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DECEMBER 2014 | FREE | CapitalParent.ca | Ottawa’s Parenting Toolbox
Holiday Giving
photo BY KATE SETTLE
Great gift ideas, gingerbread help from a pro, the best places for Santa spotting, & more!
From The Editor
ANDREA TOMKINS andrea@capitalparent.ca
THERE IS MORE GREAT STUFF ONLINE AT
This is my new mantra: Christmas is only as stressful as I make it to be. Lynn Jatania’s column this month made me laugh out loud. It often does, but this one about her struggle with family traditions around the holidays was especially humorous. (Look for it on page 4.) It’s funny because it’s true. Kids sure love their holiday traditions don’t they? They hold on to them tighter than blankies at bedtime. This, of course, creates an issue for the parents, because many of the traditions we associate with this time of year can be stressful and time consuming. (Think holiday brunch with the extended family or Christmas baking.) But, there are ways we can make it a little simpler on ourselves. For example, instead of baking a gingerbread mansion (see page 11 for a great recipe) I’ll be baking a gingerbread shed. And instead of artfully wrapped and tagged Christmas gifts, perhaps this is the year we make do with reusable gift bags and plain brown paper. Christmas in our family is also a time to reflect on the needs of others. Sarah Niman’s piece on page 5 may be the inspiration you need. If you will be doing some entertaining – or just need to have a plan in place for unexpected holiday visitors – you’ll probably find Paula Roy’s article and recipe on page 12 very helpful. You might want to keep our gift guide on pages 8 and 9 by Noise on Toys editor Marcia MacQuarrie close at hand while the kids are writing their letters to Santa too. The toys on our list went through vigorous testing by kids and parents alike! Hopefully this issue of Capital Parent makes your life, and Santa’s, a little easier this year. Wishing you all a wonderful, restful, holiday season,
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Holiday traditions contest We hosted a fun little contest on the Capital Parent Facebook page recently. We asked our followers about their family’s favourite holiday traditions for a chance at winning a fun prize. The winner was... Vicki Moles Harding! Vicki won a Sands Alive kit. This indoor play sand is 100% natural, nontoxic, and never dries out for hours of creative play. Congratulations Vicki! Did you miss the fun? Follow Capital Parent on Facebook and Twitter and you’ll never miss another contest or giveaway!
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Who’s on the cover?
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PUBLISHER Mark Sutcliffe mark@greatriver.ca
>1) Whooz is it? Whooz are fun vinyl labels for iDevice chargers, headphones and cables. We love that each set has its own little personality! This is a great solution for families who have multiple devices and need help quickly identifying “whose charger is Whooz.” (Note: this also reduces sibling arguments.) $12.95 at whoozizit.com.
EDITOR Andrea Tomkins andrea@capitalparent.ca twitter.com/capitalparent CONTRIBUTORS Katharine Fletcher • Jason Haug • Lynn Jatania • Marcia MacQuarrie • Sarah Niman • Misty Pratt • Paula Roy • Kate Settle COPY EDITOR Judith van Berkom CREATIVE DIRECTOR Tanya Connolly-Holmes 613-238-1818 ext. 253
>Strawz Normally we don’t encourage our kids to play with their food or drinks, but we’re willing to make an exception for this beveragerelated construction system. This Strawz connectible drinking straw kit comes with 20 flexible connectors and 24 straight plastic straws and can make an infinite number of crazy combinations. It’s dishwasher safe too. $9.95 at shopngc.ca.
creative@greatriver.ca DESIGN & PRODUCTION Regan Van Dusen regan@greatriver.ca ADVERTISING Alison Stewart 613-238-1818 ext. 226 alison@obj.ca
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>Purdys chocolate Two Purdys chocolate shops opened in Ottawa recently, one at the Rideau Centre and another at Carlingwood Mall. We are crazy in love with their Sweet Georgia Browns: a base of roasted, lightly salted Jumbo Georgia pecans under a thick layer of handmade golden caramel and creamy milk chocolate. And now that their chocolate is made with sustainable cocoa, we can eat even more of them with a clear conscience. $17, and you can also buy them online at purdys.com.
Mark Sutcliffe PRESIDENT Michael Curran V.P. SALES Don Mersereau 613-238-1818 x 286 don@greatriver.ca
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CARING FOR KIDS
HO HO H2O! Give the gift of water this season By Jason Haug, Program & Project Management Officer, Ottawa Public Health
I
t’s that time of year again – the lead up to the holidays. Blankets of snow and sheets of ice cover the ground. We sometimes forget that all this snow and ice we see around us comes from water. Yes H2O, the magical fluid that helps us stay alive. Water is essential for the body. In fact, without water, we would only survive two to four days. Drinking water helps the body control its temperature, digest food, and carry nutrients around in the body. Water cushions joints and organs and helps the body get rid of waste. This is all good information to know, but what does it mean for a child who would probably rather drink something sweet and sugary? We’ve listed some fun ways to make drinking water cool this winter. Straws with special shapes Some products are designed for one reason and one reason only: to make ordinary things a little more fun! Why not pick up a special straw to get your kids drinking more water? Specialty straws come in many fun shapes and sizes that make the experience of drinking water feel more like a treat. (For one example, see the Editor’s Faves column on page 2!) Make it easy One cup, two cup, red cup, blue cup. Leave a cup in different rooms around the house so that your child knows that they can get water any time. Having cups in the kitchen, bathrooms, play area, and bedroom is a good start. The more available it is, the more likely they are to have a drink. A special no-spill cup or water bottle for when you leave the house is a good idea too.
