggy peeps, here’s another debate that started on Twitter but simply needs more than 140 characters to be fully explored.

I am in the market for a new Christmas tree. I have an ‘artificial’ tree that is one of the last surviving remnants from the practice marriage. It’s nearly 20 years old (holy crap, is that true? OMG, it is. Oh my sweet lord, I am getting older faster with each passing year!) and it is a gorgeous tree. It’s just over seven feet tall, full and bushy and lovely. Every year I looked forward to putting it up — it was truly one of my most treasured holiday heirlooms. And, if you’ll remember, last autumn it was infested by rodents. And by infested I mean I found small amounts of mouse turds in the bottom of the Christmas tree bag that the mice had chewed their way through, and shredded bits of the festive red bag woven into some of the branches.

It’s a tainted tree now, even though I put it up and decorated it last Christmas and it was indeed lovely. After I shook the (literal) shit out of it. But ever since the mousecapade, I’ve just lost that lovin’ feeling for my beautiful tree.

I’ve been perusing trees in stores, online and in flyers, but none of them are as lovely as mine once was. I’d actually intended to sanitize our tree by leaving it out in the blazing sun for a couple of days this summer (did you know UV rays neutralize hantavirus?) but alas, I never got around to it. Sigh.

And then this week, it occurred to me that there was another option entirely — a (formerly) live tree.

You can see that I struggle with nomenclature here. Some people call formerly live trees “real” trees, but I can assure you that my plastic and metal tree is entirely real. And I can’t bring myself to call them live trees because, well, they’re well on their way to dead the moment you hack through their trunks. Hmmm, let’s go with “natural” and “artificial” for the distinction. Does that work?

I have never had a natural tree at Christmas. In fact, my father (never to be confused with an environmentalist at the best of times) used to say “In the spirit of Christmas, let’s kill a tree!” I have no idea how to care for a natural tree, and really know nothing about them except that people seem to complain a lot about the mess of getting them out of the house.

I asked the Twitterverse for their opinions on natural versus artificial trees, and got nine responses. Six were enthusiastic promoters of natural trees, one considered switching to a natural tree until she saw the amount of accessories that would have to be acquired, one happily switched from natural to artificial and never looked back, and one lamented the year when the natural tree was knocked over four times, spilling water over the hardwood each time.

Water to be spilled? Oh dear. Three rambunctious and curious boys and we’ve never yet knocked down a tree — but then, we’ve never had gorgeous new hardwood floors, either. You just know that those floors will be a magnet for water to be spilled.

So I’m making a list (and checking it twice) of the pros and cons of each kind of tree.

Natural trees:

Pro : lovely scent of evergreen in house
Pro : can make a family expedition out of acquiring one (insert romantic visions of red-cheeked boys, sleigh rides and Rockwell-esque winter scenes here)
Pro : don’t have to store it in the garage where mice can poop in it
Pro : apparently eco-friendlier than I would have thought, as they’re grown particularly for harvest. Nobody laments the harvesting of carrots, right?
Con : must buy a new one each year
Con : you can’t predict what you’ll get with a natural tree (I like sameness, remember)
Con : have to get (potentially wet, snowy, dirty) tree onto the car (insert comical vision of Beloved, several meters of rope, and the roof rack of the Mazda here) and then into the house
Con : natural trees require maintenance and must be watered regularly
Con : gigantic PITA to get it out of the house without a forest of dropped needles everywhere
Con : sad to see discarded trees at the curb, waiting for garbage pickup
Con : have to take down tree according to garbage-day pick-up schedule

Artificial trees:

Pro : flexible schedule – can put up in October and take down in April if I am so inclined
Pro : one investment now should last 20 years or more
Pro : having the same tree year after year has strong nostalgia factor
Pro : no need to be at the mercy of capricious weather for acquisition of the tree
Pro : artificial trees come packed in tidy boxes that fit handily in the back of my car
Pro : no open containers of water waiting to be spewed onto the hardwood
Pro : less needly mess
Con : needs rodent-free off-season storage space

What say ye, bloggy peeps? Natural or artificial and why?

