Giving Back to our community

At this time of year we all get so busy and sometimes forget the other people around us. It's really easy to do with all the hustle and bustle of the holidays mixed in with everyday life.

We are guilty of at some point being too worried about where we have to go, what we have to buy, who is hosting dinner, etc that we forget there are some people out there that have no family to be with, no food to feast on and no gifts to open Christmas morning.

This year I was feeling very blessed with all the friends and family I have around me and how lucky we are that I felt the need to do something for those less fortunate.


While every year we make a donation of food and toys, I realized this year that sometimes while those things are very much needed, so is my time. It takes many man hours by many volunteers to make sure that those toy and food donations are taken care of handed out in time.

Toys and food are donated year round and at this time of year volunteers come together to sort, package and distribute these items to the families in need.

This week, along with a fellow momstown mom, I headed over the Barrie Christmas Cheer distribution centre to give my time to help out on their busiest day of the year.


Upon our arrival there was a lovely group of high school students that were working hard to help organize the centre and prepare for the pick up of packages by the families. It was very heartwarming to see these young men and women helping out and giving their time to their community.

I was amazed to see how many people had come out to volunteer and how many members of the Christmas Cheer there were all working in harmony to ensure a smooth operation.

I was very honoured to be a part of such a great cause.

While we were there, Rock 95 from Barrie presented Christmas Cheer with a donation of $15,000. This will be a great start for next year to help over 2000 families in the area.


I am very much looking forward to being a part of this great cause again next year!

A trip to the North Pole with momstown Barrie

Today we embarked on our annual Christmas adventure tradition to the North Pole!

The South Simcoe Steam Train runs this fun train ride every year to raise funds for the historic train station as well as for the local food bank.


The momstown Barrie families headed down to Tottenham to board the Santa Express to the North Pole!

Despite the cold temperatures this morning everyone was smiling and excited for the adventure.


Santas elves join us for the beginning of the ride to sing carols and chat with the kiddies.

Then the big guy himslef arrives! Santa boards the train and makes his way through the train car to visit with all the families!


Santa is so kind to take time to sit down with each family to chat with the kiddies and to get some photos taken.

As always, this was a super fun morning and lots of memories were made. The kids always feel so special to get their time with Santa and mom and dad love the smiles (or tears) as Santa chats to the kids.

Can't wait to do it again next year!

Christmas Magic Contest!

It's Christmas Time and we are all busily snapping pictures of our loved ones and capturing some amazing memories!

Well this holiday you can turn your Magical moments into a chance to win a great prize, a Children’s Customized Photo Storybook Session from Picture Your Life Photography. (Current value - $155)

momstown Barrie has partnered with Take The Party Outside and Picture Your Life Photography to bring you this fabulous contest for the Holidays!


Send us the most magical moment that you have captured during the Holiday Season. We will select the top five images that we find to be most magical and then the public will vote for their favourite one!

Show us a big surprise, happy faces, a big family hug, anything that made
the holidays magic!

3 Simple Steps to enter YOUR CHRISTMAS MAGIC

Step 1: Like the facebook pages forhttps://www.facebook.com/pages/momstown-Barrie/113424728675522?ref=tn_tnmn, Take The Party Outside and Picture Your Life Photography!

Step 2: Save your photo as your full name email to pictureyourlife@email.smugmug.com. Make sure the subject of the email is ChristmasPhoto

Step 3: Check the gallery to ensure your photo is added successfully by going to
GALLERY LINK: http://www.pictureyourlifephotography.com/Other/
Email/11328608_nJm8Br#1610701662_2GdfSzB


Deadline for Entries: Jan. 6, 2012 11:59pm (be sure it’s in jpg format!)

Our top five finalists will be notified by email before January 9th. Voting will
begin on January 9th!! The winner will be announced on January 30th at
6:00pm.

A bit about the prize:A Children’s Customized Photo
Storybook Session from Picture Your Life Photography. (Current value
- $155) Prize includes up to 2 hours of session time at Picture Your Life
Photography Studio or on location within 30 minutes from Tottenham, ON.
Includes one customized 7x7 inch soft cover photo storybook featuring your
child. Gift certificate will be valid for 12 months from date of issue.

Having problems? Email: karrie.copelli@momstown.ca

A house made out of candy!!

For many people, building a gingerbread house is a holiday tradition.

Around my house its just a source of anxiety. Trying to get all the walls together, a roof on top and make it all look straight, yikes! Then to decorate it with the kids and not let my perfectionist, controlling nature take over (gees don't put all the red candies together! Space those gum drops evenly!) is not an easy task!