Mix it up When weaning off sugary drinks in favour of water, your child might have something to say about the taste. Adjusting to water with a half juice, half water mixture is often a good start. Next, try to reduce it to one-quarter juice, threequarter water mixture. When they are ready, try switching out the juice in favour of more water. Gradual changes can make a big difference. Juice cubes We often think of adding ice cubes to juice, but have you ever thought about adding juice cubes to water? Fill an ice cube tray with 100% pure fruit juice and add 1 or 2 “juice cubes” in your child’s water before serving. Not only does this turn the juice/water balance in favour of the water, but it also adds a splash of colour. You can take it one step further by making ice in novelty ice cube trays to crank up the funo-meter: dinosaurs, numbers, fish, stars, hearts, and flowers – you name it! There are also freezable (non-edible) ice cubes that come in a variety of shapes. It doesn’t necessarily have to be a food product to add a little bit of colour and fun. Pretty and tasty Introducing slices of real fruit into a pitcher of water can add some flavour. Also, think of how beautiful a glass pitcher looks with slices of lemon, lime, orange, cucumber, berries, or mint leaves. You can also freeze small pieces of fruit in ice cube trays to add a hint of flavour.
Is your child getting enough water? Read on to find out how you can keep your kids hydrated.
It’s all about the cup Depending on the age of your child, the type of cup they are drinking from might make all the difference. Try letting your child pick out a cup that has special meaning for them. Perhaps it has a design featuring their favourite character, or is double-walled with a fun design that moves when it’s being used. There are also many drinking cups that allow kids to create their own designs. The trick is to have this special cup only hold water. Don’t forget to make sure the plastic cups you choose are BPA-free. Model the way Children will often follow the lead of parents. By setting a good example and choosing water more often, your child is more likely to do the
same. Your child will quickly learn that it is the better choice. Limit the options As parents, you ultimately have control over what comes into the house. By having healthier choices like water or milk on hand, there is little room for argument. For more information visit ottawa.ca/ health or call 613-580-6744 (TTY: 613-5809656). You can also connect with OPH on Facebook (facebook.com/ottawahealth), Tumblr (ottawahealth.tumblr.com), Twitter (@OttawaHealth) and on Pinterest (pinterest.com/ otthealthsante).
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THIRD TIME’S THE CHARM
Kids, and our unbreakable Christmas traditions By Lynn Jatania
A
h, the holidays. Chestnuts roasting on an open fire, trips to the mall to see Santa, Dad hanging Christmas lights from the roof while Mom nervously paces below with a First Aid kit. It’s the most wonderful time of the year. But here’s a warning, from a parent who has been through a few holiday seasons herself and has learned a very valuable lesson: everything you do, everything you buy, everything you make, everything you serve, is now an unbreakable custom, a ritual to lead your family forward through the ages. Set in stone, totally happening, this year and through to eternity. The child brain, it turns out, is hot-wired to take any small event and make it an Instant Forever Tradition. “We did it last year,” they’ll point out, and that’s all the reason they need to cement it as a permanent star in the Christmas firmament. It’s amazing how quickly “we did that once” becomes “we always do that.” And while preschoolers may forget to wear underwear, may forget how to use a spoon on a daily basis, may forget where they
have hidden their brother’s special sleep blankie, when it comes to Last Year’s Christmas, their memories are like an iron safe in total lockdown. It doesn’t matter, either, whether they enjoyed said event or activity. Let’s say, for example, you get swept up watching White Christmas on PBS some Sunday afternoon in December, and as your children gape with horror on their faces, you dance about the kitchen singing about Snow and Sisters and making fruitcake. And although said fruitcake, which your children will be strongly encouraged to try after a six hour marathon baking session, turns out to be more of a fruit-brick than cake, they’ll still whine and demand it next year, Sisters and Snow and bricklike qualities and all, and you’ll feel pressure to give them the most magical of holidays in every way, so you’ll acquiesce. And that will be that, every single year, until one of them, now grown and in their 30s, will delicately confess that they’ve never liked your fruitcake and will wonder why you felt the need to make it every year. Try not to hurt yourself as you smack your palm to your forehead. When our kids were little, we started having Christmas morning at home, after years of
returning to our parents’ houses each year to do the same stuff we’d been making our parents do for decades. I was overwhelmed with the freedom – no traditions at all! We could start fresh! Our house had never seen a Christmas and was a complete open book. So of course, I rushed to fill the void with homemade peppermint bark, handmade wrapping paper, and handwritten Christmas cards. There was an elaborate pancake brunch Christmas morning, turkey and all the trimmings Christmas day, and six different kinds of cookies waiting for Santa on Christmas Eve. I made an advent calendar of daily crafts and outings counting down to Christmas as a “fun one-timer.” I thought I’d just throw everything at the wall, and see what stuck. Guess what I’m doing this year? Cookies, brunch, turkey, bark, paper, cards – check, check, check. I’ve been trying to get out of the advent calendar for the past three years, but the kids – who barely have time to eat dinner, let alone make cotton ball snowmen, between schoolwork and sports and Christmas concerts – won’t hear of it. When I even dared suggest that perhaps Santa would prefer a Baileys instead of that giant
lactose-containing glass of chocolate milk – well, let’s just say I wasn’t going to win any popularity contests. I mean, by all means add the Baileys, Mom, but nothing gets subtracted from the mix, ever. In the words of the immortal Katy Perry, “This is how we do.” So tread carefully, and think twice – no, three times – before you casually try something new. If this is your first holiday at home, before you nonchalantly go thinking it will be “super fun” to “try” those popcorn balls on Martha Stewart’s blog, remember: you’ll be making them every year for the next several decades. Before you pick up the phone, think: do you really want to have Uncle Fred over on Christmas morning until Empty Nest Syndrome sets you free? Before you tire of the bickering and allow each child to put out their own bowl of carrots for Rudolph and friends, consider: do you really want to commit to eating three whole bowls of carrots every December 24, when you’d rather spend your calories on six different kinds of cookies? I think not. But maybe do consider adding the Baileys. It has a way of making those several dozen other traditions a little bit easier and a lot more fun. Happy holidays!