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Edited to add: Looking for the 2011 information? You’ll find it here!

Last leaves drifting from the trees? Check.

Halloween safely behind us, tucked into bed with a sore belly from too much candy? Check.

Weather turned cold, grey and damp — and snowy?!? Check.

Yay, it must be time for my annual guide to the Santa, Christmas and Holiday Parades of the National Capital region!!

This is the fifth anniversary of my bloggy parade preview, and it’s of one of my favourite posts to write each year. It’s a fun challenge tracking down all the big city and small town events in Eastern Ontario and the Outaouis, and gets me in the festive spirit almost as early as Costco has their Christmas trees on sale!

Here’s what’s happening in 2010, in chronological order.

Kanata Santa Claus Parade
Saturday, November 13 2010, starting at 10:00 am. The parade will proceed onto Castlefrank Road, turning onto Abbeyhill Drive and on to Hazeldean Mall.

Ottawa Help Santa Toy Parade
Saturday, November 20 2010 starting at 5:00 pm. The parade will start at the Canadian War Museum, head East on Wellington, turn South on Elgin, turn East on Laurier Ave and continue past City Hall onto the Queen Elizabeth Driveway to Landsdowne Park. New toys (no used toys, please) and cash donations will be collected by the Ottawa Firefighters.

39th Annual Cornwall Santa Claus Parade
Saturday, November 20 2010, starting at 5:00 pm. Leaves St. Lawrence High School on Second St. East, travels West on Second Street to finish at the Royal Canadian Legion at Second and Cumberland Streets. The 2010 theme is “Christmas in Story Land”.

14th Annual Barrhaven Lions Club Light Up the Night Santa Claus Parade
Sunday, November 21 2010, starting at 5:30 pm.. Parade route runs along Strandherd from Beatrice to Greenbank. Check out their new website complete with route info!

Gatineau Santa Claus Parade
Friday, November 26 2010, starting at 7:00 pm. A tradition that goes back several years, this light-filled parade that departs from the Aylmer marina attracts crowds from the entire region.

Brockville Santa Claus Parade
Saturday, November 27 2010, starting at 2:00 pm. The Brockville Shriners and Rotary Santa Claus Parade will begin at North Agusta Road and Pearl Street then travel West on Pearl Street E. to Park Street, South on Park Street and lastly, West on King Street to Gilmore Street. This year’s theme is “The Magic of Christmas”.

2010 Gananoque 1000 Islands Downtown Santa Claus Parade
Saturday, November 27 2010. Come and visit Santa and all his reindeer at the annual Santa Clause Parade down King Street!

8th Annual Carleton Place Santa Parade
Saturday, November 27 2010 starting at 5:00 pm. Thousands of spectators, over one hundred floats, and one jolly St. Nick will meet downtown Carleton Place on Bridge Street for the largest Santa Claus parade in the Ottawa Valley. This year’s theme is ‘A Disney Christmas!’

Pembroke Santa Claus Parade of Lights
Saturday, November 27 2010, starting at 5:30 pm. “It’s time to get your Jingle on! Bring hand bells to express your appreciation of the floats.” Pre-parade caroling at Cenotaph Park (Pembroke St at Mackay).

Orleans Parade of Lights 2010
Saturday, November 27 2010 starting at 6:00 pm. The parade will travel along St Joseph Blvd from Youville Drive to Prestone Drive.

Embrun Village Santa Claus Parade
Saturday, November 27 2010 starting at 6:30 pm.

Stittsville Parade of Lights 2010
Saturday, November 27 2010 starting at 7:30 pm.

Russell Village Christmas Parade
Sunday, November 28 2010. The Russell Fire Department and Russell Lions Club will be joining forces again to present the 2010 Edition of the parade. (Sorry, start time not available at time of publication.)

Picton Santa Claus Parade
Sunday, November 28 2010, starting at 2:59 PM on Main Street. (Ed: No kidding, that’s what the site said! Don’t be late!) Everyone’s invited. Hope to see you there!