But today at our Mini Chefs play group one of our mamas suggested we do Gingerbread houses. What a great idea! But wait... build gingerbread houses with a room full of toddlers and preschoolers? Am I nuts? Maybe, but it's not about me right?


So I set out to find a simple gingerbread house for us to decorate. I managed to find pre-assembled houses, how genius! Half the stress removed!! So I bought 2!


The kids had a great time decorating the houses. We put them into 2 groups, boys and girls. They were so intense decorating their houses while sneaking nibbles of the candies.


The moms helped put the icing on and the kids were amazing to watch as they set out to create houses of candy!

While some candy trees were eaten and didn't make it on the houses, and gum drops devoured, candy balls rolling away, the kids managed to create bright and cheery Gingerbread houses to be proud of!

We raffled off the houses to see what lucky families would get to take them home.


This was a super fun event and super easy with the pre-assembled houses! One we will do next year again for sure!

Santa Came to momstown!

HO HO HO! What a jolly day it was!

We had our 4th Annual Christmas Party today and it was a blast!

It's always so nice to see everyone together, having fun, mingling and just smiling.


We had so many newer members out this year and it was really great to see them fitting right in and having fun.

It was also great to see some of our original members still coming out, now with more kids than they started with, and having fun too! I always love these big events and having everyone together!

The kids had a ball doing crafts, playiing games and running around!


As usual we had a great pot luck feast that filled the kids up and calmed them down (just a bit) for a visit with a very special guy.

Santa made his arrival after lunch and the kids were so excited (except for my son who screamed in sheer terror!).


The kids all lined up patiently with their moms and dads, who were just as excited by the way, and they waited their turn to see Santa.

Some of the kids were so happy to be sitting on Santa's knee, some were not as thrilled. A candy cane and a gift late they were all happy!


Thank you so much to everyone that came out to make the day special! A special thanks to Santa for making a trip just to visit the moms and tots of momstown Barrie!

Counting down to Christmas!

Time goes by so fast for us adults, but kids seem to have no idea of the passing of time.

When December hits, we, as parents, feel like time speeds up as the Christmas crunch heads into the home stretch.

Between shopping and cleaning and sorting out family and travel plans, we have to find the time to fit everything in to ever shrinking days.

For kids, December hits and time slows down. The days until Christmas are within reach, but still so far away. So the official count down begins on December first, how many sleeps until the Jolly Man in Red arrives with their new treasures?


Advent calendars have been popular with kids in keeping track of the days left until Santa's arrival, for many, many years.

A popular choice for many parents is the good old chocolate count down calendar. We grew up with these and have passed this down to our own children, I am quite sure I am not the only one. This year, was the first year that we didn't do the good old chocolate calendars.

There are so many options out there to get creative and do something fun with the kids.


At the end of November, our mamas and tots got together to make a count down to Christmas chain. Each day they would tear off a link of the chain, and when there are no more left, that meant that Santa would be on his way!
All around momstown mamas have been getting creative with new ways to count down to Christmas.

Our momstown arts and crafts blog has a variety of advent ideas to creatively do your count down.

While December is already on well on its' way, it's not too late to start counting down!


Baby socks holding treats,unwrap a book a day, alphabetical advent calendars and more!

Be sure to check them all out and share with us your ideas for counting down to Christmas!

mmmmm cookies!

I love Christmas time. I love everything about it. I especially love that this is a huge excuse to bake and indulge seriously yummy and decadent treats.


Every year I look forward to the momstown Annual Cookie Exchange. Who doesn't love cookies? A cookie exchange is a great way to collect and sample new cookies recipes, have some fun, be festive and play silly games all while drinking wine or peppermint schnapps hot chocolate.

Every year the momstown mamas take part in a cookie exchange. We bake our cookies and come together to share treats, laughs and more.


Each year we always partake in silly Christmas games. They are always good for a laugh... don't say the word cookie, or you lose your snowman clothes pin!

The cookies are always the highlight of the party. Getting to taste test everyones cookies is always fun. We had sugar cookies and cream filled sandwich cookies and the most decadent peanut butter cup treats... it is definitely a night to define as a calorie free night! LOL!


I am already looking forward to the next cookie exchange. Any excuse to have cookies is good with me! For some great cookie recipes and tips on hosting a cookie exchnage, pop on over to the momstown meals blog!

So, how many times did I say the word cookie? :)

Doodle Bear is a winner!

The kids always love to get new toys.

My daughter has become obsessed with colouring the last few months. She will colour for hours.

When she opened up the Fisher Price Doodle Bear her first reaction... SHE HAS BOWS ON HER EARS! LOL! She loved how pretty the bear was, she is four and all about being pretty, so a pretty bear was right up her alley!


