Dec
23
Happy Holidays from City Mom
Image: suphakit73 / FreeDigitalPhotos.net
Christmas
Dec
15
A Fun Family Activity: Cascades Boutique Cardboard Christmas Tree
Have you heard of Cascades ecological Boutique before? If you haven’t you’ll want to read on to learn more about this forward-thinking, eco-friendly company and their fun products.
Cascades is the largest recoverer of wastepaper in Canada. From 100% recycled fiber wrapping paper to cardboard children’s tables to cardboard bird houses, you’ll find something for everyone on your Christmas shopping list. With products made from recycled goods you gain the confidence in knowing you contributing to the environment. And the products are high quality, not flimsy box-type cardboard.
We received a Moderno cardboard Christmas tree from Cascades Boutique. I was impressed with how sturdy the cardboard seemed. I opened up the package to start assembling the tree and felt overwhelmed at first. There were sheets of card board with cutouts and I wondered how, without instructions (expect for the diagram on the box) I was going to put the tree together. Thankfully I learned it was a breeze to assemble and it took me less than 20 minutes to do so.
The rest was pure fun as Little S and I set up our ‘paint shop’ to decorate the cardboard ornaments that come with the package. The options of decorating are endless. We chose a white tree, but it also comes in green. And we painted the stars and circles with reds, greens browns etc. We finished our tree off with a sparkly red garland.
Given more time (and there’s always next year) I would love to let Little S draw and colour the background of the tree and add her own personal touch. The images below demonstrate some ideas from the Cascades Boutique website.
GET YOUR OWN
The Classico Cardboard Christmas Tree is made of 100% recycled cardboard and retails for $33.00 CAD. The Moderno sells for $37.oo. Right now Cascades Boutique is offering free shipping when you spend $120. The tree comes in white and green and shipping is super fast!
Check out the other fun products from Cascades Boutique like the Cardboard Playhouses.
Enjoy!
Dec
09
More Holiday Events in London {#LdnOnt}
The holidays are the most wonderful time of the year and I’ve said it before, London loves to celebrate in style.
Here are a few fun and family friendly events taking place this weekend that you’ll not want to miss out on. Enjoy!
4TH ANNUAL JOHN LABATT CENTRE OPEN HOUSE SKATE
- When: Sunday December 11, 2011
- Time: 11 am – 1 pm
- Where: John Labatt Centre. Note: Skaters are asked to enter the building through Gate 4 at Ridout and Dundas.
- What: Global Spectrum Facility Management will be opening the John Labatt Centre doors to the public for the 4th annual Open House Skate. All members of the community are encouraged to stop by our downtown venue and participate.
- Cost: Admission is FREE! A toy or cash donation for the Children’s Aid Society of London and Middlesex would be appreciated
STORY TIME WITH SANTA AT CITI PLAZA
- When: Saturday December 10, 2011 & Saturday December 17, 2011
- Time: Stories begin at 9:30 am, movie to follow
- Where: Citi Plaza (formerly Galleria)
- What: Stories from Santa & a movie.
- Saturday, Dec. 10 – The Polar Express
- Saturday, Dec. 17 – How the Grinch Stole Christmas
- Cost: Free! (Story time & movie)
STUFF THE BUS HOLIDAY TOY DRIVE
- When: Saturday December 10, 2011
- Time: 10 am – 4 pm
- Where: Mastermind Toys, 685 Fanshawe Park Road
- What: A festively decorated London Transit Bus will be parked in the Mastermind Toys parking lot ready to accept new and gently used unwrapped toys with a particular need for children ages 10+.
- In addition to collecting toys to Stuff the Bus, Mastermind will also generously donate a skid loaded with toys. At the end of the day, the bus will deliver the toy donations directly to the Salvation Army for distribution.
- Drop-in to donate a toy and take a photo!
FREE DOWNTOWN PARKING
- When: December 1 – December 31, 2011
- Time: Normal paid parking hours
- Where: Designated areas. See map below.
- What: 2 hours of free parking in designated downtown shopping areas.
- Cost: Free! (Parking cannot exceed the time limit posted in each zone)
Nov
23
Holiday Gift Giving: Empire Theatre Holiday Gift Cards
The holidays are here, there’s no denying that. Though here in London we haven’t even received our first snowfall, Christmas is evident everywhere you turn; decorations on city streets, holiday music in stores and commercials on TV, ‘tis the season.
This year I’m really looking forward to Christmas because we’ve chosen to simplify things in my family. Instead of buying a gift for each member of my extended family, we’ve decided to draw names and buy only one gift for that special person. This is going to help both financially and with the ease of shopping. I can put my entire focus and energy on finding one perfect gift, for one perfect person.
