Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays

This is probably the last blog before Christmas so I wanted to take the time to wish all of you a very safe and happy holiday season.
Christmas is just a few days away and Im sure all of you are finishing up wrapping, or packing to head out of town to be with relatives. Whatever your Christmas plans, take some time to enjoy your family and maybe even take a little time for yourself!

Its has been a great 5 months with the start up of Momstown Barrie. Both Karrie and I have had a blast planning and attending events and getting to know our members on a more personal level. The New Year will bring with it lots of new and exciting things here in Momstown! We look forward to meeting some of our new members, planning some fun and exciting events and seeing where 2009 takes us!

From all of us at Momstown, Merry Christmas, Happy Holiday and all the best for a fantastic 2009!

Let it snow let is snow, let it snow( well not really)

I know we live in Barrie and we get more snow up here than places like Toronto, but come on, this is getting out of control!
Not only has today's storm, made driving hazardous, had winds gusting like crazy and it was freezing out, it cancelled out Secret Santa gift exchange and dinner, that was planned for tonight at Gio's on Anne St.
It was very disappointing to have to cancel and let me tell you, I was trying to remain optimistic all day long, thinking it was going to pass or clear up. When it reached 4:30 and Gio's called me to ask if we were coming or not, I knew I had to make the call. I was looking forward to having a night out, good food and tons of fun with the gift exchange!
Not to worry though...... Our fun will take place on January 9th, 2009 at Gio's. We will pretend it is still Christmas, do the gift exchange and eat some good food with friends. I actually think it will be a bit more relaxed with the holidays over. No one has to worry about what they could be wrapping at home or how much they still need to get done before Christmas Eve.
So, I hope to see all of you at the " Rescheduled Secret Santa gift exchange and dinner" on January 9th.
Lets hope for better weather next time around!

Momstown Barrie Christmas Party!

WOW!! what a morning it was at the Momstown Barrie Christmas Party.

We had an amazing turn out with close to 70 people in attendance. The kids were dressed in their Christmas best and the food was a plenty. From Chili to Christmas cookies, there was something for everyone.

When the moment finally arrived and Santa walked through the door, the children's faces lit up and the volume in the room rose to a new level. Everyone did a great job waiting patiently for a turn to sit on Santas lap. Some went willingly and some had to be forced or ripped from their mothers hip, but all in all Santas visit was a huge hit! Everyone was given a plush dog to take home, for their memories of our first Momstown Christmas party.

We would like to thank you all for your generous donations of toys for Christmas Cheer. We have two boxes full of toys to donate on behalf of Momstown Barrie. We raised $22 on our 50/50 which will go toward purchasing some toys for Christmas Cheer as well.

On behalf of the Karrie, Carolyn and myself I would like to extend a huge thank you to all of our wonderful members and their families for making this event a huge success.

We wish you all a very Merry Christmas and all the best for the coming year.

Decembers Meet and Greet

Our monthly Meet and Greet was lastnight, and although it was a small group of Moms this time, it was still a great night. We sat by the fire place at Casa Cappuccino and got to know each other a bit better. We discussed some different issues, like Childcare, Breastfeeding, sleeping and tons of stuff inbetween!
Our Meet and Greets are so different each month, depending on how many Moms we have come out, and what is on everyones mind!
See you all at the January Meet and Greet!

Dear Santa Plates

Thanks to Lisa ( Monty) for opening up her home on Thursday night and showing us how to make the "Dear Santa Plates".

Once we got the china pens working and stencils straight, the plate making was underway. Although some of us had more trouble than others with the pens ( and have the black hands to prove it), a great time was had by all as we sat around Lisa's living room and began our plates. Then is was off to the painting table, where it was a bit quieter as everyone was busy following the outline and making their plates come together. BJ was determined to make it a master piece and she succeeded!

It was a great night, and we all walked away with a Christmas keepsake and some fun memories we will remember each year, when we bring out the "Dear Santa Plate" to leave our cookies for Santa on Christmas Eve.

Its hard to believe its December already! the count down is on until Santa arrives.

This month is filled with excitement for everyone, kids and adults a like. Whether it is the excitement of baby's first Christmas, or the first year your child really understands that "Santa is coming", or just the memory of your childhood at Christmas time. Its a season filled with new and old memories for us all.

Our calendar is filled with lots of exciting things to get us all ready for the big day. We will be doing lots of crafts, some carol singing and welcoming the man in the big red suit at our Momstown Christmas Party. We are looking forward to making some new Christmas memories with you and your family this holiday season.

The Holiday Season is in Full Swing!!!

With all the snow that we have gotten over the last week and all the Christmas decorations in the stores and on the houses around town, you know that the Holiday Season is here!

This season brings a lot of excitement to the kids, ok parents too, and gives us lots of fun things to do!!!

This week we started getting into the Christmas spirit and made some gifts and crafts to celebrate!

Creative Cafe was a great spot for our little ones to makes a great Hug a Mug gift for grandma, grandpa or Aunt Kate! It was a busy morning and great turnout! For the most part everyoe had fun, but too much excitement and fun can lead to meltdowns for little guys and there were a few!!! But our super parents handled them well and everyone got their mugs done!!!!

With December starting this Monday, what better craft than a countdown to Santa!!! the kids (ok, more work was done by the moms) made countdown bells... a great way for little ones to countdown to the night when Santa will come down the chimney, or in the case of my house, break in the front door (the things kids say!) and bring the toys for the kids!