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FAMILY MATTERS
Teaching children about the spirit of giving By Sarah Niman
T
hey’ve written their wish lists and checked them twice, but the anticipation of gifts makes it is easy for kids to miss the true meaning of the holidays. Parents looking to teach their kids about the spirit of giving can take advantage of many activities built into the holiday season in Ottawa, from volunteering time to small gestures of kindness. Hannah Gregory, 8, said her family has a tradition of going to the toy store, choosing items they really want, and then donating them to kids who may otherwise not receive any gifts. “Helping people is the nice thing to do, and it makes them feel happy,” she said. Her family of eight is quite busy, so they have found ways to make a difference to others that don’t take away from their packed schedules. “We collect food for the food bank, give the toys we pick, and give Gifts of Hope,” she said, referring to the online catalog at plancanada.ca. In previous years, the Gregory family has given pigs, chicks, malaria nets and school supplies to children and families in third world countries. Organizations like Unicef, World Vision and Oxfam also have websites that make it easy for children to choose gifts, with a parent’s help, and
learn how those gifts will improve a real family’s life. The next time you and the kids hear a radio advertisement for toy sales listing the most coveted items, seize the opportunity to steer the conversation to thinking of those who could use some kindness and generosity. Encouraging kids to contemplate ways to help others who are grieving, sick, lonely or less fortunate starts a journey of generosity that extends well beyond the holiday season. As their growing minds process inequality, hardship and tragedy, giving them ways to help, even a little, empowers them to make positive changes through meaningful acts of kindness. In Ottawa, there are many churches and community outreach groups that organize food hamper programs, and many need volunteers to help deliver the packages of food, toiletries and small gifts. Including kids in the delivery process can take conversations about generosity and kindness to a more tangible level.
Delivering handmade cards to seniors in long-term care facilities or colouring a picture for a sick neighbor teaches children to practice empathy. The Boys and Girls Club of Ottawa’s annual Angel Tree program also needs volunteers to help distribute gifts to children who may otherwise not receive any, as well as gift donations. Instilling a spirit of generosity doesn’t require
big gestures. Parents worried about spreading themselves thin over the holidays can turn everyday activities into opportunities to help others. If your child hosts a play date, set them up with colouring supplies to make holiday cards to bring to a nearby seniors residence, brightening someone’s day. Ottawa’s Bruce House also collects handwritten cards by mail, and gives them to residents living with and affected by HIV and AIDS. If you’re feeling festive, choose toys at the store that your kids can then bring along to the annual Ottawa Help Santa Toy Parade on November 22. When busy in the kitchen with holiday baking, invite your child up to the counter to stir, crack eggs, and discuss who might enjoy receiving the treats. Letting them direct the act of goodwill encourages them to think of those who may be feeling sad or lonely, and provides them a concrete way to help. Whether your family’s holidays are chock full of events or tend to be more laid back, there are endless ways to practice the art of giving. When parents make the decision to shift the holiday’s focus from gifts to giving, children begin to see the world beyond their front door as a place where people help those who can’t always help themselves.
Santa spotting around Ottawa By Misty Pratt
I
f there’s one thing to be said about Ottawa, it’s that there’s no shortage of parades and holiday festivals. Lucky for us, Santa is often the guest of honour at these fun events. Many children love meeting Santa and telling him all the special things they want for Christmas. If your child is too frightened to sit with Santa for a photo, going to see a parade is a great opportunity to see Santa without getting too up-close and personal. It’s a good time to be charitable too; several of the parades around town are hosted by the Ottawa Professional Firefighters Association. Firefighters walk alongside the floats collecting cash donations or toys, so bring your loonies and toonies! Before heading out to a parade, check the website for parade routes, and plan accordingly. It’s sometimes easier to take public transit to these events, and plan on getting there early enough to score a great spot so the kids can see. Don’t forget snacks, warm clothing, and blankets if the kids want to sit down to rest their feet. The big question now is – will there be snow for Santa?
Ottawa area parades Help Santa Toy Parade (toyparade.org) Saturday November 22, 11 a.m. This is the big one that takes place downtown and is favoured by many in the Ottawa area. Fire fighters collect new toys and cash donations along the route. Can’t bring your toy donation? They will also accept new toys at any Ottawa Fire Station up until mid December. Depending on your spot along the route it can get busy, so keep this in mind if your family doesn’t like crowds. Santa’s Parade of Lights (paradeoflights.org) Saturday November 29, 6 p.m. – 8 p.m. The route for the Orleans parade is along St. Joseph Blvd. (from Youville to Prestone Drive). Toys and cash donations will be collected along the route. Stittsville Parade of Lights (stittsvilleva.com/ parade-of-lights) Saturday November 29, 6 p.m. – 8 p.m. The parade will proceed south on Stittsville Main Street, from just south of Hazeldean Road to Carleton Cathcart Street. Parade goers are
welcome to stay for the lighting of Village Square Park, and hot chocolate. Kanata Santa Claus Parade (hazeldeanmall. com) Saturday November 15, 10 a.m. The Kanata parade (a.k.a the Hazeldean Mall Kanata Lions Club Santa Parade) is presented by the Kanata-Hazeldean Lions Club in cooperation with the Kanata Sports Club. Proceeds go to the Kanata Food Cupboard. The parade starts at Terry Fox and Castlefrank, moves along Castlefrank to Abbeyhill and to the Hazeldean Mall.
Bundle up, this is an open-air concert and fireworks display on Main Street. Watch the Snow Queen and her Twinkle Fairies wave their magic wands to bring the jolliest Christmas elf of them all... Santa Claus!
Barrhaven Lions Santa Parade (santaclausbarrhaven.com) Sunday November 23, 5:30 p.m. The Annual Barrhaven Lions Club Light Up the Night Santa Claus Parade starts on Strandherd Drive. Forget to pack snacks? There will be food vendors along the route.
Merrickville - Breakfast with Santa (christmasinmerrickville.ca/breakfast-with-santa) Saturday December 6, 8:30 a.m. – 10:30 a.m. Sponsored by the Merrickville Royal Canadian Legion this is one of the most popular Christmasin-Merrickville events. You and your family can enjoy a hearty, home-style breakfast with Santa at the Royal Canadian Legion. After breakfast, your children can share their wish list with Santa, or you can enjoy a horse-drawn wagon ride as a family. The wagon stop is right outside the Legion’s door. Donations for the horsedrawn wagon rides are appreciated. Breakfast with Santa costs $5.00 for adults and $3.00 for children.