On closer inspection of the box she saw that it came with markers she was a little confused, is there a colouring book?

So when I told her the markers were to colour ON the bear, she was thrilled! Really? I can decorate my bear? You sure can!!! You get to decorate the bear and then we can wash it and you can do it all over again!!


As soon as my son saw markers he was all in there trying to get a piece of the action. Who says a boy can't play with a pretty purple bear? Make it something he can use markers on and he is game!


The kids loved that they could decorate the bear just they way wanted to. The little elastic loops on the back of the bear to store the markers were a hit, no lost markers!!!

Our Fisher Price Doodle Bear is now ready her bath, tonight, we decorate her again!

Now to make sure that the boy doesn't try to colour on all the bears in the house!

Are you a horse?

This month we spent some time enjoying the Wild West! It was a fun theme and the kids enjoyed it!

This month at our Tales for Tots event we read a great book that just perfect for our Wild West theme. The pictures were bright and detailed and the story was fun!


The book we read, sponsored by our wonderful literacy partner Scholastic Canada, was called Are You A Horse by Andy Rash.

This was a fun story that the kids really enjoyed!

As Roy the Cowboy tries to figure out what a horse is so he can use his new saddle, the kids giggled at all the things he came across and thought was a horse!

As with all our Tales for Tots events, one of our lucky moms got to take home a copy of the book!

You can check out more great Wild West themed books and some crafts to go with them on our momstown Arts and Crafts Blog!

Next month, we will enjoy another great book, A Porcupine in a Pine Tree, 12 days of Christmas the Canadian way!

Is your Christmas Tree up yet?

We did it! Our Christmas tree is finally up!

Some people might think we are nuts to have our tree up a full month before Christmas, but I couldn't wait! Every year it seems to get earlier and earlier. This is my all time favorite holiday and anything I can do to extend the life of it is ok by me!

I happen to know quite a few people that had their trees up and decorated long before I did. Many use the local Santa Claus parade as the marker for when they decorate for the season. I just pick a date that the family is all together with nothing to do but be together and decorate the house and put the tree up.


As soon as we open the boxes of treasures the house starts to feel different. It's like a festive peace falls on the house and everyone just is much happier and calmer (ok it doesn't last long, but still).

The excitement surround the tree decorating grows as we uncovering the special ornaments from years past, and following tradition I give my kids their new ornaments for this year. They all pick a special place on the tree for their ornaments to go and watching their little faces light up as the tree transforms bring me such joy.

So now I feel like the festive season has officially begun!

Coming up over the next few weeks momstown has a load of great events to celebrate the season! The Annual Cookie Exchange, tons of holiday crafts, or Annual Christmas Party and trip to the Santa Express, and so much more!

Happy Holidays!!!!

Pickles visits momstown!

We had a special guest this week at our Connect the Tots Playgroup!


Pickles the Clown came by to see the children and sure was a fun morning!!

The kids were so excited to see Pickles and eagerly sat listening to her story of how she became Pickles the Clown!


Magic always gets the attention of kids and Pickles was sure to deliver some magic and get the kids involved! They had so much fun helping Pickles make colour appear and forms change shape!




From magic we moved on to singing, a favorite our of our tots! They love to sing and dance!


To top off her visit, Pickles thrilled the kids with glitter tatoos! This kids loved them! They lined up patiently, something so hard for a preschooler to do, and waited their turn to pick their tattoo and be glitterfied! Frogs and flowers and unicorns, the kids loved them!

Thank you so much to Pickles for coming in to entertain our tots!!

It's Parade Season!!

It's that wonderful time of year already! The stores are starting to fill up with Christmas items, the malls are bringing out the Christmas trees and the Santa villages, houses are starting to light up with Christmas lights and every town is getting ready for their Santa Claus parades.

Santa Claus Parades are the pivotal point in this season when kids actually get excited. They see the big man in the red suit with and the excitement kicks in.
The bands, the clowns, the bright floats with their Christmas music and cheerful float riders are always so thrilling. No matter how many parades you go to, you still get excited, even as an adult!

My kids don't get to watch very many parades as they are in so many because of their baton club. But I tell ya, they still get so excited to be a part of the fun!

This weekend is the first of 4 parades that my girls will be in. Barrie will be celebrating their Santa Claus Parade this weekend as well, Saturday November 19th, at 5pm.


Some parades taking place this month....
Newmarket,Bradford and Barrie - Saturday Nov. 19
Orilia and Toronto Sunday Nov. 20
Innisfil - Sunday Nov. 27

HO HO HO!!!!

The Wild, Wild West!