This week is going to be exciting! December starts, the countdown to Christmas is on, and we have a bunch of great events to look forward to over the mont!!!

More holiday crafts, play days, a Christmas party, Carol Singing, Cookie Exchange, Story times....and that's just the tip of the iceberg.

So as everyone tries to stay warm, and smile for all the snow, we will be having fun and enjoying the holidays season together, the momstown way!!!

Momstown welcomes Santa!!!

This week with momstown was awesome. I was able to meet a lot of new moms at the events! We made keepsake Santa Cookie Plates courtesy of one of our members and it was a blast. The event was so popular we had to add an extra date for all the people that wanted to make one too!!!

We had a great story time hosted by one of our members. She welcomed us into her home and everyone shared their favorite stories.


Friday brought a royal bunch of princesses and mighty piratess out for a party. The children all looked fabulous, and fun was had by everyone. I never thought I would be surrounded by so much Royalty!! Giggles and dancing and games filled the room. To see all the kids interact with each other and all the new moms and their kids be welcomed by the bunch was great. I look forward to doing this event again!!! Watching the children dress up and pretend is so much fun!!!

And as if the week wasn't great enough, momstown had a float in the Barrie Santa Claus Parade!!! A bunch of moms and their hubbies worked hard at putting together an awesome float!!! Our Ad Rep Carolyn and her other half worked hard at getting the float finished and making sure that we shon throught the night parade and were noticed by all... and we were!!!!

I can't wait for all the fun to come this week... crafts, play days and so much more!!

Now on to planning our Family Christmas Party, baking for our Cookie Exchange and shopping for Secret Santa!!!! December is going to be a blast!!!

What a great week momstown had! To think that every week is a great week with momstown it so exciting!!!

The week started off with a yummy Mom and Baby brunch at Cora's. It was great to see so many moms and their little ones come out, the kids enjoyed their meal just as much as the moms did!!!!

Our November Meet and Greet as Casa Cappuccino was a huge success as always! We took over the cafe and welcomed some new members, it was a great night!

Watching our little ones interact with others and learn while they play is always fun. Friday morning Stacie brought the world of transportation to our kids. With fun songs and a story, the toddlers were enthrawled with all the fun they can have with planes, trains and automobiles. The ride on cars in the parking lot were a huge attraction for all the walking babes...and a lesson in patience for many of them as well!!!

Rounding off our week was the construction of the momstown float for the Santa Claus Parade in Barrie on the evening of the 22nd. Designed by Carolyn W., our Ad Lead, and many moms and their hubbies, our float was contstructed with much enthusiasm and excitement. Thanks to all the moms and hubbies that came out to help! We are so excited to have our float in the parade and can't wait for the coming week!!

This coming week is promising to continue the string of fun!!!

Today we met for Story Time and heard moms read their favorite books the room full of crawling babes and running toddlers... its not easy to read to such active little ones!!!!
Tomorrow we will get creative and make Cookie Plates for Santa! And to end the week of with a bang we have our Princess and Pirates Party on Friday.

Wow, all this fun and excitment, and the month isn't over yet!!! There are so many great events still to come!!! Check it out today!!!

HI Everyone

I'm Stacie, Karrie's partner in crime as the other Community Manager for Momstown Barrie.
As Karrie said, we are the ones who plan the calendar of events and we have tons of fun doing it.

Barrie is a great community with tons to do, no matter what the season. Make sure you check out the calendar over the next few months to find out what is going on in Momstown. If there is anything you would like to see on the calendar or a venue we have explored, please email one of us and let us know.
I look forward to seeing you around Momstown soon.

Welcome to all our members!

Welcome to Momstown Barrie's Blog!
For those of you who don't know me yet, I'm Karrie, one of momstown Barrie's Community Managers. My job is to make sure we have a full calendar with lots of fun and interesting events for all our members. I love working for momstown and getting out and meeting people, and I must say we have a FABULOUS group of moms and kids!!

Momstown Barrie had an awesome start in August and is just booming now!
We are in our 3rd month and have so many great members!!!
I hope that everyone is enjoying the events, meeting new people and just plain having FUN!!!! I know I am!!!

Remember, if there is ever an event that you want to see on the calendar, or you want to host a play day, just let us know!!! We love hear your suggestions!!

Odds are that when you were growing up your mom knew all of your neighbours. Your street was full of kids you knew and your mom invited the neighbourhood over to run through the sprinkler while the other moms had coffee and chatted. If a neighbour had a new baby, you were probably sent over with a hot casserole and the new mother would have been warmly welcomed into the folds of the other families. Although some social conventions have (sadly) changed, what hasn’t is the need to connect with other local mothers. It has always been said it takes a village to raise a child. We say it takes a town. Who resides in the town we fondly call momstown? Well, it’s moms like you.

What began as a small mothers group run by one mom has flourished under tender loving care by local women to make momstown the supportive, organized ‘neighbourhood’ it is today. Founded in August 2007 by 3 moms from Burlington, Ontario, momstown.ca has now found a niche within many communities by providing moms with consistent activities and daily encouragement. momstown uses the internet to connect but our goal is to get moms off the computer and out of the house!

Christi & Ann-Marie, the “mamas of momstown”, are active in the Halton region but provide assistance to all Community Managers. momstown’s focus is on neighbourhood connections and our Community Managers will help each regional chapter grow and adapt with its own members, area and needs.

The girls below bring together your local neighbourhood and warmly welcome you to join in. Come live, laugh, learn and relax with us.

Welcome to momstown!