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loving the ride

~ exploring the world (with a little vélo love)

loving the ride

Tag Archives: christmas

holiday wreaths

19 Monday Dec 2011

Posted by lovingtheride in crafts, decor, diy

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Tags

blueprint magazine, canadian tire, christmas, crafts, feathers, holiday decorating, sarah richardson, wreaths

Admittedly, I’m not a fan of red. I’m much more of a pink and purple kinda gal. And for the holidays, the decorations I’m drawn to embody that pretty palette: lilac and pear green or turquoise and apple green Christmas balls; a glittery faux silver eucalyptus wreath; hot pink or apple green bows on doorknobs; white twinkly lights; and someday, my cotton candy pink Christmas tree!

Last year I intended to make this easy-peasy feather boa wreath from Sarah Richardson’s 2009 holiday party episode. I even stocked up on five fuchsia feather boas post-Halloween! But I got lazy with the execution, which in reality consists only of wrapping a boa or two around an LED wire wreath form. Maybe I’m just too frugal to buy an LED wreath – I have been trying to figure out how to repurpose an old wire hanger as a wreath form. And now that it’s only 6 days till Christmas, I’ve given up on this crafty pursuit…maybe next year!

And it should be of no surprise that I’ve also been hoping to make this butterfly wreath – what’s more girly than ethereal white wings? As with my pink tree, it graced the pages of Blueprint’s November/December 2007 holiday issue. But delicate faux butterflies aren’t the easiest to find, so this project also has to wait till next year. (If you sense a theme of procrastination, good on you!)

However, it should be a surprise that I LOVE this 24-inch red poinsettia wreath ($39.99) from Canadian Tire. That’s right. I said it: red. Sure, it’s got traditional red poinsettias scattered all over it (plush velvet, natch), but it also has loads of baubles that resemble rhinestone brooches!

Behold, here is my existing wreath, the silvery eucalyptus beauty mentioned above. The photo doesn’t quite capture the glitter scattered all over the sprigs, but this wreath sparkles. And makes me smile!

For more holiday inspiration, take a peek at my crafty card idea and the Christmas tree I’ve been coveting since 2007. 

all i want for christmas

04 Sunday Dec 2011

Posted by lovingtheride in travel

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Tags

canada post, christmas, costa rica, holidays, letters to santa, santa, volunteering

So I was listening to CBC’s Radio One on Friday, and they were talking about Canada Post’s annual Letters to Santa program. In its 26th year, the program is praised for keeping childhood innocence alive and introducing children to old-fashioned letter writing: more than one million kids worldwide write letters to Santa, with over 11,000 Postal Elves (current and retired Canada Post employee volunteers!) ensuring that every letter gets a reply in the language in which the letter was written. That’s over one million replies in 30 different languages, including Braille (only letters that include a return address will receive a reply; emails are answered in English or French). I love the spirit of the program, and though I’ve never written to Santa and or realized he actually replies, I’ve always thought Santa’s addy was cute (it’s the jolly postal code):

Santa Claus
North Pole HOH OHO
Canada

Now, what piqued my interest in Letters to Santa this year was the letter read on that CBC program. It was from a little girl whose only wish for Christmas is to spend more time with her dad (because he works so much). I actually started crying while listening to the letter. Granted, I’m a sap for anything sentimental, but the idea of wanting more time with someone is something we all can relate to. This child didn’t ask for the latest trendy toy – all she wants for Christmas is more time with her family.

I second that. This time last year, instead of spending December with my family, I jetted off to Costa Rica for the month. After arriving in Drake Bay in a private 9-seater plane, I was ready to chill in a hammock in my own beachside bungalow in the jungle. I spent a week and a bit at Pirate Cove, which is situated beside the Drake River and on an isolated 2 km stretch of beach, far from “downtown” Drake Bay to the north (which consists of the airstrip, a school, a church and a soda stand) and the overrun-with-accommodations village of Agujitas to the south. I loved the solitude and also the adventures of the area, mainly hiking Corcovado National Park, as well as snorkelling, birdwatching, horseback riding, kayaking, and mucking about the mangroves on a night tour (all of which I essentially did solo or accompanied by a private guide, because that’s how off the tourist map Drake Bay is).

But as much as I loved exploring Drake Bay and making my way up to Fortuna for whitewater rafting, hiking and spa time, and then settling in Santa Elena to do a home stay while volunteering at the Santa Elena Cloud Forest Reserve, I missed the whole lead-in to the holidays. The only Christmas carols I heard last year were played by the marching school bands performing in a parade one night in Fortuna. I didn’t get to decorate the tree with my mom or bake shortbread for my dad. No fighting with my brother over watching It’s a Wonderful Life and The Sound of Music. No Christmas shopping, even (except for the hammocks I bought at an arts co-op in Monteverde and the 12 bags of coffee I stocked up on in Santa Elena).

In fact, not only did I miss the holiday preamble, I nearly missed Christmas altogether. Finding out my flight was cancelled and waiting 7 hours standby for the next flight from Atlanta to Toronto was not how I’d envisioned spending Christmas Eve. Neither was arriving at the Atlanta Sheraton at midnight with a bunch of fellow passengers grateful for the comfy comp’d bed but desperate to wake up at 6 a.m. Christmas Day to guarantee themselves a seat on the first flight out. (Consider us fortunate, as almost every other flight was cancelled due to a freak snowstorm that hit the southwest that morning. Had I missed that flight, I would have been stranded in Atlanta for 4 more days!)

It’s not that I’ve never spent the holidays away from home, but “home” is with my family, and I’d never spent Christmas away from them. Booking my return flight for Christmas Eve was a no-brainer because it shaved $600 off my flight, but I’d chosen that flight specifically because it was cheaper and I’d be home in time for Christmas Eve with my loved ones. Spending time with strangers at an airport instead of with my family really sent home the message that more than anything my family is the most important thing in my life.

And even though we’re only a few days into December and people are already starting to stress about the season, I want to wish everyone an early happy holidays with loved ones. Don’t forget to pause and cherish the time you have with those close to you. That’s all I want this Christmas.

xoxo
jen

jennifer krissilas

A girl, her bike, a wee bit o' wanderlust...a lust for life in general. And all things pretty. We can't forget the pretty.

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Oh, the outdoor adventuress. Exploring the world (with a little vélo love). Disguised as a freelance editor. Just a girl, her bike, a wee bit o' wanderlust...a lust for life in general. And all things pretty. We can't forget the pretty. Or the sweets. xoxo jen

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Recent Posts

  • happy new year to all, and to all a good (and safe) night!
  • christmas carollers bring festive cheer to toronto
  • remembrance day: lest we forget
  • TIFF in the park brings classic screwball comedies to toronto all summer long
  • toronto port authority’s sail-in cinema returns, august 16-18, 2012
  • comfy, custom-fit wolverine ics hiking shoes
  • alexi murdoch turns up the heat in toronto
  • it wouldn’t be canada if we didn’t have to stop for geese crossing the road
  • and this is why i dislike the MMVAs
  • toronto’s open roof film festival heralds the start of summer
  • world naked bike ride day: toronto cyclists bare all for the environment
  • luminato celebrates creativity in toronto and the world
  • i heart: “this bike is my car” bike bell
  • black out and speak out on july 4, 2012
  • camino albergues: where to stay between ponferrada and triacastela

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  • Hi @DrSheilaSahni! Just checking whether you'll be able to respond to that fact-check email by EOD today. Thanks! 5 years ago
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