Rockland Santa Clause Parade
Sunday, November 28 2010 at 4:30 PM on Laurier Street.

Vankleek Hill Christmas Parade of Lights
Friday, December 3 2010. Visit with Santa before the Parade! Santa’s village will be from 4:30 to 6:45 p.m. at The Review, 76 Main Street East, Vankleek Hill. Santa will be on hand with his helpers and will have goodies for each little visitor! Parade starts at 7:00 pm. The street lights will be turned off for this Special Occasion.
Come out and enjoy the Christmas Spirit. (Hey, did you know Vankleek Hill is the Gingerbread Capital of Ontario?!?)

Richmond Santa Claus Parade
Saturday, December 4 2010, starting at 11:00 am. Don’t miss the “Lighting of the Park” following the annual Santa Claus Parade!

Osgoode Santa Parade
Saturday, December 4 2010, starting at 11:30 am. Don’t miss “Christmas in the Village” while you’re there!

Manotick Christmas Parade
Saturday, December 4 2010, starting at 1:00 pm.

Pakenham Santa Claus Parade
Saturday, December 4 2010, starting at 1 pm. The parade begins and concludes at the Stewart Community Centre, Pakenham. Santa and Mrs. Claus will make their way to the Upper Hall of the community centre following the parade where they will be available to meet with children of all ages. Complimentary hot chocolate and hot dogs will be served. There is also free public skating from 2 to 3 pm following the parade.

Perth Santa Claus Parade
Saturday, December 4 2010, starting at 5:00 pm on Sunset Blvd.

Hawkesbury Santa Claus Parade
Saturday December 4 2010, starting at 7:00 pm. Let yourself be carried away by the magic of this beautiful tradition which will unravel on Hawkesbury’s Main Street

Almonte Santa Claus Parade
Sunday, December 5 2010, starting at 1:30 pm. From the Almonte Community Centre, the parade travels along Bridge St; left on Mill Street; right on Main Street, right onto Queen Street and back to the Community Centre. Santa and Mrs. Claus will make their way to the Upper Hall of the community centre following the parade where they will be available to meet the children. Hot chocolate and hot dogs will be served compliments of the Almonte Lions Club. There will also be free public skating from 2 to 4 pm.

Second Annual Carp Santa Claus Parade
Saturday, December 11 2010, starting at 1 p.m. The parade start at the Diefenbunker, then follow Carp Road to Juanita Avenue then turn right onto Langstaff Avenue and travel down Langstaff and turn right on Donald B. Munro Drive. The parade will continue down Donald B. Munro and turn right on Carp Road and proceed back up the hill. The ending point for the parade will be back at the Diefenbunker.

Metcalfe Santa Claus Parade and Food Drive.
Sunday, December 12 2010, starting at 2 pm.

And don’t fret if you can’t make it to the parade – how about one of these other fun family events with a holiday theme in our region?

Christmas Lights Across Canada
From December 2, 2010 to January 7, 2011, the National Capital Commission coordinates the Christmas Lights Across Canada program, including a lighting ceremony on Parliament Hill and more than 300,000 lights sprinkled throughout downtown Ottawa.

Upper Canada Village: Alight at Night
Over a quarter million lights adorn the heritage buildings, trees and fences of Upper Canada Village creating a one-of-a-kind magical backdrop for its annual Alight at Night Festival… a true winter wonderland! New attractions this year include a life-sized gingerbread house filled with tasty treats and a nightly sound and light spectacular on the lawn of Crysler Hall. Open nightly from November 27, 2010 to January 01, 2011, except Christmas Eve & Christmas Day.

Manotick’s Olde Fashioned Christmas
Saturday December 4 and Sunday December 5, 2010. The Village is transformed into a Village of Yesteryear. There will be a Victorian Tea and Penny Sale, horse-drawn wagon rides, pictures with Santa, face painting, strolling carollers and more! I’m looking forward to the Sunset Carolling at Watson’s Mill, 4:30 to 5:30 on December 5.

