There's a hole in my bucket - Our Winter Bucket List

Last year winter was pretty warm.  This means it was cold enough out that we spent a lot of time indoors, but warm enough that we never managed to make it out sledding.  Like many things in life we find that if we don't write things down, fail to put them in our calendar and plan for them they never happen.

SAD tends to visit our family most years, so getting out and staying active is a must!  After our first snow storm this year, and the building of our first snowman we all sat down and built our holiday and winter bucket list.

Feel free to steal ideas from our list, and if you have any must see / must do suggestions please let us know so we can keep adding to our own list.

Molly named our first snowman of the year Miss Tenderheart

Winter 2016-2017 Family Activity Bucket List

(I've put a check mark beside the ones we've managed to complete)

1. Build a snowman ✔
2. Go sledding (for tips on tobogganing with toddlers click here)✔
3. Go skating
4. Visit the distillery holiday market ✔
5. Attend a Marlies Game ✔ 
6. Visit Santa ✔
7. Build a snow fort
8. Visit the Chill Ice House Lounge
9. Check out holiday lights in our neighbourhood
10. Go visit Santa Street Inglewood (Mount Pleasant and St. Clair)✔
11. Make and decorate gingerbread men✔ 
12. Visit the Kitchener holiday light tunnel (click here to learn about it)
13. Throw snowballs at targets in our backyard (nope but we threw snowballs at mommy one day)
14. Eat maple syrup snow
15. Go tubing at Horseshoe resort✔
16. Go swimming in an indoor/outdoor pool in the winter✔
17. Go to Great Wolf Lodge in Niagara Falls for an indoor water day (click here to read my tips for the best possible stay)✔
18. Visit Centennial Park Greenhouse for their holiday flower display (bonus points if we make it to the candlelit event before Christmas)✔ (bonus points awarded!)
    
    

    

    Molly finds a leaf on the ground at Centennial Green House last year

19. Visit the Allen Gardens Holiday Flower Display
20. Ontario Science Centre
21. Maple Sugar Bush activities (late winter)
22. Make marshmallow snowmen and eat them
23. Drink hot chocolate✔✔✔
24. Drink hot apple cider
25. Go to a play together✔
26. Go to the poop cafe (this one's for Jackie)✔
27. Build a snow dog (Molly's suggestion)
28. Go to an indoor playground✔
29. Have a kid themed high tea at the Victorian Garden Tea Room in Etobicoke
30. Make a snow candy cane (Jack's suggestion)

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Gates to the Garden

It snowed a lot the other day and even though the snow is beautiful and Jack keeps offering, "To eat all the snow, nom nom nom" so we don't have to shovel it, the throes of winter are getting to all of us. Inspired by our trip to Allen Gardens, we packed up the kids on Sunday and let them run around Centennial Park's Conservatory.  The Greenhouse is open 365 days a year from 10am-5pm.  There is no cost to visit, but they have a donation box if you feel inclined.  This is a great meeting place to grab a coffee (bring your own coffee), relax with a small snack or enjoy while your little ones run off some energy.

The conservatory is located in west Etobicoke, has free parking or is a short walk away from the Elmcrest Stop on the 48 Rathburn Bus.

 Tropical Paradise.  

Fortunately there were less debates over not touching or picking the flowers this time.

 Checking out the fish.

 Angel the white parrot was Jack and Molly's favourite part of the visit.  They particularly liked it when he bobbed up and down and did the "hot dog dance". 

Donkey Planter.

 Some sizable carp in the fish pond.

The visit entertained the minions for about 45 minutes and made us forget, for a little while, that the Groundhog still says there's going to be six more weeks of winter.

To view our photos and "review" of Allen Gardens click here.

For 9 tobogganning tips with toddlers click here.

What do you do to beat the winter blues?

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Garden Central

It's no secret to anyone that we, the royal we as in my entire brood, have been fighting the winter blahs.  This past weekend we planned a get together with the cousins and wanted to do something that would let the kids play and wouldn't cost an arm and a leg.  It seems as though my plea for some indoor parks has been temporarily satiated with a trip to a green house in downtown Toronto called Allen Gardens (less than a ten minute walk away from College Subway).  Allen Gardens is a park that hosts a free indoor botanical garden with six greenhouses in total.  It is open year round and added a bit of colour to our day.  We stayed for about 45 minutes before we moved outside for a quick play on their brand new playground situated behind the playground (I will write a review on the playground another time).

This is a popular location in the core of the city for people to get wedding and engagement photos, mainly because it's open from 10-5pm daily and it is nice and warm inside, year round.  The greenhouse also holds some nostalgia for Chris and his sister who would often visit when they came to Toronto for March break when they were kids.

 Making our way to the Greenhouse, there is some construction in the area, so not all of the entrances are open right now.

 Entering the First Greenhouse.

 Jack said his favourite part of the greenhouse was the toy train. 

 Molly checking out all the flowers.

There was some "discussion" about how we weren't allowed to pick the pink flowers.  The minions had to be reminded on a few occasions about the hiking adage: take only pictures, leave only footprints.

The other big "hit of the day" was the pond that had turtles and fish in it.  

What's your favourite way to beat the winter blues with the family?