Thank you so much to everyone who entered this contest! The winner is Kelly Hasey.
Kelly, we will contact you shortly to claim your prize. Happy holidays everyone!
2015 Holiday Gift Guide for Kids
It’s that time of the year when we parents run out to buy gifts for our kids that they will play with for a couple of days and then quickly lose interest in. It’s a depressing reality in most cases so I decided to create a gift guide with some very cool items for the holidays that are fun, and hopefully will be a hit with both the parents and the child.
If you haven’t completed your holiday shopping yet, take a look at my guide to see if there’s something you haven’t thought of yet!
I bought my first Tuck Shop Co. hat this year, and I’m so excited they come in kids size as well! Not only can you find American cities now, but also Canadian provinces, cities and neighbourhoods.
Everywhere my son wears his AKID shoes, people stop to tell me how cool they are. Even Kardinal Offishall gave them a nod of approval and a smile at a party a couple weeks ago! I love that most shoes lace up but also have a zipper so my son can take them off and put them on himself.
Who wouldn’t love crayons in the shape of gnomes? Even I want to colour with them!
BRIKA Mi Cielo Mr. T Toddler Shirt
Last week I was at the Brika Pop-Up at Yorkdale mall (review coming next week!), and I fell in love with this Mr. T shirt. It also comes in a onesie, and it’s such a conversation piece! Who doesn’t love Mr. T?
MimiTENS solve some cold weather problems all parents seem to encounter. Mittens never stay on, and it’s such a struggle when it’s freezing and you are trying to get mittens back onto your child’s freezing fingers. mimiTENS are thumbless mittens for babies (or they include a thumb spot for older children) and they include and extra long cuffs so they comfortably stay on. The line has become so successful more items are being offered such as booties, neck warmers and hats. All items are made in Canada, and there are some super stylish options to choose from.
The Smile Led Lantern is the perfect nightlight because it lets off a soft light, and it’s safe for a child to take it to bed without the parents worrying. I love that it looks like a lantern you would use camping.
Last week I reviewed and gave away a Little Live Pets Lil’ Turtle Tank, and later this week I will be reviewing and giving away a Little Live Pets Lil’ Mouse house! Both toys have been tested by my toddler and have been big hits!
I have written a few times about my son’s love of Sago Mini apps because they are pretty much the only thing he is interested in when he is on our iPad. He loves his plush Jinja the Cat so much he brought him on our vacation!
Included in the Sago Mini Plush Gift Pack are characters Jack, Jinja, Harvey and Robin. The packaging even turn into a house for the characters! Anyone who has children that have played these amazing apps before know that this gift would be a big hit with them.
Chalktrail attaches onto a child’s bike or scooter to make a trail of chalk wherever they ride. What child wouldn’t love seeing the trail they would make on the road?
Good luck with all of your holiday shopping this year!
The VIP Treatment at the RBC Avion Holiday Boutique
Holiday shopping can be exhausting! It’s only November and already it seems like there are no parking spaces left at the mall, and it’s difficult to maneuver past shoppers carrying huge purchases.
Not only am I stressed out about the fact that I’ve hardly started my holiday shopping, but the idea of fighting the crowds at the mall can be daunting.
Last week I was lucky enough to attend the launch of the RBC Avion Holiday Boutique at Yorkdale Shopping Centre, and my visit was enough to calm my shopping nerves!
The RBC Avion Holiday Boutique is an exclusive private space in the mall just for RBC Avion cardholders available until December 31st.
My night as an Avioner began with complimentary valet parking. Oh, how I love valet parking! It was a rainy night so it was lovely to walk a couple dry steps from my car to the mall.
The RBC Avion Holiday Boutique is easy to spot, and upon entrance I was greeted warmly and provided a tour of the space. My first stop was the coat and parcel check. I loved that I could drop my coat off so I could relax while I shopped and hung out in the lounge. The parcel check is a great idea as well with the size of my shopping list this year!
Next I headed over to the bar and cafe for some festive snacks and drinks. They had everything from specialty coffee’s to champagne! The snacks weren’t too shabby either.
For all in-mall purchases at the Yorkdale Shopping Centre location, there is a free gift wrapping service in the lounge. There was a rather large area for gift wrapping so I doubt a person would need to wait at all to have their purchases wrapped. What an awesome service – I would love to leave the mall with my gifts already wrapped!
There were plenty of comfy chairs to relax in, there were magazines, and even a Concierge to help ensure you had a great stay in the lounge. They had a flat screen TV to take a break with, and even children’s books on the shelves!
As I ventured around the space eating a rather tasty gingerbread man, I thought to myself, wow that guy really looks like Kardinal Offishall
Soon the music started, and suddenly Kardinal Offishall was performing a private concert just for this intimate crowd! He sang some holiday songs with Choir! Choir! Choir! and it was a pretty awesome surprise.