Other places to see Santa Almonte’s Light Up the Night! (lightupthenightalmonte.com) Friday December 5, 7 p.m.
Cumberland Heritage Village Museum: Vintage Village of Lights (ottawa.ca/en/liveculture/museums/cumberlandmuseum) Every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday from
Continued on page 14 DECEMBER 2014 5
Nature Notes
The scoop on snow By Katharine Fletcher
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he first snowfall is the perfect time to chat with kids about the science of snow. Just like human beings, no two snowflakes are precisely the same shape. There are many intriguing questions about snow, and some equally fascinating answers. Who was “Snowflake” Bentley? In the late 1800s, Wilson Alwyn Bentley wondered about snowflakes. So he got a microscope, looked at snowflakes, and discovered beautifully shaped, miniature ice sculptures. Inspired, he got a camera and, over the next forty or so years, took approximately 5,000 photographs of snowflakes. He identified more than 80 different categories of them – which is why he’s nicknamed “Snowflake” Bentley! (Go to bentley.sciencebuff.org/collection.asp to see some of his photographs, now in the Buffalo Museum of Science) Snowflakes, as Bentley discovered, can be hollow, square, rectangular, multi-faceted, all kinds of shapes. One thing they have in common is that because water molecules fit together in a very particular way, most snowflakes are hexagonal (six-sided). This isn’t the only intriguing number associated with snowflakes: they’re comprised of as many as 180 billion water molecules! How are snowflakes formed? Think about how a pearl forms around a speck of sand that gets inside an oyster. Starry Skies website (starryskies.com) explains snowflakes actually begin as a droplet of water which condenses onto a speck of dust. “The droplet freezes and more droplets condense and freeze on it (remember how ice will stick to your tongue?). If the cloud temperature stays below freezing, enough droplets will freeze and collect to form a snowflake. When the snowflake gets heavy enough, it descends to Earth.”
Are there really no two alike? Frankly, who’s to say? However, Snowflake Bentley never found any two that were identical, and it seems that no-one else has since, definitively, either. How can kids examine a snowflake? Wait for a snowfall. Then, grab a magnifying glass, a piece of black construction paper, and bundle up and head outside. Catch some flakes on the paper and look at them under the magnifying glass. Observe all of the different shapes, and see if you can find two that are identical! Later on, you can draw the ones you saw or make some out of folded paper. why can’t WE always build a snowman or make a snowball? Ahh, now that’s a good question! It’s because there are different types of snow, as well as snowflakes. As every one who’s tried to build a snowman knows, sometimes snow is too powdery and doesn’t make a ball. Ski enthusiasts also know that snow can be dry and powdery, wet and heavy, or anywhere in between. It’s all about moisture. If there’s enough moisture in the snow, it can be packed into balls and other shapes. How many Inuit words are there for snow? Inuktitut is the language of the northern peoples called Inuit. Perhaps unsurprisingly, because they live in a world of snow and ice, they have many words for these things.
Inuit guide Joseph Kidlapik demonstrates
building an igloo
on frozen Hudson Bay, but you can make Entomologists (people who one in your own backyard! Photo by Katharine Flet study words) suggest there cher. may be as few as 12, while others say there are 52. Compare this to the up and wear sunglasses on sunny days before Sami language spoken in Norway, Sweden and setting out to explore our winter wonderland. Finland. According to Wikipedia, Sami contains 180 words for snow and ice, and 1,000 for KKatharine Fletcher is a keen outdoorswomreindeer! Inuktitut words for snow include: an who loves to share her love of nature. pukak, crystalline snow on the ground; and aniu, snow used to make water. (For more info about Inuit words for snow see thecanadianencyclopedia.)
What’s the perfect snow for igloos? While exploring Hudson Bay in winter with my Inuit guides Joseph and Mary Kidlapik, they taught me how to find snow to make an igdlu (“igloo”), the typical Inuit snow home. “It must be compact,” says Joseph. It must also be fine-grained and not too wet, otherwise, the engineering marvel of the finely tapered blocks of snow will be too heavy, and the igloo will collapse. I learned that the word for snow from which an igloo can be made is “illusaq.” Happily, I found snow and built an igloo; unhappily, it rained that night and the dome collapsed, but that’s another story. Where can we find great snow? You can find blue snow in the frozen foam of waterfalls at Hog’s Back or Rideau Falls in Ottawa, but you can build snow animals, people, and structures in city parks or in your own back yard. Just make sure you bundle
These faux snowballs will fulfill the need for a snowball fight on the coldest of winter days when the packing snow loses its stickiness. They are made of soft material so no one gets hurt. They even crunch like a snowball! Measuring 3” across, they’re perfect for all ages and are even machine washable. $19.99 at Mrs. Tiggy Winkles.
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Top toy picks Marcia MacQuarrie, Editor for The Noise on Toys
Y
ou’ve got nieces and nephews of all ages to buy for – not to mention your own kids. The last thing you have, is time for a leisurely browse through the toy aisles. Lucky for you, we’ve already done the legwork. The Noise on Toys testing families have been hard at work all year, subjecting the most promising new toys to months of all-out, honest-to-goodness play. The result is a jam-packed guide full of best bets for kids from newborn to preteen. Here are some of their favourites, all priced under $50.
Laugh & Learn Puppy’s Activity Home (9m+, Fisher-Price, $29.99) Laugh & Learn is fun and engaging, with lots of great features all packed into one toy. Our testers especially loved the working light and doorbell and that the front door creaks open and shut. This is an exceptionally well-designed playhouse with cute figures, happy songs that inspire dancing, and a roof that opens for easy access or to drop in toys and whatever else fits (then to pull them all back out again). Best of all, the built-in handle makes this small, lunch-box-sized house an ideal carry-around toy.