This month is all about the wild west. A super fun theme for the kiddies as they will get to dress up, get crafty and have a good ol' momstown good time!

Today we did our first Western themed craft. Our little momstown Sheriffs bade their own star badges.

After a good romp with friends in the toy room, the kiddies came to the craft table to make their Sheriff Stars.

They cleverly figured out how to turn 2 triangles into a star. They glued them together and then added their name.

Then the fun came. They started to decorate. Pom poms made a good addition to our stars. Some of the kids just put the fluffy balls on the points and some of them covered the stars in full. Kids love glue, what can I say!

This week coming is more momstown fun! movies for mommies, trikes and mittens, soup swap and so much more!

November already!

I have been in denial about the fact that it is November already.

While I was more than happy to have Halloween over and done with it, I am not ready for it to be November.

The year has flown by with immense speed. Christmas is countable in a number of days that is not to insane to say out loud, the snow is coming (don't shoot the messenger!) and a new year will be upon us in no time.

I am not one to rush time by, but just saying.


This month we avoid all things that November means and here with momstown we will be celebrating the Wild West!

Cowboys and Cowgirls will enjoy some western crafts, stories and good ol' foot stompin fun!

This month we have some awesome fun in store! pizza making, decorating dudes and divas, mini chefs, tales for tots and so much more!!! Don't miss out! visit us today!!!

Boo Bash Spooktacular!!!!!

Our Boo Bash was a huge success!!!

the momstown Barrie mamas sure know how to have fun, and they sure have some of the cutest tots around!!!



While I am not personally a fan of Halloween, I always look forward to our Boo Bash! The only fun part of Halloween to me is seeing the kids have fun!



It was so cute to see all the kids in their costumes! They were having so much fun running around and it was so cute to see what they were all dressed as!

We had a dragon, lady bug, dog, mermaid, Dora, some tigers, a sweet little witch, an adorable pupkin, princesses, pirates, a wee little cow and so much more!


They were all so cute and so excited to be celebrating Halloween!
The kids enjoyed making crafts, dancing and just playing with each other!



As usual we have an awesome pot luck lunch with such a variety of delicious dishes!



Thanks to all the moms and dads that brought their little goblins out for a great morning of FUN!!!

momstown and Wendy's Celebrate Halloween!

Halloween is just around the corner, only 3 more sleeps!

We have been spending the week celebrating all the fun that comes with Halloween!



Today Wendy's hosted a Fun morning in their Bryne Dr. restaurant. The turnout was fantastic!

Moms and kiddies were all dressed up for to celebrate. There were crafts and balloons and free frosty's for everyone!



The kids had a ball running around in the cosutmes and playing together.

We had many new moms from the area come out to see what fun all of us at momstown have!

Pumpkin Play Date!

This weeks play date was all about pumpkins!!

The kids are so excited about halloween as many of them actually understand it this year for the first time!

We decided to do an easy but fun craft, mosaic pumpkins!!



The kiddies got a paper plate, a piece of orange construction paper and 2 eyes and a mouth made from black construction paper.

First step, rip the paper into small pieces! The kids thought this was great that they actually got to rip up the paper!



Next step, glue the orange pieces on the plate! Another favorite for the kids... GLUE! Kids just love glue for some odd reason!

Once their plates were covered in orange they were able to add on their eyes and mouth and VOILA! A pumpkin!!!



A great pumpkin story read by my oldest (it was a PA day!) and then some songs and dancing and it was a perfect morning!

Stll to come this week as we celebrate all the fun of halloween, Decorating Dudes and Divas, momstown Halloween Fun Day at Wendy's and of course.... our BOO BASH!!!!!!!

OOEEY GOOEY PUMPKINS!

We had our very first Mini Chefs group and it was so much fun!

With our first group taking place so close to Halloween it was only fitting do a Halloween recipe!

We had a week full of rain and cold weather and getting ooey gooey sticky while having fun was just what we all needed!

I chose Ooeey Gooeey Pumpkins after seeing what fun the momstown Oakville moms had with their moms and kiddies doing this same recipe.

Everyone loves Rice Krispie Treats, so we used this as the base to make our pumpkins! The kids helped stir up the GOO and count in the cups of rice krispies.

We scooped out big gobs of treat and the kids got down the making them into balls for the pumpkins!


Wih some bits and bites and candies, the kids got down to making their pumpkin faces!

It was so fun to watch them all so sticky and messy and sneaking nibbles and eating their candies!

I have to admit this was a great one to do just for the clean up, who doesn't love licking the bowl after making rice krispie treats!


I am looking forward to all the Halloween fun still come this week!