It is that time of year again.... time to play Santa...

At our house, we started this little ritual a couple of years ago. I give my daughter the toy catalogues, (the ones that seem to come daily this time of year), then she goes through them all, cuts out her favourites and glues them onto one piece of paper to be sent to Santa.

This project accomplishes a few things. It gives me a clue as to what she wants for Christmas. It helps with her planning and future thinking skills – she can only fit so many toys on a page, so she must figure out which toys she really wants, and plan how to fit as many toys as she can onto a piece of paper (spatial reasoning skills?). It helps with her motor skills (the cutting and glueing). This year, we plan to work on her literacy skills as she must also write a letter to Santa. AND most importantly, it keeps her busy while I cook dinner.

Nevertheless, no matter what toy we get her, and no matter how much effort we put in trying to find some gender neutral, educational alternative to the Barbie doll and nail polish kit that she glued onto that sheet of paper, the toy will inevitably end up on the floor somewhere to become a tripping hazard or end up jabbing me in my foot.

So for her birthday this year we tried something different. Instead of a big expensive toy, we got her an experience. The whole family went to see the live production of Beauty and the Beast. We still got her a little toy to open on her birthday, even I realize that it would be difficult to explain to a five year old why there is nothing to unwrap, but her actual present, which happened about two months later, was the show.

Even though she did not completely enjoy the show (long story, maybe I will save it for another post), it did start me thinking that maybe this is the way to go for presents. Instead of another toy (more crap for me to clean up), why not do something fun as a family. Something that will leave very little physical presence (nothing for me to stub my toe on), but at the same time, something that can be enjoyed by all and leave a lasting memory.

To help you give a gift of an experience, here is a discount code for Disney On Ice presents Worlds of Fantasy. The show will be at Rogers Centre in Toronto from December 21 – December 26, 2012. For more information please visit http://disney.go.com/disneyonice/

Discount offer – 4 tickets for $44 on WEEKDAYS and $4 off per ticket on weekends.

Promotion code – MUM4

Fine print - Excludes Front Row, Rinkside, and VIP tickets. No double discounts. Additional Fees May Apply. Weekday is defined as Monday thru Thursday and Friday Matinee. Weekend is defined as Friday evening and Saturday and Sunday. Please put the code in the box for “promotions” NOT family pack. The promotion price does not include fees from Ticketmaster. 

More Fine print - Feld Entertainment may be providing me with complimentary tickets to this show, in exchange for my time and efforts in attending the show, and reporting my opinion within this blog. However, the opinions about the show, and everything else are 100 per cent mine.


pictures courtesy of: Disney characters and artwork, © Disney. Disney/Pixar characters and artwork © Disney/Pixar.

A song for my girl

Question: If you can pick a song for your child what would it be?

If I have to answer that question right now, it would have to be Short Skirt Long Jacket by Cake.

I kind of hope that my little girl can grow up to be a bit like the girl in this song.

A girl who can embrace her femininity, sensuality (and even sexuality, though, I would really rather not think about this for many, many, many years), beauty, and also be smart, confident, resourceful, and a girl who definitely will not take crap from anyone.

I love some of the dichotomy in this song, the yin and yang of it all. And that is what I want for my girl. I want her to be able to be and to do everything and anything; to have all possibilities opened to her. I want her to be both the princess and the knight; to be a model and a doctor; to be a ballerina and a scientist...

So as the song says....

"I want a girl with a mind like a diamond

I want a girl who knows what's best...."

and...

"She's playing with her jewelry

She's putting up her hair

She's touring the facility

And picking up slack"

and...

"I want a girl with uninterrupted prosperity

Who uses a machete to cut through red tape

With fingernails that shine like justice

And a voice that is dark like tinted glass"

and

"I want my girl with a short skirt and a lonnnnnnggggg jacket."

What song will you pick for your son and/or daughter?

Going to the Theatre... sort of...

When I was a little girl, my parents took me to see Andrew Lloyd Webber's Cats, and I fell in love.

Now, I am by no means a theatre buff; I had been to Stratford and Shaw Festivals only once in my life - basically if you can compare to my theatre going experience to books: I am more of a Jane Austen girl as compared to War and Peace, more Dan Brown than Umberto Eco. I like theatre lite.

However, I still feel there is something quite magical about a live production; for one thing, you are watching something in actual 3D! And, it is always fun to dress up and go out on a special occasion.

So, I would really like to share the experience of going to musicals, concerts, theatres and other extravagant live shows with my little one. I think it is good for her to experience different sorts of art and culture and entertainment, and to learn to sit still.

Now, just because I want to bring my daughter to a show, does not mean I can just pick any show, buy tickets and just go. There are very important considerations.

• We have to consider subject matter – I have a five year old, so the show has to be family friendly, and for us, MUST have a happy ending. Hopefully it will be entertaining for adults as well.

• There should be a easy to follow plot – i.e. no time paradoxes, weird soap opera like subplots, or anything else that will require me to spend the entire time of the show trying to explain what is happening to my daughter.

• Colourful costumes, and cheerful characters – once again, my kid is five, and she likes colours and cute things. She is also terrified of the dark, so I doubt we will be seeing a show like Phantom of the Opera anytime soon.

• Stuff should happen (besides plot) – people or things should move, and talk/sing, and do stuff, to hold her attention. There is no way my child can sit through anything slow and cerebral, nor do I expect her to.

• Length of show - the show should not be too long, unless the show is spectacular with lots of special effects, my child cannot sit still for more than an hour at a time.

• Price – I am hoping that it would not be too expensive. I just do not want to feel bad if I have to leave in the beginning or middle of the show, or feel that I have to force my kid to stay for the entire thing even if she is not happy (“mommy and daddy paid a lot of money for this so you are staying and you are going to like it”). I understand this is not always possible, but one can hope.

So, when I saw the Disney on Ice presents Worlds of Fantasy, I thought maybe this will be a good continue introduction to live shows. Last year she saw Disney Live! presents Three Classic Fairytales and loved it.

Let us see if it can meet my pre-show checklist:

• Subject matter – it is a Disney show, and since I see nothing that would imply Old Yeller or Bambi's mom will be involved in this show, I think we are good.

• Plot – there are cars, toys, mermaids, fairies and of course two very famous mice. I think she might be happy even if there is no story.

• Colourful costumes – we are talking about cartoons coming to life, so the costumes are probably going to be pretty spectacular.

• Stuff should happen – it is an ice skating show, pretty sure there will be lots of action, spins, jumps and tricks. And, I believe there will be cars on ice (granted, I can always watch cars driving on ice by looking out my window in January...)

• Length of show and price – I am not sure how long the show is, and the tickets are not cheap, but not unreasonable either (okay, I think the top tiered seats are a little bit much, but they are supposed to be the best seat in the house).

I think my kid might really enjoy this show. Hopefully, if she has a great experience, she will be more open to other kinds of shows (the only show she likes so far is the ballet the Nutcracker, and I can only watch the Nutcracker so many times before I go nuts, and my wallet empties)

And maybe, when she is older, we can do a family trip to Stratford or Shaw.

For more information about the show, please visit Disney On Ice .

Fine Print:
Feld Entertainment may be providing me with complimentary tickets to this show, in exchange for my time and efforts in attending the show, and reporting my opinion within this blog. However, the opinions about the show, and everything else are 100 per cent mine.
pictures courtesy of Disney characters and artwork, © Disney. Disney/Pixar characters and artwork © Disney/Pixar.