I can’t say too much about the gift(s) I’m planning to buy as my family does read City Mom from time to time, but here’s something that may be on my list…shh!
EMPIRE THEATER HOLIDAY GIFT CARDS – BUY $30 GET $30
The Empire Theatre Holiday Gift Card program for 2011 began on November 1 and will be available until December 24* (good news for last-minute shoppers). And the perks with the program are fantastic.
When you spend $30 on Empire Theatre Holiday Gift Cards you get $30 in coupons.
Coupon Bundles include:
- Buy One Get One Admission (January 9 to January 31, 2012)
- $2.00 off any combo – excluding Kid’s Pack (January 9 to January 31, 2012)
- $9.99 (admission, regular drink, small popcorn) (February 1st to February 29th, 2012)
- Buy a large popcorn, get a large drink free (March 1st to March 31st, 2012)
- $6.99 General Admission (March 1st to March 31st, 2012)
- $4.00 off a General Admission Ticket (April 1st to April 30th, 2012)
Add a special Empire Theatre gift tin to package your gift in for $1.oo + tax. An added bonus is that net proceeds from the sales of the tins will go to the Kids Help Phone. And you don’t need to spend $30 to buy a gift tin, anyone may buy one.
*The last day for online orders is December 18 in order to receive them in time for Christmas.
WHERE TO BUY
You can get the gift cards and gift tins at any Empire Theatre in Canada. You can also make your purchase online at empiretheatres.com.
For London readers, our local Empire Theatre is the Empire Wellington 8 Cinemas at 983 Wellington Road, South.
So now that you know of the perfect gift to buy your loved ones, you can sit back, relax and enjoy all the season has to offer. The only question that exists is whether you will give the bonus coupon bundle to your special someone or keep it for yourself.
Happy Holidays!
Disclosure – I am participating in the Empire Theatre Gift Card Holiday Campaign by Mom Central Canada. I received compensation for my participation in this campaign. The opinions on this blog are my own.
Dec
25
Merry Christmas
From my family to yours, Merry Christmas!
Here’s wishing you a safe and happy holiday and all the best in 2011!
Ho ho ho!
Photo by: jscreationzs
Dec
15
The Sweetest Christmas Gift/Giveaway
It is with absolute enthusiasm that I write about the Hallmark Recordable Storybook. This little gift brought a tear to my eye and I am so excited because Hallmark has given me four copies to share with City Mom readers. And just in time for Christmas!
Personalizing your storybook…
These priceless books allow you to record your voice while reading the story. That means that your child can choose to have you tell him/her the story whenever he/she wants…even if you’re not there.
I received the recordable The Night Before Christmas by Clement C. Moore. I asked City Grandma and City Grandpa to read/record the story. Little S sees us all the time, but doesn’t get to see her grandma and grandpa as often so who better to read her this classic tale?
City Grams and City Gramps just loved this book. They said it was really simple to use and easy to record and re-record where necessary. They thought the instructions that came attached were really easy to understand. They were quite impressed with this ingenious idea.
The books also allow for a personalized dedication on the front page before the story begins. S’s grandparents also threw in a personalized good-bye at the end of the story for an added personal touch.
There are many titles to choose from. You’ll find titles like All The Ways I Love You, Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star and Hey Diddle, Diddle. There are also three holiday titles to choose from: The Night Before Christmas, Very First Christmas and Frosty The Snowman. The holiday Recordable Storybooks retail for $24.95 and the other titles sell for $29.95.
Check out the Hallmark website to see all the titles and to view a video that shows these books in action.
How to get your own copy…
You can visit any Hallmark store to pick up your copy and you can enter the City Mom giveaway.
Contest Rules
- Entries are open to Canadian and U.S. residents.
- Contest will run from December 15th 2010 to December 18th 2010 at 5:00pm EST.
- Four winners will be selected at random using random.org.
- Winners will receive one copy of The Night Before Christmas recordable storybook.
- Winners will be contacted at the email address used during entry.
- Winners will have 24 hours to respond to the winner notification email at which time they will provide their shipping address. If a winner does not respond within 24 hours a new winner will be randomly selected.
How to Enter
- Main Entry: ‘Like’ Hallmark on Facebook and leave a comment letting me know you did.
- Extra Entry: Subscribe to City Mom free. Leave a separate comment letting me know you did that too.
This contest is running on a short time line to ensure the books arrive to the winners in time for Christmas! Good luck and happy holidays!