2010 Canadian Pacific Holiday Train
In the last decade, the Holiday Train has help raise $4 million and 2 million pounds of food for local food banks. The Canadian Holiday Train will embark on its three-week journey on November 27 from Beaconsfield, Quebec, finishing up in Port Moody, BC, on December 17. Entertainers on the Canadian train include the Odds, an alternative rock band, bringing their energy and full voiced harmonies to the Holiday Train stage. Local stops include

• Smiths Falls: Saturday, November 27, 2010 – 8:15 p.m., Smith Falls Train Station, 63 Victoria St.
• Perth: Sunday, November 28, 2010 – 10:00 a.m., Wilson St. railway crossing, south side
• Belleville: Sunday, November 28, 2010 – 1:30 p.m., South Church St. railway crossing, south of Dundas St. East
• Brighton: Sunday, November 28, 2010 – 3:00 p.m., East of railway crossing at Prince Edward St.

If I’ve missed anything, or if you’d like to share information about your family-friendly Ottawa Christmas or Holiday event, please feel free to leave a comment or e-mail me at danicanada (at) gmail (dot) com and I’d be happy to add them to this post! I had to leave off Casselman this year as I couldn’t find any references to their parade.

Let the holiday craziness begin!

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Wishing you and your families a joyful Christmas filled with love, laughter, and a good dose of silliness.

With much love,
DaniGirl, Beloved, Tristan, Simon and Lucas

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Inspired by Andrea, a photo-essay of hourly pictures of the most excitement-laden day of the year: Christmas Eve.

First stop, breakfast with cousin Noah at 8:30 am:

(Can you believe they were up at FOUR am? Yeesh!)

9:30 am: The gingerbread house is decorated, and accessorized with Belgian chocolate Santa, courtesy of my Loblaws advent calendar.

10:30 am: Mother Nature provided a fresh dusting of snow overnight to help Santa’s sleigh land on the rooftop!

11:30 am: Santa’s cutest reindeer!

12:30 pm: a bit of last-minute wrapping to do.

1:30 pm: The big boys are at a movie with Beloved, and Lucas is sleeping. Time for a coffee break!

2:30 pm: Back from the movie, and making Christmas ornaments for the family.

3:30 pm: Wrapping up the last of the home-made peanut brittle and shortbread to give away tonight.

4:30 pm: Just about a half an hour until the family arrives for dinner and presents. The calm before the chaos!

5:30 pm: Granny and Lucas having a little moment just before the presents begin.

6:30 pm: Santa Papa Lou.

7:30 pm: Admiring the annual family calendar.

8:30 pm: Lucas was so not interesting in sharing his new Sesame Street toddler-sized sleeper couch with his cousin Brooke. He was priceless in his annoyance, and she was persistent in her desire to share his space.

That’s it — I can’t believe I made it through all 12 hours. And a Merry Christmas was had by all!

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Remember last month when I mentioned that the Christmas Lights Across Canada program (where each year hundreds of thousands of lights throughout downtown Ottawa are launched with a special lighting ceremony on Parliament Hill) will this year coincide with the arrival of the Olympic Torch Relay? Pretty cool stuff, eh? Well, the National Capital Commission noticed that post, too, and offered me some of their official publicity material to share with you.

Here’s the official details of the event taking place this Saturday night, December 12, on Parliament Hill:

Starting at 5:30 pm, be part of history alongside thousand of Canadians gathered to take in a unique evening of free activities, featuring internationally renowned artists like Gregory Charles and Tom Cochrane.

Olympic medalists for Canada, Nathalie Lambert and Steve Podborski, Chef de Mission and Assistant Chef de Mission for the Canadian Olympic Team, are the distinguished masters of ceremony for this spectacular event.

Gregory Charles, composer of the official community celebrations theme song, will conduct a choir composed of 100 singers from the region. Following these performances, the crowd will be captivated by an aboriginal dance choreography interpreted by artists from many parts of Canada. The festivities will end with a performance by Tom Cochrane.

