Our Holiday Bucket List

It’s the most wonderful time of year, but oh wow does it ever go by FAST!! With Emilia nearly three years old and our new bundle of joy, Jacob, I am SO excited about the holidays. It is such a fun time and there is so much that I want to do with my kids!

Here’s my list of 10 things that I want to experience with them over the next month or so!

1. Visiting the Garden Centers. If you are local, you know how beautiful and magical our garden centers are over the holidays. They each have such fun things for little ones to see - everything from cats running around, fish ponds and fun holiday activities! The three we’re planning on visiting are St. Marys Nursery, Lacoste Garden Center and Shelmerdine‘s. Lacoste has a brand new building and a gorgeous set up for Christmas! We’re heading to Shelmerdine’s this week for Storytime with Mrs.Claus and they have a cute star backdrop for pictures with the family! The picture below is from St. Mary’s Nursery where Emilia had a blast watching the cats and touching and smelling the Christmas trees!

2. Doing holiday baking. I‘m a baker at heart! I love baking up a storm over the holidays and bringing an assortment of treats to our family gatherings or giving them as an extra gift. So, I want to involve Emilia this year! We’ve done a little bit, making Daddy’s favourite Marshmallow Square and some gingerbread cookies, but there are many more flour covered shirts and sticky fingers to come!

3. Making homemade ornaments. This is such a fun activity for little ones to do and I love that they can wrap up the ornaments and give them as gifts on Christmas! (The recipe we used is on my latest Instagram post.)

4. Assiniboine Park Zoo Lights. This looks magical and we are so excited to go! Our plan is to take Emilia on a little date - go out for dinner and spend the evening looking at the beautiful lights! Can’t wait! There’s also the Lights of the North - Lights Festival being held at The Hudson’s Bay Downtown until Jan. 5, 2020.

5. Go sledding! This is Emilia’s new favourite thing! And I love how excited she gets to go outside to sled. It’s the one time that putting on our winter gear isn’t like pulling teeth and I’m all for it!

6. Take the kids skiing. This probably won’t happen until all the holiday celebrations are over. But we’re excited to put skis on Emilia for the first time!

7. Visit a Tree Farm. I have been wanting to do this for a couple of years now but since we have a faux tree we don’t usually make it there. For those of you who have gone, would this be a fun day trip?

8. Watch Christmas Movies. One of our traditions as a family is to watch Christmas movies once all of the festivities are over. We love the old Christmas classics like White Christmas with Bing Crosby and Miracle on 34th Street, the original. I don’t expect Emilia to get much out of these yet, but I’m looking forward to snuggling up on the couch with her and maybe watching the Muppets Christmas Carol.

9. See Santa! We saw Santa and Mrs. Claus this past weekend at Lacoste. Emilia was a little scared as was Jacob, but a candy cane sure made it ALL better! I missed the boat on booking Santa pictures this year but here are a few places that are still open:

Lacoste Garden Center: Dec.14th, 15th and 21st from 11:00-3:00

Outlet Mall Free Selfie with Santa: Every weekend in December until Christmas

10. Give Back. “Maybe Christmas, he thought, doesn’t come from a store. Maybe Christmas perhaps means a little bit more.” I love this quote and it is so true. The joy that comes from giving to others is so fulfilling and up-lifting. Emilia and I helped Fill a Freightliner at Boston Pizza earlier this week which was a great experience for us both. Over the winter months, I try to give to those in need by keeping a stash of socks, hand warmers and granola bars in my car. And I’d love to find some other ways for our family to give back this holiday season!

What are your plans for the holidays? What traditions do you do with your family?

Happy Holidays!

Love,