It is so weird that we are less than 2 weeks away from December 1! Last week SBean asked me if I had our activity calendar ready yet… To which of course I reply, “obviously“ and then immediately lookout my laptop and began to plan for December Lol. The holidays are busy and over the years, they have become absolutely ridiculously filled with community markets and festive things to do. It could be quite overwhelming! If you’re anything like me, you need to plan for the holidays or nothing gets done and then BAM it’s over and holiday guilt creeps in. I put this calendar up on the fridge, so that every day the Kids can do something or be given a prompt of how to show spirit every day of the holiday month! Do we do all these activities on the specified day? No. But, these suggestions allow me to make the most of the holiday season with my family without too much daily thought. I always try to find new activities and hopefully our family activity calendar will help you prepare for your bestest holiday yet!
December 1: Make your own Advent Calendar! We love Advent Calendars. A few years ago we bought the Kids beautiful wooden calendars to fill each year. Ninja gets me and the Kids chocolate calendars and I get him a craft beer calendar. I specifically pick brews Ninja hasn’t tasted before from local breweries. Last year I picked a selection from across B.C. This year is harder because BC craft breweries are not allowed to sell single cans. Grrrr. I have my work cut out for me, but I like challenges!
December 2: Add twinkle lights to your bookshelves. It’s time to decorate! Although I could definitely jump on board the “put your tree up in November” train, Ninja says a big Ho Ho NO! So as soon as the Kids birthdays are over, the twinkle lights come out and Christmas pukes festivity all over our house!!
December 3: Attend a Holiday Concert. When I was a kid I loved watching Handel’s Messiah at the Calvary Temple in Winnipeg. Christmas concerts bring something out in me, the spirit of my childhood Christmases. This year we will be attending the A Rocky Mountain High Christmas , celebrating the hits of John Denver where SBean’s performing arts group will be performing 9 songs with the band. It is going to be wonderful!
December 4: Build Santa’s Workshop out of Lego. My Kids LOVED Lego. They still do but obviously don’t play with it as much as they used to. Why not collect up all that Lego and have a family building night and remind those teenagers, AND Mom & Dad, how much fun it is to play and create!
December 5: Have a Candycane Hunt because, why not?
December 6: Visit your local Christmas Market. Most of our markets are in November but there are a few last minute craft markets that might just have the perfect gift waiting just for you!
December 7: Have a Just Dance Christmas challenge. SBean LOVES this game and we always have a blast playing/watching her and HBear dance up a storm. This holiday twist will surely become a family tradition.
December 8: Create your own personal Santa’s Workshop (wrapping night) I didn’t realize how hard it was to do certain things as a parent. I mean, you do everything lol. You buy the groceries, make the dinner, clean up the dinner and then do it again in the morning and then again at lunch and then again at dinner again and again and again lol. Just like Christmas! After you do all the Christmas shopping… You still have to wrap all of those presents! So why not make it fun? Pour yourself a glass of wine or a hot cup of cocoa, turn on a Christmas Hallmark movie or some Christmas music and pretend you are Santa’s little wrapping elf!
December 9: Do a random act of kindness. This is something we try to practice every time we go out. Simply opening a door for someone, complimenting someone, asking how a cashiers day is going are all forms of daily kindnesses that go along way, especially during the holiday season.
December 10: Make some homemade gifts. SBean got a book in preschool from Santa, actually it was my Dad dressed up and I don’t know how SBean didn’t know! Her PreschoolBestie sure did, she said, “that’s SBean’s Santa!” To everyone, loudly LOL. Anyways, it was a book about having a homemade Christmas and she loved that idea! Every year we pull a name out of a hat and play Homemade Secret Santa. If you’re looking for some last minute gift ideas check out these.
December 11: Go shopping & donate food to local shelter This year more than ever I feel like the world needs kindness. So many people are in need look into your local food banks, food, pantries, and if you have any warm clothes to donate, remember the temperatures are getting cold out there and so many people have so little.
December 12: Create your ideal Christmas menu. I am thankful that my mother-in-law and father-in-law host Christmas dinner. I don’t know how people with kids do Christmas morning, breakfast, cleanup, a big dinner, and enjoy it? I don’t lol we tried, it makes the holiday unenjoyable. But, seeing all my family for a big dinner that I didn’t cook? I’m in! Lol I do however like to make a nice Christmas Eve dinner for Ninja and the kids. This year we are doing roast, Yorkshire pudding, mashed potatoes and green beans! Yummm!
December 13: Drink a Christmas themed beverage. The holiday season has so many delightful drinks that are suitable for the occasion! Hot cocoa, peppermint tea, eggnog, mulled cider, gingerbread lattes, festive cocktails (see below!)… The list goes on!
December 14: Play Christmas Music ALL day. This doesn’t need an explanation because as everyone knows… Christmas music is the BEST! Check out my Christmas playlist on Spotify!
December 15: Make a Christmas centrepiece. I saw a girlfriend of mine back in Winnipeg make an autumn centerpiece, and it looked absolutely gorgeous! I already have an autumn centerpiece, but it gave me an idea for Christmas! In my mind, my crafts always look so good but they’re always such huge fails lol but I’m excited to try!
