Christmas time at Yorkdale Mall

This is a gallery of photos of my visit to Yorkdale Shopping Centre last week. 

There is big construction going on but they still managed to make the mall look pretty. Check the Christmas animations by Holt Renfrew's dramatic entrance! (See Santa at Yorkdale Mall's page on torontofunplaces.com for more informations.)

NOTE: The Yorkdale Rainforest Café will close forever by the end of December. Now is your chance to enjoy the animated gorilla and elephant and to walk through the aquarium.

 

 

 

 

Outdoor Santa at the Toronto Christmas Market 2013

After visiting three shopping malls and the Toronto Christmas Market in the same day yesterday, I can confirm to you that I found the real Santa is at The Distillery. 

In one mall, Santa was so listless that I thought he was a mannequin. In the next, he seemed to suffer from withdrawal syndrome when one more baby started to cry on his knees (don't be sad Santa, it's not personal!). In the third, he was unavailable for the moment and unfortunately fully booked for the rest of the season.

At the Toronto Christmas Market, I found a very jovial Santa teasing everyone (especially his elves) and engaging with all the members of the families visiting him. That's the spirit! Maybe it's because he comes from the North Pole and is more comfortable outdoors?

Santa awaits down Santa's Lane
off the main plaza (where the giant Christmas
tree is located)

Santa's hours
The experience is quite different if you visit in daylight or at night. You can visit Santa Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. and on weekdays from 2 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Donate what you can for the privilege to take a photo of your child on Santa's knees (bring your own camera or pay for a photographer's services).

The Toronto Christmas Market 2013 is open until December 15. The market's activities are offered from 12 noon to 9 p.m. on weekdays and from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. on the weekends.

There's great ambience along Santa's Lane

Looks like a giant alien, doesn't it? Santa's home is right underneath.

Fun for the kids

Return to the giant Christmas tree

• The ambience is very festive with all the lights and all the music. Kids will love it, especially if you pitch in for a hot chocolate in one of the many cafés on the premises.
• There's a merry-go-round and a ferris wheel which they can ride for $3 each near the main stage.
• You'll love the a capella performances on the main stage, but your kids will prefer Santa Elves Sing-Along (on weekdays at 5 p.m. and on weekends at 10:30 a.m. and 2 p.m.). 
• I thought I saw a king free-roaming the place and learned that Prince Charming and the Christmas Angel are indeed guests during the event.

Related post about The Distillery:

TOP-10 Christmas stocking fillers at Bergo

TOP-10 favourite things at the Christmas Market

Catch a show on the main stage

Ferris wheel ride for $3

Merry-go-round ride for $3 as well

2013: TOP-10 Christmas stocking stuffers at Bergo

While visiting the Toronto Christmas Market at the Distillery, I stopped by Bergo Designs to see if they had a few fun trinkets I could add to Christmas stockings. It turns out they just expanded last week and have added a new toys section!

Bergo, in the heart of the Distillery, is still filled with beautifully designed expensive things ($300 tabletop fireplace, anyone?), but you will find more gifts under $50 than ever.

Here are the TOP-10 favourite things I found under $20 is this great store (in no particular order). It is followed by information about the cutest useless $24 gift I got at Bergo for my daughter! (Note that the Christmas Market goes on until December 15, 2013.)

Related posts about The Distillery:

TOP-10 hostess gifts at Soma

TOP-10 favourite things at the Christmas Market

Inside Case Goods Warehouse

(1) Cool hostess gift! Little belts to use as drink markers.
The good thing is that they work on all shapes of glasses.

(2) No room for a Christmas tree? No problem. How about an 18-inch inflatable one?

(3) Perfect for cabin fever! A card game with a log pattern on the other side
so you can also build a cool house of cards! They also have card sets to build
a castle, a townhouse or a green house.

(4) This can of soup includes 36 dice with letters on them to play word games
with the whole family. Love it!

(5) Just because.

