Everyone knows that kids need lots of activity to keep them healthy, fit, and out of your hair every now and then! Team and individual sports are great for the physical aspects, plus they teach cooperation, competition, and a sense of achievement. However, sports aren’t limited to the big names of basketball, baseball, football and soccer–there are tons of great sports games your kids (and you!) can play at home with stuff you have lying around. A fun time awaits you! Read more

It’s rare that I go to a bar and don’t quite understand what’s going on.  (Hold the comments, please).  In Whistler’s swanky Bearfoot Bistro, I saw a bar made of ice with what I thought were tealights in the ice, a group of people in white parkas and Russian fur hats in a private room, and read great quotes on the menu until I belly-laughed. Read more

Last year during playoff season, we did a super-fun activity.  We listed the teams in the playoffs, and every member of the family picked their favourite winning team.  It’s a great chance to talk about different cities and colours, as well as teach a healthy competitiveness.  Every time there’s a new series, repeat the exercise.  Have prizes after each round.  Super fun, and you’re going to be watching anyway.

‘Tis the season — well, almost. Fathers begin to have their yearly near-death experiences, stringing Christmas lights up along the eaves. Christmas carols filter through the tinny PA systems of shopping malls. Dusty boxes of decorations are heaved from attics and crawl spaces. The first “test-batches” of Christmas cookies appear on plates.

But more importantly (not really), all the old-school, classic Christmas specials start showing up on the television. Christmas movies for parents and kids alike. Read more

The temperature drops. Frosty eyebrows (and Movember mustaches), toques pulled low, runny noses. Mindful calls from the grandparents reminding you that cold weather means every child will contract bone-crunching illness if they’re not draped from head-to-toe in wool or fleece. Read more