Posts Tagged ‘christmas’

Trying not to forget

Sunday, January 10th, 2010

In December the family took a trip to Disney World and planned to attend Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party. Unfortunately my two youngest were sick so that just left my oldest and myself heading out to the party. Even with the rain we had a lot of fun, maybe too much fun. Since those attending the party could enter the park before it closed, party goers were given armbands. We went to the party the first night we arrived but my daughter continued to wear her party arm band for the rest of the trip.

We arrived back home and she heads back to school, still wearing her party arm band. Christmas comes and goes and my daughter still wears her arm band. You can see it on her arm during our breakfast with Santa. I was only able to convince her to remove it today. Now it sits on her dressor, so she can daydream about the next time she head’s out to Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party (hopefully without the rain and with her brother and sister in tow).

disneychristmas

A Christmas tradition: Sibling Sleepover

Monday, December 28th, 2009

When we had kids we started developing some Christmas traditions: attending the Santa Clause parade, writing letters to Santa, eating Christmas Eve dinner in Chinatown, the elf tree, but if asked I think my kids would say their favourite tradition is the Sibling Sleepover.

Let me explain. We’re fortunate to have a house large enough that all three of my kids have their own room. I think everyone needs personal space at home (if you can afford it that is). But during Christmas break things change. During the two weeks my kids don’t go to school and therefore are up later and sleep in longer (though not much longer it seems), all three of my kids camp out in their brother’s room. Thus the Sibling Sleepover. My son sleeps in his raised bed and we blow-up two air mattresses for under the bed and on the floor for the two girls. They tell stories and jokes, make plans for the next day, talk about what they did today and just have fun, sometimes for hours after bedtime. And the surprising thing, no fighting.

Let the chatting commence!

Let the chatting commence!

Of course weening the kids from Sibling Sleepover won’t be a lot of fun, but at least they’ll have two fun-filled weeks of silliness. What are some of your Christmas traditions?

Holiday Cheer: Food & Wine pairings 2009

Wednesday, December 23rd, 2009

A nice glass of wine can really add to a meal but sometimes what’s nice with one meal isn’t as delightful with another. I’ve attended a wine and meal pairing dinner and it really can make a difference having the right wine with your roast or fish or chocolates. It’s just a matter of trying to figure out the pairings at home.

Then the answer appeared in my email yesterday. Jaren(a Sommelier who’s a friend of a friend of a friend) sent out her 2009 Food and Wine pairing list for the holiday season and now I’m here to share it with you (with her permission of course):

Food Wine/Grape Producer/Year Region Price
Light fish and meat dishes. Salmon, trout, smoked meats, salads, lightly seasonedstir-fries Riesling (white) Pierre Sparr “Extreme” 2008 Alsace $14.95
Riesling (white) Wolf Blass “Yellow Label” 2008 Australia $14.95
Dry Riesling (white) Vineland Estates 2007 Ontario, Niagara $13.95
Seafood and shellfish Sauvignon Blanc (white) Stoneleigh 2008 New Zealand $14.95
Sauvignon Blanc (white) Villa Maria 2009 New Zealand $14.95
Sauvignon Blanc (white) Jackson Triggs 2008 Ontario, Niagara $13.95
Rich lobster, shell fish dishes, white fish (halibut & turbot) and chicken dishes Chardonnay (non-oaked) (white) Henry of Pelham 2007 Ontario, Niagara $12.95
Chardonnay (white) Prospect Winery “The Census Count” 2006 Okanagan, B.C. $14.95
Pinot Grigio (white) Beringer “California Collecton”, 2008 California $9.95
Turkey, duck and pork dishes Chardonnay (white) Wyndham Estates, “Bin 222”, 2007 Australia $12.95
Chardonnay (white) Nugan Estate “Cookoothama” 2007 Australia $13.95
Pinot Gris (white) Leon Beyer 2007 Alsace, France $16.15
Light pastas with a seafood or light tomato sauce or creamy sauce or with pesto.gnocchi, risotto, salad Chardonnay/ Reisling/ Gewürztraminer (white) Malivoire, “White” 2008 Ontario, Niagara $14.95
Pinot Grigio/ Verduzzo (white) Masi “Masianco” 2008 Italy $14.95
Chardonnay (white) Robert Mondavi “Private Selection” 2007 California $17.95
Cold and cured meats simply grilled chicken, pork and veal. Robustly seasoned and BBQ’d fish dishes Pinot Noir (red) Inniskillin “Varietal Series” 2007 Ontario, Niagara $14.95
Sangiovese (red) Tommasi Valpolicella 2008 Italy $14.00
Gamay (red) Georges Duboeuf Beaujolais Villages 2008 France $12.25
Most types of meat, beef and especially plainly cooked lamb and homey dishes like Shepherd’s pie and sausages Cabernet Flanc (red) Chateau des Charmes 2007 Ontario, Niagara $13.95
Melbec (red) Concha Y Toro, “Casillero Del Diablo” 2008 Chile $12.95
Merlot (red) McWilliams, “Hanwood” 2007 France $14.95
Char-grilled steaks, casseroles, spicy meats, vegetarian dishes such as goulash Cabernet Sauvignon (red) De Loach “California Series” 2006 California $14.95
Syrah (red) Cline 2007 California $14.95
Shiraz (red) Rosemount “Diamond Label” 2007 Australia $15.95
Cabernet Sauvignon(red) KWV “Cathedral Cellar” 2006 South Africa $16.95

The wines Jaren pairs in this chart can be found in the LCBO’s General list versus the Vintages section. This means they are available in most LCBOstores. All the wines paired in this chart have been highly rated by Billy Munnelly, author of Billy’s Best Bottles. Wines for 2010, and Wine Educator David Lawrason. And if that wasn’t good enough, all the wines are listed below $16.00 Cdn.