Discover the World Play Mat (0m+, Tiny Love, $49.99) This thick, comfy, play mat has plenty of room to cuddle up while baby enjoys some tummy time. Big enough, too, that baby doesn’t roll off every time he/she moves. The mirror was a favourite feature for all our testing babies, who were also fascinated by the crinkly sounds, variety of textures and eye-catching graphics. Parents loved that this extra large (100 x 150 cm) mat also makes a good play space for older siblings, and a great spot for reading books together.
Mix or Match Vehicles Magnetic Construction Toy (3+, Popular Playthings, $29.99) Safely encased magnets hold these free-wheeling modular three piece vehicles securely together, even during boisterous crash and bang play, but they are still super easy to take apart. Our testers had lots of fun exchanging parts from the train, plane, boat and car to make crazy new mixed-up vehicles. This is a well-designed toy that’s packed with tons of enduring play appeal.
Wigglefants Stacking Game (2+, Haba, $26.99) Shaped to silhouette elephant graphics, these brightly coloured blocks are specially designed for easy stacking. Ridges on the elephant feet and top ‘corners’ of the blocks help to keep the stacked elephants stable, as well as creating additional stacking options. Our testers mostly preferred freestyle building, but parents loved that the set also includes pattern cards to further enrich learning opportunities.
Kinetic Sand (3+, WabaFun, $14.99 and up) This is a truly unique tactile experience. Calming to handle and captivating to play with, this slightly gritty, sand-like substance looks like brown sugar – except that it is not at all sticky. Unlike regular sand, there’s no dust, nor does it need to be dampened to mold it. Our testers enjoyed hours of creative fun, adding their own little plastic animals, cars, and other toys to enhance play. Even adults had fun, and no one ever tired of just balancing it on a hand and letting it flow through their fingers like it’s melting in slow motion.
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My Little Pony POP Deluxe Style Kit (4+, Hasbro, $5.99 and up) This is classic pony play, enhanced by Mr. Potato Head-like creativity. Our testers loved that the mix and match manes, tails and other accessories let them make their pony look the way they want. The add-on accessories are easily switched, although they do take some finger strength to pop in place. But that didn’t bother our kid testers who were just happy they could change up the look of their pony as often as they wanted.
Grow ‘n Glow Terrarium (6+, Creativity for Kids, $17.99)
Last Mouse Lost (5+, Foxmind Games, $7.99) This is a very tactile, quick-playing game. Our testers loved “popping” the mouse domes – even when they weren’t playing the game. It was like having an unending supply of bubble wrap! The game goal is to make sure you’re not left with the last mouse, so play gets quite strategic as there are fewer and fewer domes. Parents also gave it an enthusiastic thumbs up, happy that this one-piece game is so ultra-durable, totally portable, and takes only minutes to play.
My Virtual Fashion Show and Virtual Design & Drive (6+, Crayola, $19.99)
Mini figures and glow-in-the-dark stickers make this terrarium extra special, but our testers say the real treat is watching the seeds sprout and grow into healthy plants. You can even harvest and eat the nutritious wheat grass and chia micro-greens, then plant the extra seeds and do it all over again. Parents love that everything is included and that the instructions are easy enough for kids to put it together and create their very own little eco world, all by themselves.
Explore the World & Explore Canada (we suggest 9+, Outset Media Corp., $29.99) The multiple choice and true/false question formats make it possible for players to at least guess at the answers they don’t know – which kept our testers engaged and listening when the correct answers, supplemented by interesting factoids, were read aloud. There are also opportunities for more active ways to move ahead on the board – like guessing at charades, or searching the house for some garlic, or even just balancing like a flamingo. These games are a fun way to learn about the world around us, and are best enjoyed as family games where younger players are paired with adults.
Gravity Maze Falling Marble Logic Game (8+, ThinkFun Inc., $34.99) The tower-like maze pieces can be attached together, or rotated, flipped and even laid out horizontally to connect the tunnels. At first glance, some parts may seem more decorative than functional, but rest assured that every bit of this well-designed puzzle serves a purpose. Long before the thrill of seeing your track successfully shuttle a marble to the target, there’s the interim satisfaction of using your outsidethe-box thinking to discover how different aspects of the maze structures can be used to help get it there. This is an exceptional puzzle, and certainly one of our all-time favourites.
Pretty awesome! Our testers were thrilled to see their paper sketches transformed into video games. No special paper or markers are needed – photocopied templates and printed downloads work as well as the original pages. Sets include ten template designs each with a shaped blank space where kids can draw whatever they want. Then the magic happens. As the drawings come to life in the app games, kids can drive their car through a stunt course, or watch models walking the runway wearing the outfits they created. This is a great blend of traditional colouring enhanced by some electronic fun.
Sushi Go! The Pick and Pass Card Game (8+, Gamewright, $11.99) This game is very popular – in fact, it was the top rated toy this year. Our testers loved the risky all-or-nothing scoring and the completely new way to collect sets – by selecting from passed hands, rather than picking from a central pile. As choices are made, cards are laid face up on the table where everyone can see the developing hands. It’s a simple twist, but displaying the hands face-up has a big strategic impact, both as an opportunity to block other players, as well as, for adjusting your own set-making choices.
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ParENtiNg BloGs
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he great things are often the simple things – just ask Emily Smith of The Best of This Life (bestofthislife.com). It’s the joy of spending an afternoon exploring the park with your kids. It’s the beauty of a well-set table, full of local produce and pretty plates. It’s the good feeling of a hard day’s work spent making a new house feel like a home. Emily takes all that good stuff and turns it into sweet stories on her blog, full of truly gorgeous photos that capture the wonder of family life. She’s all about turning the everyday into something special – a fall picnic is cozy with apple cider, hot sandwiches, and a pile of throw pillows; a simple Sunday afternoon with sick kids becomes a cuddlefest and a quiet reflection on what it means to be home; and a trip to the farmers’ market turns into a mean vegetable bean soup matched with gluten free herb biscuits (recipes included!). She’s recently moved into a new house with her husband and two young children, so that means plenty of makeover fodder. There’s design and decorating work to be done, a backyard and new neighbourhood to explore, and best of all, a new kitchen with plenty of room for food-based parties, both big and small. Emily does a lot of work with both local and national brands, but always with absolute integrity. She chooses products that she honestly loves, and reading about how to bring that kind of beauty into your home is inspiring. Her warm, honest stories about her home and family show you easy ways to work a little something special into your everyday, too. She’s got a great eye - and a great heart - for spotting the best in life; let her blog show you how to do the same.