December 16: Walk around downtown, look at the lights & stop for a treat. As I get older, my childhood memories are either warped, gone, or vivid lol. A vivid memory I have at Christmas is going downtown and seeing the Christmas lights. I remember having a mandarin orange and a hot chocolate and brimming with excitement and happiness. I still feel that way when I see, the Christmas lights.
December 17: Last day to get your parcels, cards and gifts in the mail! Hopefully the Canada Post strike ends quickly and all is well in postal service land lol but to be safe, make sure you get your stuff shipped before last call, today!
December 18: Frost Sugar Cookies. I have been baking up a storm so that we are not in a hurry to bake all of our favourite Christmas treats right before Christmas. Because I got most of our Christmas baking done early, we will now be able to make our favourite sugar cookies and gingerbread men closer to Christmas, when the kids are out of school!
December 19: Have a Gingerbread House decorating party. This is a family tradition! The Kids look forward to decorating a gingerbread house with Grandma and Grandpa every year. It’s just a silly out of the box gingerbread house, but they don’t care, it’s the tradition of doing it with their grandparents that means so much. To them and me.
December 20: Light a candle and give thanks in honour of the winter solstice and the darkest night of the year.
December 21: Celebrate the first day of winter in style! Take a horse drawn sleigh ride through the forest. I remember doing this with my family as a kid outside of Winnipeg and how much fun it was! I love horses and can’t wait to be on a sleigh dashing through the snow!
December 22: Wear layers & take a walk in the woods. An annual tradition for our family is going up the mountain and cutting down a Christmas tree. We bring toboggans, hot chocolate, and Oliver lol. It’s one of my favourite days of the year!
December 23: Get cozy to read a new Christmas book. I read so many good books this year! If you are looking for a good Christmas read, check out Comfort and Joy by Kristin Hannah, or Wreck the Halls by Tessa Bailey or Home for the Holidays by Taylor Hawn. You can read my reviews of those books here.
December 24: Play a game of Festive Charades. This has become a new tradition for our family. It has become a tradition because ever since the first time we played and I made a fool of myself trying to demonstrate a “snow globe” lol my Kids think it is the MOST fun game to play with us on Christmas Eve!
December 25: Take a funny Family Christmas Photo! Everybody takes the obligatory Christmas family photo but this year… Make it silly!
December 26: Have a night of fun foods (think fondue or appies). The day after Christmas is weird. Actually, the whole week after Christmas is weird lol you’re hungry but you just had a big dinner and the thought of making another big dinner is revolting lol but you’re hungry. That’s where appetizers, fondue or racklette come in handy! Make it fun for the whole family, and have a smorgasburg of finger food.
December 27: Play in the snow & then come in for hot chocolate. If you have snow I mean! We have had many a green Christmas here in Okanagan Valley, but when we do get snow… We play and of course there’s always hot chocolate with marshmallows afterwards.
December 28: Have a family game night next to the tree. Did you get a new board game for Christmas? We did! Our elf, Maynard, always brings us a new game and we love pulling out all the games from years past and having a night of it beneath all of the holiday twinkle lights that are just about wearing out their welcome.
December 29: Go Snowshoeing or Skating or Skiing. Everybody has been in the house for a few days, nobody knows what days it is, and everybody is feeling like they need to work off all that Christmas baking so make it a snow adventure day! Go skiing, sledding, skating, or snowshoeing! Just get out side and have fun!
December 30: Have a Winter Picnic. If it’s too cold to go outside and have a picnic, why not have a winter picnic in your living room? Pack some thermoses of soup and a couple sandwiches and a few sugar cookies and enjoy what is left of 2024!
December 31: Kiss at Midnight. Happy New Year’s! Wishing everyone a wonderful 2025! 2025? That sounds so crazy!
The Holiday Season is fast approaching and we have a few NEW Festive Cocktails to help you celebrate!
Cocktails are great in the summer, but Christmas cocktails are my favourite! Over the last few weeks Ninja and I have been taste testing these holiday cocktails for our weekly podcasts.
Ninja loves a good old-fashioned. I always try to find him a different take on his favourite drink, according to the season! He loved this Spiced Honey Bourbon Old Fashioned! Ninja says, “this late night sipper would be perfect after a big holiday meal, relaxing after a long day of shopping with the family or while wrapping ALL those gifts.”
My Mom loved Brown Cows. I loved Paralyzers lol. This festive spin reminds me of those 2 awesome drinks! You have to try this Salted Butterscotch White Russian! This drink is decadent and delicious! The ultimate holiday cocktail!
Who doesn’t love a pretty martini? Try a Snowy Poinsettia Martini when you have your girlfriends over, as a pre-night out drink, or as a before dinner merry martini!
Ninja couldn’t stop singing Let It Go while we sipped on these stunning Frostbite cocktails. These gorgeous drinks taste delicious and they are perfect for an early December holiday party or in the icy weeks after Christmas!