The evening culminates with the arrival of the Olympic Torch and the illumination of the Christmas lights at 7 pm. The final torchbearer will be Joé Juneau, 1992 Albertville Olympic medallist and former Montréal Canadiens team member. He will have the honour of lighting the Olympic Flame in the Capital.

Hot chocolate and BeaverTails® pastries will be offered from 5 pm to 8 pm (while quantities last).

Sounds like a fun night! If you can’t make it downtown for the Christmas Light/Torch Relay ceremony, you can use this interactive map to see if and when the Olympic Torch Relay will pass near your neighbourhood. Ottawa, Kanata, Gatineau, Buckingham, Hawkesbury, Almonte, Renfrew and Highway 17 all the way up to Pembroke are on the route over the course of three days from December 11 through 13.

And if you just can’t get enough of all things related to the NCC’s sponsorship of this event, you can take a look at the pix in the official Flickr account and this YouTube video. Props to the NCC for embracing social media, but I’m hoping the content gets a little less, um, official as the Olympic Torch passes through!

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I got a pitch for a DVD of the Month Club from Film Movement Canada and thought it was a cool enough idea to share with you. It would make a great gift idea for someone who might otherwise be difficult to buy for, and the prices are reasonable for new DVDs. Just thought I’d share!

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I‘m always glad when November turns to December. Despite the short days and cold weather, December is a bright month filled with warmth. We got our first dusting of snow yesterday, which helps to add a festive feeling, and there’s plenty of talk of pending holiday lunches and get-togethers.

I even ordered my Christmas cards online last night! For the first time, inspired by your suggestions, I’ve made cards based on one of my photographs, which I just this moment realized that I forgot to upload and therefore cannot show you. (Oops!) Trust me when I tell you that it’s an adorable image. Here’s an out-take from the same photo session that I did not use, but which will give you an idea of the unbearable cuteness of it all:

Aren’t they lovely? I swear, I love them more each time I look at this picture. And this is the out-take!

After much dithering, tinkering, uploading and testing, I was surprised to find myself choosing Costco’s photo lab for the cards. I’d toyed with Shutterfly, TinyPrints and a few others, but the price and functionality of the Costco site got me in the end. And since I do most of my photo developing with them, I know at least the photo quality will be high. I’ve ordered actual folded 5×7 cards instead of just flat photo postcard-style cards, and there are photos both inside and out. For about $1 a card, it was the best price by far, and with in-store pick-up, there is no shipping nor US$-Cnd$ conversion to worry about. The only thing I’m forgot to check is whether envelopes are included. If I remember, I’ll report back on the quality issue when I pick them up next week.

Do you feel the pull of the holidays yet? Are you mostly ready or just getting started? What’s next on your holiday to-do list?

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How cool is this? According to the NCC’s website, the annual Christmas Lights Across the Capital festival, otherwise known as the lighting of the downtown holiday lights, will this year coincide with the arrival of the Olympic Torch in Ottawa:

On Saturday, December 12, at 7 p.m., the 25th edition of Christmas Lights Across Canada will be launched with an illumination ceremony on Parliament Hill. This year, the celebration is set to coincide with the arrival of the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Flame, as the Olympic Torch Relay reaches the heart of Canada’s Capital Region.

This brilliant symbol of Olympic spirit, as well as over 300,000 dazzling lights, will light up the night as Christmas Lights Across Canada kicks off.

The festivities on Parliament Hill will get under way at 5:45 p.m. Residents and visitors, along with dignitaries and special guests, are invited to gather on Parliament Hill to join the celebration for this special moment in the countdown to the 2010 Winter Games.

The evening promises to be a magical one, with fun and entertainment for the whole family. Mark December 12 on your calendar! More details will follow.

Edited to add: Thanks to the NCC, I’ve got more official details on the Parliament Hill Christmas Lights/Olympic Torch Relay in this post.

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This time of year, it seems like every website, TV show and magazine is offering up the “Best Bet” toys for the holiday season. I’m always a little bit skeptical though: can I trust Disney to objectively assess the other guys’ toys, or am I just getting a thinly disguised “Best Disney Toys” list?