Noteable Quote Fall weather surprised us over the weekend.
It dropped below seasonal temps and without Join Whole Foods Market as we celebrate the Grand Opening of our the sunshine, Saturday felt like mid-October. $ with purchase Lansdowne Park50 store! Opening ceremony kicks off outside at 8am It was rainy and cold – we stayed inside most PLU 303287 offer expires 1/19/2015. Void of the day while it poured but when there was and includes liveNot entertainment, if duplicated. valid with any other gift card giveaway to the first a break, the Little Man and I stepped outside Whole Foods Market offer. Excludes gift cards. One coupon per 500 customers, bread breaking ceremony and special customer per visit. While supplies last. Lansdowne Park sales! Local for some playtime. It didn’t last long, before Valid at Whole Foods Market LANSDOWNE 951 Bank Street, Ottawa refreshments and samples willteam be offered throughout the day.it began raining down again – but for a brief PARK location only. Not valid with time we had fun, we loaded up dump trucks member discount. Doors open at 9am sharp! with fallen leaves and sticks. We got messy and 10 DECEMBER 2014 | C a p i t a l P a r e n t . c a |
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Meet Emily Smith, of The Best of This Life. Photo courtesy of Mark Holleron, Holleron Photography
“
Her warm, honest stories about her home and family show you easy ways to work a little something special into your everyday, too
”
laughed. We pretended we were in a marching band and marched around our new backyard blowing a make-believe trumpet. Time always slows down when you play with kids. Things have been helter-skelter around here – with the move, with Aiden starting school, with Abigail teething (3 coming in at once!), unpacking, no internet – the list goes on. We are really trying to focus on the positive things, like our lovely new home, beautiful neighbourhood, big green backyard, and the family hang outs we are getting to have in the midst of LIFE. I am grateful for that. I am stretched, but I am thankful for the living that is happening through the stretching…make sense? Still, I am hoping for easier times ahead and a sense of settling in. Read the rest of this post at The Best of This Life (bestofthislife.com). Looking for some more great Ottawa-area blogs to read? Check out our growing list at capitalparent.ca and you might discover some new favourites.
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Kids in the kitchen
Q&A with the gingerbread queen
C
atherine Beddall is a professional pastry chef and owner of Catherine’s Cakery (catherinescakery.ca). Although Catherine is known for her cakes, she also is a wonder with gingerbread. We had the opportunity to ask her a few questions about her wonderful creations before we set out to try our hand at making our own this year. CP: Can you tell us a little bit about yourself and your history with baking and pastries? Catherine Beddall: Even though I’ve loved to bake ever since I was a little girl, I never considered it as a full-time career until recently. For a number of years I worked full time as a graphic designer while making cakes as a small side business, and I finally decided to “take the plunge” and make baking and pastry my full-time career. I now split my time between my cake business, teaching in the Baking and Pastry Arts program at Algonquin College, and working at an Ottawa bakery. So my days are busy, but I’m getting experi-
ence in a lot of different areas and loving it! So apparently you have a thing with gingerbread. Care to elaborate? (And what’s this about gingerbread furniture?) I absolutely love making gingerbread houses! A few years ago, I entered and won Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation/Habitat for Humanity’s Annual Gingerbread House Competition. That was my first gingerbread house, and I was hooked… even though my entry took about 60 hours to create, I enjoyed every minute of it. I love designing little homes (complete with edible furniture). I’ve always loved miniature, and I love the fantasy of living inside an edible house, decorated with candy and icing. All that combined with the wonderful smell of baking gingerbread makes creating these houses irresistible to me. A lot of parents love the idea of baking and making gingerbread houses with their kids, but it seems so over-
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whelming. Do you have any tips that might help? Definitely! Start with a cardboard template, and keep it simple the first time to avoid frustration. But it’s all in the recipes. I use a wonderful gingerbread recipe that bakes up firmly enough to give houses the structural support they need, and tastes absolutely delicious. The right icing is also very important. Gingerbread houses are “glued” together with Royal Icing which hardens as it dries. Any other type of icing may not hold the structure together properly. Most importantly, have fun with it, and be sure to eat lots of gingerbread scraps along the way!
This is one of Catherine Beddalls’ delic ious gingerbread creations. Grab her recipe on capitalparent.ca!
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HOLIDAY PREP
Stocking the holiday pantry By Paula Roy
Y
ou know those people who just love to go overboard at Christmas? That’s me. My house gets decorated from top to bottom, inside and out and I start planning holiday menus before the leaves are off the trees I genuinely enjoy opening our home to family and friends, often spontaneously. While making the holidays happy for everyone does require a little bit of advance planning, having a party-ready pantry keeps the season from getting too hectic. I like to have a good selection of party foods on hand so I can issue last-minute invitations without needing to run to the store. One of the easiest tricks is to have all the fixings for a great charcuterie platter. Weeks before the holidays, I roast up big batches of spiced nuts in both sweet and savoury versions, then purchase dry-cured salumi and packaged cheeses (rather than freshly-cut wedges from the deli) which last for weeks in the refrigerator. Add in some crostini, olives, artichokes, gherkins and dried apricots and you can assemble a very tasty party platter in just minutes. The recipe at right for spicy cheddar cookies is one of my holiday traditions; you can make the dough ahead and bake as needed. As for sweets, I keep it simple with just a few favourite cookie recipes. One easy tip is to dip one end of pre-baked, frozen shortbread cookies in melted semi-sweet, dark or mint chocolate chips, taking a holiday classic from plain to pumped up. The chocolate will firm up quickly on the cookies and they can be arranged on a pretty plate or packaged up to transport to an event. Open my freezer any time after December 1 and you’ll find a good assortment of party foods at the ready – packages of smoked salmon, fillable tart shells, unbaked cookie dough balls and more. For parties, I find it’s often easier, and just as effective, to offer fewer selections but in sufficient quantities to leave guests feeling satisfied. Most party planners today recommend having a signature cocktail ready to welcome guests as they
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These savoury delights have a nice texture and delicious flavour; they make lovely cocktail party nibbles or hostess gifts. While a cookie press lets you create fancy shapes, you can also cut the roll of prepared dough into slices instead. The best part? You can either bake and freeze the cheddar cookies, or freeze rolls of dough and bake up as needed.