The holidays can’t start until you have your first eggnog! As soon as I saw it in the grocery aisles, my mouth started watering for that creamy deliciousness with fresh ground nutmeg over top and of course, a little rum lol. This year to spice things up we changed it up and made these Fireball Eggnogs and they were absolutely freaking fantastic! Warmed the belly and spread comfort throughout my whole body LOL so good!
Speaking of good, these Tipsy Tree Shots are not only adorable, but would make really cute place settings for a pre-dinner cheers!
Ingredients
4 oz bourbon
2 oz lemon juice
2 oz orange juice
6 dashes orange bitters
4 oz spiced honey syrup
- Spiced Honey Syrup
½ cup honey
½ cup water
2 sprigs fresh rosemary
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
1 inch fresh ginger, sliced
zest of 1 orange
1 teaspoon vanilla
Directions
To make the spiced honey syrup. In a medium pot, bring water, honey, rosemary, cinnamon, cardamom, and ginger to a boil over high heat. Boil 2-3 minutes, then remove from the heat. Stir in the orange zest and vanilla. Let cool. Remove the rosemary and ginger.
Combine the honey syrup, bourbon, lemon juice, orange juice, and orange bitters. Stir to combined Serve over ice. Garnish with a cinnamon stick, orange slice or rosemary sprig, if desired.
Ingredients
4 oz butterscotch schnapps, divided
2 oz Kahlúa, divided
2 oz vodka, divided
2 oz heavy cream, divided
1 pinch nutmeg, ground
butterscotch sauce, for rimming and drizzling
sea salt, for rimming
ice
Directions
Pour butterscotch sauce and sea salt onto their own individual shallow plates. Carefully dip top edges of 2 glasses into butterscotch sauce, then into the salt.
Using a squeeze bottle or a spoon, drizzle some of the butterscotch sauce around the inside walls of the glasses. Fill glasses with ice.
Pour schnapps, Kahlúa, vodka, and cream over ice. You can stir to mix the cocktail or leave it layered, depending on your preference. Sprinkle a pinch of ground nutmeg over top.
Ingredients
4 oz spiced rum
2 oz cinnamon maple syrup
4 oz cranberry juice
1 oz Cointreau
- Cinnamon Maple Syrup
1/2 cup maple syrup
1 cup of water
4 cinnamon sticks
2 orange peels (about 2 inches long)
Directions
In a small saucepot, combine the maple syrup, water, cinnamon sticks, and orange peel. Bring to a boil, then remove from heat, stir, and let steep for 10 minutes. Strain into a jar. This syrup makes enough for 6-8 drinks.
In a cocktail shaker, measure the spiced rum, syrup, cranberry juice, and orange liqueur. Add ice and shake until cold. Strain into 2 martini glasses and garnish with sugared rosemary and cranberries.
Ingredients
3 oz Tequila Blanco
2 oz Heavy Cream
1 1/2 oz Blue Curaçao
1 1/2 oz White Crème De Cacao
2 Blackberries
Directions
Add tequila, blue curaçao, crème de cacao, heavy cream, and cubed ice to a shaker. Shake for 10-20 seconds.
Strain into 2 lowball glasses over clear ice balls. Garnish with blackberries.
Ingredients
1 1/2 oz Noteworthy gin (any gin but we LOVE Noteworthy)
1 1/2 oz cranberry juice
1/2 oz grenadine syrup
Rosemary + cranberry, garnish
Directions
Add all ingredients to a shaker filled with ice.
Shake and pour into clear plastic ornaments. Top shot glass with ornament and garnish shot glass with cranberry and rosemary.
Check out How Was Your Week, Honey? Episode #405 Pressure Cooker. This week, we get ready for our girl’s trip to T.O. Topics: bee pollen, Grease 2, Paul vs Tyson, own language, Toronto, Xmas lights, dinners, SOW, anxiety, and Much Music live.
Speaking of activity calendars this was the last week of quiet before the crazy begins! SBean and I are off to Toronto later this week to see Taylor Swift! Then comes the birthdays, Christmas, and all the hubbub that goes with that including a 2 week run of HBear’s high school musical production of Aladdin that her drama teacher thought would be perfect to fit in before winter break.
So this week, SBean and I went to a counselling session together to talk about our travel fears and how we can support each other on our upcoming trip! It was fantastic. It made both of us feel so much better. I’ll talk more about that next week!! The City of Penticton added Mom’s Little Library to the city guide on the official website! HBear also had a jazz band performance fundraising for their upcoming band trip. I worked that day and even though Ninja came and helped me, I wasn’t able to go but Ninja sent me videos and man, did she look happy up there! HBear has taken on another new instrument this year and spends her time between the drums and the trumpet. That’s where she met, The BoyFriend lol he plays trumpet and bass guitar. She killed it! And she looked happy. Really happy. The rest of her week was spent either working, studying, or working on sets and rehearsals for Aladdin. I hate this getting older thing! I miss her all the time! I can’t believe she’s going to graduate in a year and a half! OK OK I’m getting ahead of myself lol. This weekend Ninja began rewiring our new Christmas lights, sadly watched The Bombers lose The Grey Cup, and we worked on homemade Christmas gifts, which will be coming up next week! Until then… I’ll be in my Tayronto Era!!!!!! Ahhhhhhh