That’s why I’ve always enjoyed reviewing the Canadian Toy Testing Council Best Bet Toy lists. The Canadian Toy Testing Council (CTTC) has been assessing toys on the basis of design, function, durability and play value since 1952. Here’s their schpeil:

Every year, hundreds of toys are selected as representative of those being offered on the market. These toys are then tested by Canadian children in everyday settings, to assess design, function, durability and play value. The Council rates each toy, awarding Three Stars, Two Stars, One Star, Novelty or Not Recommended. You can find the ratings and a review of each toy tested in editions of the TOY REPORT, published by the CTTC. The Council also reviews and evaluates Canadian children’s books to promote child literacy.

Toys tested by actual families? That’s the kind of review I want to read. The CTTC released their list of the Best Bet Toys for 2010 on November 16, along with a Battery-Powered Toy of the Year award and a Children’s Choice category.

I can tell you from personal experience that their Children’s Choice recommendation of the Step 2 Sand and Water Transportation Station is right on the money. Our was well-loved by the 7 year old, the 5 year old and the toddler, right out of the box.

One of their “Best Bet” recommendations is Ganz’ Webkinz, which continue to enthrall all three of my boys. The big boys love them equally for the cuddle-factor and the online component, and the little guy just likes to hug them and make piles of them.

I am intrigued by the recommendation for Uno Moo. Lucas might be a tiny bit on the young side, but it looks to me like a game all three boys could play together. Uno is one of those classic games that the boys seem to love. Another unbeatable classic is Lego, which has my boys enthralled in a full-on addiction. I tried Tinker Toys one year, thinking the building factor would hook them, but we found the pieces annoying to assemble and not very versatile. Have they changed Tinker Toys since we were kids? Didn’t they used to be better?

My other favourite toy recommedation continues to be Cranium’s Super Fort. We gave one to my nephew for his birthday a year or two ago, and just this past weekend my sister-in-law was mentioning what a great gift it was and how much play value they got from it. (Ha, I just googled “cranium super fort” to find the link, and came up with my CTTC post from 2007. Apparently I am starting to repeat myself!)

By the way, you can also read the full report on all of the toys reviewed by the CTTC’s testing families online. I wish it were a more interactive, searchable database, though. You can even sign up to be a testing family – something I keep meaning to do but never seem to get around to.

Shhh, don’t tell the boys, but this Christmas will see a lot of Lego under our Christmas tree. That, and Wii games. Wii is coming out with Lego Rockband – it’s like they’re reading our minds! It’s the perfect family gift.

Care to share your inspiration? What do you think will be a big hit at your house this holiday season?

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Yes, it’s early. I know, not even the second week of November and it’s my second post about Christmas — third if you count the Christmas light in my 365 post! But I’m trying to wrench a little organization into my life and planning ahead is giving me a small sense of control.

So! Christmas and holiday cards. Given that I’m such an avid photographer, you’d think I would like photo cards, but I’m not terribly fond of them for us. In the past, we’ve sent the boys’ Sitting With Santa photos as our annual card, but I’m more partial to an actual card. There’s more room for a message, and — well, I don’t know why else I like an actual card better, I just do! Not just any holiday card, though. I like a folky kind of image the best, simple and not glittery and not hokey. I spend way too much time thinking about this, don’t I?

For years now, more than a decade actually, I’ve been saving all the holiday cards we receive. The day the tree comes down, the photo cards go into one pile and the traditional cards go into another one. The photo cards get saved and the other cards get recycled into various Christmas crafts. Last year we made bead-marble fridge magnets out of Christmas card cutouts, for example. You can cut them up to make great gift tags, too.

So I’m really just rambling on because I’m curious… do you prefer to send out store-bought cards, hand-made cards or photo cards for the holidays? And what do you think of those annual newsletters? (I’d send out an annual newsletter myself, but it’s easier just to link to the blog!) Have you ever done an official portrait sitting for your card or do you use a favourite snapshot from the year?

You can mock me now, but blink twice and it will be mid-December…

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Edited to add: Looking for the 2011 information? You’ll find it here!