Most party planners “today recommend
having a signature cocktail ready to welcome guests as they arrive; it’s a great way to set a festive mood for any gathering.
”
arrive; it’s a great way to set a festive mood for any gathering. Bubbles – whether in cocktail or mocktail form – always seem to get a party started in style. Try pouring an ounce of chilled ice wine in the bottom of your champagne flutes, then top with sparkling wine; for a non-alcoholic option, ice syrup – unfermented ice wine – is delicious mixed with sparkling water. A great new local product called TreeWell carbonated maple sap makes a wonderful beverage on its own (or as a base for cocktails). Last year, I purchased a Sodastream machine and it’s been a great investment – we never run out of fizzy water and our kids enjoy making different flavoured concoctions with the machine. By stocking up on some of these entertaining essentials, I always feel more prepared and inclined to invite people over on the spur of the moment, plus I’ve always got a stash of edible hostess gifts for any last-minute invitations we receive. I can’t wait for the holiday season to begin!
You will need:
Photo by Paula Roy
• 4.4 oz (125g) sharp (old) Cheddar cheese to yield 1 cup when shredded 1 cup all-purpose flour 1/4 teaspoon salt 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper 1/2 cup butter, at room temperature
• Preheat the oven to 325F. • With the fine side of a grater, shred the Cheddar when cold then let come up to room temperature. • Combine the flour, salt and cayenne; set aside. • With an electric mixer, beat the butter and cheese together. • Add the flour mixture in three parts, blending well after each addition. • Turn the dough out onto a clean surface. With your hands, shape it into a roll about 1.25 inches (3 cm) in diameter. • Wrap the roll of dough tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes or up to 24 hours. You can also freeze the dough (doublewrapped) for longer storage and thaw completely before proceeding. • Put the roll of dough in your cookie press and squeeze out shapes onto an ungreased cookie tray, spacing 3/4 inch (1.25 cm) apart. • Alternatively, slice the roll of dough into 3/4 inch rounds and lay out on the cookie sheet. • Bake 10 – 12 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove to racks to cool. Makes about 3-dozen savoury cookies. Looking for another great make-ahead recipe that will delight a visitor? Check the web version of this article at capitalparent.ca.
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e r a c y Da 12 DECEMBER 2014 | C a p i t a l P a r e n t . c a |
Spicy Cheddar Cookies
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top 5 books
best
T
he cold weather is quickly approaching, and so is the festive season! Jennifer Evans, Children’s Librarian at the Hazeldean Branch, recommends these books about holidays around the world.
FAMILY FUN
Make your own pinecone Christmas trees By Andrea Tomkins
The True Gift: A Christmas Story, by Patricia MacLachlan, with illustrations, by Brian Floca (Ages 7-12)
1
Siblings Lily and Liam eagerly anticipate their annual Christmas visit to their grandparents’ farm. When Liam notices a lonely white cow living on the farm, he resolves to spend his holiday finding it a friend. This heartwarming Christmas tale is perfect for sharing aloud with the whole family.
P
inecones are the basis of many great craft ideas. One of our favourite things to do is paint the tips of them with silver or white paint and sprinkle them with glitter. They look pretty in a clear bowl on the mantle or nestled amid Christmas tree branches. You can also set them out in a row in the middle of the dinner table so they look like a snowy forest
Sadie’s Almost Marvelous Menorah, by Jamie Korngold, with illustrations by Julie Fortenberry (Ages 2-6)
2
Step 3: The pitch needs to be removed from the pinecones as well. Place them on a foil-lined tray and pop them into a 200F oven. Perhaps this is a good time to let you know that your house is going to smell wonderful. Maybe you should do this right before the in-laws arrive?
For those celebrating Kwanzaa this year, or for those who want to learn more about this holiday, Celebrate Kwanzaa is a wonderful resource featuring vivid photographs and inviting text. Learn more about the history of this special holiday, as well a fun recipe and craft. (Part of National Geographic’s “Holidays Around the World” series.)
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5
Step 4: Wash hands again (see step 2).
Who Stole New Year’s Eve?, by Martha Freeman (Ages 9-12) The latest installment of the Chickadee Court series brings us a New Years themed mystery. When thirty-seven sculptures for the Ice Carnival go missing, friends and amateur sleuths Alex and Yasmeen must overcome their differences to solve the mystery. This book is fast paced, funny, and filled with clues – can you crack the case before Alex and Yasmeen?
Fireside Stories: Tales for a Winter’s Eve, by Caitlin Matthews, with illustrations by Helen Cann (Ages 6-13) Families will enjoy curling up with a cozy blanket to enjoy one of these winter tales, which include stories about the Jewish New Year of the Trees, the Celtic festival of Candlemas in Canada, and Christmas Eve in Austria. Helpful introductions and beautiful illustrations accompany each story.
Step 1: Enjoy a cup of coffee while the kids are out looking for pinecones. All kidding aside, it might be a good idea to scope out the pinecones beforehand during a family walk around the neighbourhood. If you spy some on your neighbour’s lawn, knock on the door and alert the homeowners to your crafting intentions. Don’t pick them off the trees, just collect fallen ones from the ground. Step 2: Got a bunch of pinecones? Great! But I bet you’re pretty sappy. Use a dab of shortening (followed by dish soap) to remove the sticky pitch (pine sap) from everyone’s fingers Trust me, it works!