(6) Bergo carries all kinds of cool molds for cupcakes and muffins. This kit comes with
two molds and two spoons shaped like rabbit ears.

(7) A Christmas stocking is not complete without silly gadgets.

(8) These magnets look so real! The insects are almost 3-cm long.

(9) You can turn any objet into a character with these googly eyes.
The green box includes eyes that will glow in the dark.

(10) This cool bike clip carries the message: I want to ride my bicycle.

I'm so getting this!
I fell in love with an electronic butterfly in a Mason jar sold for $24. It is so whimsical, it puts a smile on anyone's face. 

The butterfly is attached to a thin wire. There's a battery (included) inside the cap. When you tap the cap, it activates the flexible wire and the butterfly starts to move in a very realistic way. Watch this video to see it in action! (It is in the kids' section at Bergo.)

A very simple way to create a family Christmas tradition!

I was intrigued by the 25 Days of Christmas kit created by Karen, a mother living just out of the Greater Toronto Area, and sold on simplyfunfamilies.com 

As the author of a popular family-tested guide on fun outings (see torontofunplaces.com), anything promoting simple fun for families always appeals to me! On her website, Karen promised simple family fun, and a cool way to create memories. So I asked her to send me a box.

The concept is simple indeed. Karen has printed a series of 35 pretty activity cards to choose from to create an activity advent calendar. She provides dated envelops. Once you're done, you can store all of it back into the box, until you're ready to take it out next year.

The following story really happened!
The first activity card I picked from the 25 Days of Christmas box went like this: "Tonight we'll jump in the car, turn up the holiday tunes, and tour the Christmas lights around town." It instantaneously brought me back in time.

My younger sister and brother are 28 and 30 years younger than I am. We never lived in the same city. I didn't get to see them often but when it happened, I tried to make it count. I especially make it a priority to visit them during Christmas time. When they were old enough, I offered to take them on a ride to admire the Christmas lights. 

They lived in a wealthy suburb with fancy Christmas decorations. We rode for an hour, admiring them all. When we got to a round-about, I played the silly card and made us do 10 tours in a row. They laughed so much, it was a delight. The next year, we did it again and once again got "stuck" in the round-about. 

That's when it became a tradition. To this day, they still talk about this fun time we had together.

Kids love traditions

Traditions have a way to bring joy to the family. Karen shows that it doesn't need to be complicated. She explains how to use the kit so you can plan activities for the 25 days leading up to Christmas. She leaves a few blank cards so you can create your own activities. She offers a good mix of indoor and outdoor activities. I suggest you LIKE her Facebook page to get ideas on the way to go about the different activities.

If a 25-day commitment scares you, why don't you use this kit to plan the 12 Days of Christmas. The idea is for this to be fun for the whole family including mom! Because mothers are people too.

To order now, visit simplyfunfamilies.com. The kit retails for $20 plus tax and shipping. She accepts payment by credit card through PayPal (no need to have a PayPal account).

About Santa Claus Parades!

Toronto Santa Claus Parade 
Sunday November 17 at 12:30 p.m.

See our post about this parade and six others in our post:
7 TIPS & 7 parades on torontofunplaces.com.

Post-Halloween debriefing

Pinterest to the rescue
I was very pleased with the idea of a Halloween door decoration I got on Pinterest.

It took me less than 30 minutes to make it with wrapping paper, some pieces of styrofoam and cardboard. I cut the top of the hole for the eyes, then cut strips down to the lower part of the hole to create eyelashes.

Taking it down today.
Now that it's Christmas at the local Starbucks...

Like Toronto Fun Places on Facebook for last-minute suggestions, 

updates and family fun bits.

Royal Agricultural Winter Fair 2013

Wondering what's in it for your family at the Royal Winter Fair this year?
See my TOP-10 favourite things to do with kids on torontofunplaces.com.

The Winter Fair goes on until Sunday November 10th. It is open from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. (closes at 6 p.m. on Sunday).