This is an exciting year for Santa Parades in and around Ottawa. For the first time ever, the main Ottawa Help Santa Toy Parade will be held in the evening, and the new route will bring it past Parliament Hill. How cool is that? I can’t wait!

This is the fourth year I’ve done a round-up of all the Santa and Christmas and Holiday parades in the Ottawa region, and it’s one I look forward to doing all year. It’s actually a bit of a challenge to track down some of the information for the smaller towns, but that’s now part of the fun.

I just love everything about a parade — rosy cheeked children, marching bands, families walking together, the anticipation of the float with Sir Jollyness Himself at the end. We’ll likely attend at least two this year! And you know what? They start in just two short weeks!

Here’s my annual round-up of all the Santa Parades I could find in the greater Ottawa / Eastern Ontario / Outaouis region, in chronological order:

Kanata Santa Claus Parade
Saturday, November 14, 2009, starting at 10:00 am. The parade will
proceed onto Castlefrank Road, turning onto Abbeyhill Drive and on to Hazeldean Mall.

Barrhaven Lions 13th Annual Santa Parade
Sunday, November 15, 2009, starting at 5:30 pm. Parade route runs along Strandherd from Beatrice to Greenbank.

Cornwall Santa Claus Parade
Saturday, November 21, 2009 starting at 5:00 pm at St. Lawrence High School and traveling West on Second Street to the Royal Canadian Legion. The theme this year is “Christmas Around the World”

Gatineau Santa Claus Parade
Friday, November 27, 2009, starting at 7:00 pm. A tradition that goes back several years, this light-filled parade in the Aylmer sector attracts crowds from the entire region.

Brockville Santa Claus Parade
Saturday November 28, 2009, starting at 2 pm. “Christmas Then and Now.” See their website for parade route and details.

Pembroke Santa Claus Parade of Lights
Saturday, November 28, 2009, starting at 5 pm.

Carleton Place Santa Parade
Saturday, November 28, 2009 starting at 5:00 pm. Thousands of spectators, over one hundred floats, and one jolly St. Nick will meet downtown Carleton Place on Bridge Street for the largest Santa Claus parade in the Ottawa Valley. This year’s theme is ‘A Christmas Melody!’

Orleans 12th annual Parade of Lights
Saturday, November 28, 2009 starting at 6:00 pm. The parade will travel along St Joseph Blvd from Youville Drive to Prestone Drive.

Gananoque Santa Claus Parade
Saturday, November 28, 2009, starting at 6 pm. Come and visit Santa and all his reindeer at the annual Santa Clause Parade down King Street!

Embrun Santa Claus Parade
Saturday, November 28, 2009, starting at 6:30 pm. The parade begins at the Township Office on Notre Dame and will head east on Notre Dame, turning left on St. Augustin, and left on Centenaire St, making its way to the arena on Blais Street. After the parade, the community is invited to gather at the Community Center to see Santa in person!

Stittsville Parade of Lights
Saturday, November 28, 2009, starting at 7:30 pm. Sorry, no location information available, but if you know Stittsville I’m assuming you can figure it out!

Picton Santa Claus Parade
Sunday, November 29, 2009 starting at 3:00 pm. This year, the Picton Santa Claus Parade will assemble on McFarland Drive, a short distance from its former rallying point at Picton fairgrounds.

Casselman Christmas Parade
Sunday, November 29, 2009 starting at 6:30 pm. The parade launches a week-long Christmas festival! See this pdf for details.

Vankleek Hill Christmas Parade of Lights
Friday, December 4, 2009. Our magical parade will dazzle you! Santa’s village from 5:00 to 7:00 pm. (Hey, did you know Vankleek Hill is the Gingerbread Capital of Ontario?!?)

Richmond Santa Claus Parade
Saturday December 5, 2009, starting at 11:00 am. Don’t miss the “Lighting of the Park” on Saturday December 5th at 6:00 pm following the annual Santa Claus Parade at 11:00 am the same day!