Sadie is delighted when she learns that she will be making a menorah in school. When she rushes to show her mother the finished project, she trips and the menorah shatters. Sadie is heartbroken, but when she sees that the shammash is still in one piece, her family creates a new Hanukkah tradition.
Celebrate Kwanzaa, by Carolyn Otto (Ages 6-12)
3
the kids can help.
You know what I like best about this kind of craft? It can’t be done in one sitting. Some parents might find this a turn off, but I think it’s a good exercise in patience. Sometimes waiting for paint to dry is good for our brains. Making crafts out of pinecones does require a bit of preparation, but it’s so easy that even
Step 4: Let the pinecones bake for 20-30 minutes. Remove the pinecones from the oven (they will probably have opened up a little more) and let them cool. If there was a lot of sap on them it may create a glossy sheen if it melted onto the pinecone, which will harden and most importantly, stop being so sticky. Now you’re ready to paint your pinecones, or use them for any number of cool crafts. Do you follow Capital Parent on Pinterest? Follow along for great craft ideas, recipes, and fun things to do with the kids.
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www.ottawa.madscience.org DECEMBER 2014 13
FAMILY FUN Dave, Erin, Emma (8), Lauren (4) live in Orleans, Avalon. They love going for walks around Mer Bleu Bog and having picnics at the Arboretum. Their holiday traditions always include visits to the Cumberland Museum, the Santa Claus parade, Upper Canada Village, skating on the canal, and Winterlude. Photo by Sara McConnell Photography /saramcconnell.ca
A A S I K U P A U
SEND US YOUR PICS We’d like to see your BEST family photos and selfies! Submit your favourites and you might see one or two in a future issue. For more details go to capitalparent.ca
family snap
The most common way people give up their “power is by thinking they don’t have any ” - Alice Walker
OUR family
CaleNdaR
Christmas Lights across Canada Begins December 3
We love it when the National Capital is all a’glow, don’t you? Every night more than 300,000 dazzling Christmas lights shine brightly in the heart of Ottawa–Gatineau. Don’t miss the Illumination Ceremony on December 3 at 7 p.m. on Parliament Hill! For more information go to pch.gc.ca/ eng/1379447340362
A Charlie Brown Christmas December 4
The Ottawa Jazz Festival is presenting A Charlie Brown Christmas Concert featuring the Jerry Granelli Trio at 7:00 p.m. at the DominionChalmers United Church (355 Cooper Street). The concert features excerpts from the Emmy AwardWinning television classic, with the soundtrack performed by the Jerry Granelli Trio. Part oral history, part concert, and part screening of this Christmas classic, this performance promises to be an unforgettable experience for Charlie Brown and jazz music aficionados. Granelli and his band will be joined on stage with a local youth choir, the Cross Town Youth Chorus. Price is $35 for adults $15 for children 12 & under. For tickets visit ottawajazzfestival.com or call 613-241-2633.
The Story of Holly and Ivy December 10 - 13
“Trim the tree” workshop December 14
Bring the family and create a variety of unique handmade ornaments at this City of Ottawa workshop. One fee for the family. To register go to ottawa.ca/en/liveculture/workshops-arts-centres.
This is a novel way of getting together for a meal with extended family and keeping everyone out of your tiny kitchen. (Yay, no clean up!) Treat the family to a delicious buffet brunch, and since the price includes admission, the whole family can wander the museum afterwards. For information go to nature.ca.
!
14 DECEMBER 2014 | C a p i t a l P a r e n t . c a |
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U Q I A P N L I A
K A K U P P I I P
qanik: snow falling aputi: snow on the ground pukak crystalline snow on the ground
A N T N N T K P N
U I K A L I U U A
A K I U I A Q I N
A A U S I N K T U
T A N Q K U L U A
qanik aputi pukak aniu siku nilak qinu
aniu: snow used to make water siku: ice in general nilak: freshwater ice, for drinking qinu: slushy ice by the sea
Continued from page 5
This story, presented by Rag & Bone Puppet Theatre, is about wishing. Holly is a toy who wishes for a child. Mrs. Jones and her policeman husband wish they had a little girl. And an orphan girl named Ivy wishes for a Christmas doll, a grandmother, and a place to go for Christmas. Rumer Godden’s beautiful story is brought to life with toys, puppets, carols sung by local school choirs, and a real live girl. For ticket information, as well as other show locations, go to shenkmanarts.ca.
Multicultural holiday brunch at the Museum of Nature December 14
A N A N I A U T A
Santa spotting
Every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday from November 29 through December 21 from 3 p.m. to 8 p.m. 30,000 Christmas lights, decorations everywhere, gigantic reindeer and sleigh and – of course! – a visit with Santa Claus in his workshop! Kids will have fun sledding, playing broomball or street hockey, making a snow globe, decorating gingerbread, and sending your Christmas wish list to Santa via telegram. Regular admission applies.
Photos with Santa Bayshore Shopping Centre (bayshoreshoppingcentre.com) Santa and his elves will be arriving at Bayshore on November 23 at 10 a.m. Santa will be spreading holiday cheer in his never-before-seen new crystal Santa village located in Centre Court. Place D’Orleans (placedorleans.com) Santa arrives in Orleans on November 16 and stays until December 24. Pose for photos, and don’t forget to bring your letters!
Nepean Museum - Noël at Nepean (ottawa.ca/ en/liveculture/museums/nepeanmuseum) December 14 from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Explore some of Nepean’s local landmarks while satisfying your sweet tooth with an afternoon of making gingerbread houses! And if you’re nice, Santa may even stop in for a visit. Cost: $6/person, $10/pair, $16/family. The CP Holiday Train (cpr.ca/en/community/ holiday-train) You may not see Santa here, but this is a great event all the same, The CP Holiday Train started in 1999 and raises money and food for the Food Bank. Over the three weeks of the program, musicians will play more than 150 concerts from a boxcar that’s been turned into a travelling stage. Stops close to Ottawa include Merrickville and Smith’s Falls.
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