I should also point out that in her email Jaren mentioned that all these wines are on the shelves now but that does not mean they will be there the rest of the year.  So enjoy some new wines or interesting pairings this holiday season.

Cheers. And thank you Jaren for making my holiday season a little more festive.

5 Reasons to celebrate Christmas in Disney World

Monday, December 21st, 2009

disney-ornamentI love Christmas. I love that my kids have time off from school and my husband time off from work (notice how I don’t indicate my time off). I love having the excuse to have a drink and eat rich foods. I love hanging around doing nothing but eating and drinking and watching Christmas movies. I love that the season makes everyone, well most people, a little nicer. I love Christmas for all these reasons.

But I don’t think I need to have Christmas at home to experience all of this. This year I wish we weren’t having a standard Christmas with turkey and gift giving. And that has nothing to do with being so unprepared, well, maybe just a little. This year I wish the family was celebrating Christmas in Disney World.

Was that a gasp I heard? Are you shaking your head in dismay? Really the idea of having Christmas in Disney World isn’t as crazy sounding as you might thing. It’s not just a good idea, b ut a great idea and here are five reasons why:

No gift exchange. I haven’t really been in the gift giving/receiving/buying mood this year. I mean I don’t really need anything; the whole family doesn’t really NEED anything. Celebrating in Disney World would mean no gift exchange. I guess you could say the trip itself would be the gift. And really that’s all we would need, some time together as a family.

No chores. As the guest I wouldn’t have to clean the house in preparation for visitors or make the beds before watching tv or do the laundry to ensure I had clean towels. At Disney World they have someone who does all that for me. Plus I wouldn’t have to cook Christmas dinner. I’m sure in Disney World I could find  a restaurant serving Christmas dinner. Or I could choose to have something else, like Polynesian or German. And I wouldn’t have to wash the dishes after.

No long faces. Forget the unhelpful sales clerks and the grumpy last minute shoppers and the cranky, over tired kids. Instead take a trip to the Happiest Place on Earth! And it’s not just a slogan, most of the staff we’ve met are very pleasant and happy. They’re paid to be happy! A Christmas surrounded by happy, smiling faces (the staff and my family’s) is my kind of Christmas.

No visitors. That means no in-laws, no neighbours, no friends. Don’t get me wrong, I love these people, most of the time, but having them over usually means more work and more stress. Entertaining people, making sure they’re happy, avoiding arguments, can be a lot of work. And let’s not for get the preparation before people come over and the clean-up afterward. We wouldn’t know anyone at Disney World so there would be no worries about drop-in visitors.

No winter clothing. I always thought it’s just not Christmas without snow. But most years we don’t get snow for Christmas anyway. All we end up with is a cold, gray day and boots and puffy jackets and mittens and hats. And no one likes to wear them. A holiday gift would be no winter wear.

Yes, I can see it now, a big Christmas Party with fireworks, maybe a dip in the pool, some rides, eating out and lots of time with just the family. That sounds like my ideal Christmas. Hopefully I can convince my husband the same thing before next Christmas comes.

Christmas Carol train tour

Friday, September 11th, 2009

For the labour day weekend we went to visit friends of ours in Michigan and stumbled upon Disney’s A Christmas Carol Train Tour. You may have heard about the new Jim Carry movie A Christmas Carol expected out in theatres in November. To help promote the movie they’re crossing the country on a train tour. We discovered it at The Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, Michigan. The tour still has more stops, though they’re now into the west coast part of the tour.

All aboard the Christmas train

All aboard the Christmas train

We were able to see some great behind the scene footage, plus costumes and some of Charles Dickins’ original manuscripts on loan from the Charles Dickens Museum in London, England. You could also morph your face into one of four characters from the movie. We’re suppose to get an email when the pictures are ready so we can download them (still waiting for the email for our crazy faces). Then we given a sneak peek of the actual movie.

Behind the scenes videos

Behind the scenes videos

Ready for the 3D movie to start

Ready for the 3D movie to start

I didn’t realize the movie was in 3D. I’ve never been too impressed by many movies done in 3D (though I haven’t seen many) but this was actual quiet good.

You can check out the Christmas Carol movie trailer

The whole train tour is free, but if you do plan to drop by be sure to get there early. We arrived in the morning and had an hour wait in line. It didn’t seem that long though because of the water stops and carolers and movie preview clips along the line. They even had snow and tattoos and punchout ornaments for the kids to take home.


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