Pakenham Santa Claus Parade
Saturday December 5th, 2009, starting at 1:00 pm. Parade begins and concludes at the Stewart Community Centre. The Pakenham Santa Claus Parade is always a wonderful event that takes one back in time.

Perth Santa Claus Parade
Saturday, December 5, 2009, starting at 5:00 pm on Sunset Blvd. This year’s Santa Claus Parade’s theme is “Christmas In The Caribbean”.

Ottawa Help Santa Toy Parade
Saturday, December 5th, 2009 starting at 6:00 pm. This is so exciting – the main Ottawa parade downtown has switched to a new evening parade for its 40th anniversary! Route travels Wellington Street in front of the Parliament Buildings. New toys (no used toys, please) and cash donations will be collected by the Ottawa Firefighters.

Hawkesbury Santa Claus Parade
Saturday December 5, 2009, starting at 7:00 pm. Departing from Geneviève and Main Street.

Almonte Santa Claus Parade
Sunday December 6, 2009, starting at 1:30 pm. The parade begins at the Almonte Community Centre parking lot. Santa and Mrs. Claus will make their way to the Upper Hall of the community centre following the parade where they will be available to meet the children. Hot chocolate and hot dogs will be served compliments of the Almonte Lions Club. There will also be free public skating from 2 to 4 pm.

Killaloe Annual Santa Claus Parade
Saturday, December 12, 2009 (sorry, starting time was not available at the time of publication) Following the parade, enjoy a visit with Santa at the Lions Hall at 18 Lake Street in Killaloe.

And don’t fret if you can’t make it to the parade – how about one of these other fun family events with a holiday theme in our region?

Christmas Lights Across Canada
Each year, the National Capital Commission coordinates the Christmas Lights Across Canada program, including a lighting ceremony on Parliament Hill and more than 300,000 lights sprinkled throughout downtown Ottawa. Edited to add: how cool is this? The NCC just announced that the Christmas Light Ceremony on Parliament Hill this year will coincide with the arrival of the Olympic Torch Relay in Ottawa, on Saturday December 12, starting at 5:45 pm. You can read more details in this post.

Upper Canada Village: Alight at Night
Over a quarter million lights adorn the heritage buildings, trees and fences of Upper Canada Village creating a one-of-a-kind magical backdrop for its annual Alight at Night Festival… a true winter wonderland! Open nightly starting at 4:30 pm from November 28, 2009 through January 3, 2010. (Except Christmas Eve & Christmas Day)

12th Annual Trees of Hope at the Fairmont Château Laurier
Each year, corporate teams decorate trees to raise funds for the CHEO. You can visit the decorated trees and cast your vote for your favourite from late November through early January. (I’ll confirm the dates as they come closer!)

2009 Canadian Pacific Holiday Train
The Canadian Pacific Holiday Train hits the rails again this November, visiting over 130 communities in eight states and six provinces. In the last decade, the Holiday Train has help raise $4 million and 2 million pounds of food for local food banks. Local stops include

• Smiths Falls: Sunday, November 29, 2009 from 8:15 p.m. to 8:45 p.m at the Smith Falls Train Station, 63 Victoria St.
• Perth: Monday, November 30, 2009 10:00 a.m. to 10:30 a.m., Wilson St. railway crossing, South side
• Belleville: Monday, November 30, 2009 1:30 p.m. to 2:00 p.m., South Church St. railway crossing, south of Dundas St. East
• Trenton: Monday, November 30, 2009 2:45 p.m. to 3:15 p.m., Railway crossing at West Street
• Brighton: Monday, November 30, 2009 4:00 p.m. to 4:30 p.m., East of railway crossing at Prince Edward St.

If I’ve missed anything, or if you’d like to share information about your family-friendly Ottawa Christmas / Holiday event, please feel free to leave a comment or e-mail me at danicanada (at) gmail (dot) com and I’d be happy to add them to this post!

P.S. Because you know I love a little serendipity — do you think there’s a cosmic significance to the fact that the Ottawa Santa Parade, Sesame Street and me all turned 40 this year?

Let the holiday craziness begin!

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