Next up at the launch we watched a gift wrapping competition between the holiday gift wrapping team from the lounge versus three Canadian Olympians. It was a really fun competition, and it topped off a great night.
I can’t tell you how much I loved the RBC Avion Holiday Boutique. It was such a great experience, and I cannot wait to go back. Being an Avioner has some serious perks! I love the idea of free valet parking to avoid fighting for a parking spot.
Coat check and parcel check are incredibly convenient! It’s so much easier to shop when you aren’t sweating in your jacket or lugging around heavy bags.
I can’t wait to head back to the lounge to relax for a bit and have a drink and a snack in between shopping! It all makes for a pretty refined shopping experience that I could totally get used to.
The RBC Avion Holiday Boutique will also be available in Burnaby, BC in Metropolis at Metrotown, and RBC Avion Experiences will be open in Halifax at the Halifax Shopping Centre and in Ottawa at the St. Laurent Centre. The RBC Avion Experiences include a gift wrapping voucher for an in-mall gift wrap centre, snacks and beverages, and a festive holiday gift.
For more information visit www.rbc.com/avionvip.
Disclosure: I am part of the RBC® Avion Holiday Boutique Influencer Campaign and I receive special perks as part of my affiliation with this group. The opinions on this blog are my own.
The Industrial Trend with Graham & Brown
As a Graham & Brown Ambassador, I’ve been challenged each month to take on a trend and show how I would style it. This month’s trend is Industrial.
Industrial is the stripped-back one, the one with character and edgy features. Unlike the other trends, this one takes things for what they really are and encourages us to strip things back, even if they are a little imperfect.” The Industrial trend
My challenge is to use the warming tones of the industrial trend to create a cosy space in in a home.
I’ve put together a mood board to lay out a fun bedroom using pieces that use the industrial trend, but add a softened touch.
For the Industrial trend, Graham & Brown have some great canvas prints with this theme in mind. I love all of the great black and white city shots they have.
The Cogsworth clock is perfect as well with all of the exposed gears – it definitely has an industrial look.
Adding many faux fur pieces to the room was my way of softening it up. Throw pillows, a cozy throw, and a comfy fur lined robe added a nice soft touch to the room. A white chair and a white furry stool were great ways to offset the dark prints and accessories in the room.
The Calico Stripe Cream wallpaper soften the industrial look of the room as well.
What do you think? Was there another way I could have softened the industrial look of this room?
To learn more about Graham & Brown, visit them here.
Making memorable moments at Sesame Street Live
This past weekend, Amex Canada treated my son and I to a night out together where we saw Sesame Street Live: Make a New Friend at the Sony Centre for the Performing Arts in Toronto.
Being an Amex cardholder Cardmember has many perks including Front Of The Line pre-sales which means you don’t have to wait for tickets to go on sale – you have access to tickets for some of your favourite events before anyone else. You can learn all about the upcoming events on www.AmexInvites.ca!
My son is a HUGE Elmo fan, so this night out was a pretty big deal for him. He prepared for the day by gathering all of his Sesame Street characters, wanting to bring them all to the show with him to have a good time.
Once I convinced my son to only choose one Elmo, we headed off to the show, ready to enjoy #ThisMoment.
Amex arranged for us to meet and greet characters before the show, and my son was so excited for this opportunity! We breezed right into a private area set up with colouring pages, crayons, balloons, and the Cookie Monster and Elmo were there to greet us!
We took some photos with both characters (my son got a little shy!) and then we were able to hang out with the other VIP kids for a bit before the characters came back to play with the children. This was great because we not only got to have our photos taken with the characters, but they joined us for play time which made each child’s day. For my shy son this was great because he had the chance to warm up to the characters he desperately wanted to see and he had some one-on-one time with Elmo when he got comfortable. We would have never had this chance without the help from Amex setting us up with the Meet and Greet!
We loaded up on snacks and souvenirs (I was convinced by my toddler to buy a t-shirt and a balloon) and we headed to our amazing seats at the front of the theatre.
My son was up dancing the whole show! He loved all of the songs in the show, and was glued to the story.
When the lights finally came on at the end of the show, my son had a huge grin on his face. Then he told me we should go for dinner because he was hungry from doing so much dancing. So cute!
Thanks to Amex we enjoyed #ThisMoment and made some pretty great memories. Amex will help over 400k fans rock out to their favourite band (or sing along with their favourite furry characters) in 2015. American Express offers its Cardmembers Front Of The Line Advance Access, Reserved Tickets, Delights Special Offers and Experiences.
To learn more about some of the hottest upcoming events, and to be Front Of The Line, visit www.AmexInvites.ca.