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December 30th 2009

Published: December 30th 2009

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Travelling Canucks

Supersized Gingerbread House

500 hundred pounds of dough, 320 pounds of sugar and 1300 egg whites! 11 feet high and 16 feet wide - Vancouver's largest gingerbread house!

Yuletide Greetings from Vancouver

Chilly Christmas Eve, Sunny Christmas Day, Foggy Boxing Day and Freezing Temperatures...While we didn't experience a white Christmas this year, the rooftops were glistening with frost on Christmas morning with the sun warming the cool, crisp air. After spending last Christmas in Egypt, it was fun trimming the Christmas tree, setting up our Dickens Christmas Village and celebrating the Christmas season with friends and family as in years past. Check out our travel blog on Christmas 2008:Christmas in Cairo

After feasting on ham with sweet potatoes, turkey with cranberry sauce, brussels sprouts, and St Honore Cake, New Year’s resolutions can't be far off! Spending Christmas watching A Christmas Carol, listening to Bing Crosby's White Christmas, and spending time with family and friends .... and money on Boxing Day, Christmas is over and New Year's Eve is upon us! We have only been anticipating the arrival of 2010 when Vancouver hosts the Winter Olympics for 7 years!

Top 12 Things to See and Do over the 12 Days of Christmas

• Rogers Santa Claus Parade
The Travelling Canucks kicked off the Christmas season under wintery conditions in Downtown Vancouver at the sixth-annual Rogers Santa Claus Parade. The star

Santa Claus Has Come to Town!

Wearing his Red Mittens of course!

attraction, a fat, jolly Santa, perched atop his sleigh in brilliant red including Vancouver 2010 Red Mittens, was cheered on by a 10-deep crowd estimated at 300,000 along Georgia and Howe streets. With a wind chill at about -5C, we shivered as marching bands, dancing troupes and seasonal floats passed by and got us in a festive mood. Parade marshalls included past Canadian Winter Olympians: Karen Magnussen and Kathy Kreiner-Phillips. The Olympic Mascots, Quatchi, Miga and Sumi, were also parading around too!

• Festival of Lights at VanDusen Gardens
Every night, VanDusen Gardens hosts the Festival of Lights featuring Santa's Living Room with Santa appearances leading up to Christmas Day with Svend and Jens, the Scandinavian Christmas Elves, at the Centre Court, and a puppet show featuring The Sugar Plum Fairy’s Garden from Boxing Day onwards. The light displays at the Dancing Lights on Livingstone Lake, Gingerbread Wood, Golden Chain Walk, Make-a-Wish Candle Shrine, Candy Cane Lane, and the Sparkling Spruce in the Centre Court were spectacular this year. To warm up, we enjoyed Dr. Waffle's fresh-made sweet waffles, real apple cider and Thomas Haas Hot Chocolate!

• Bright Lights at Stanley Park
The 12th Annual Bright Nights In Stanley

Travelling Canucks Voted #1 Gingerbread House

Olympic Village with Elves - Yoga Studio and Santabucks!

Park is a Christmas-time highlight for the whole family. With animated displays and holiday sounds that serenade you as you ride the miniature train through the forest transformed with two million twinkling lights, Bright Lights In Stanley Park can transform any Grinch into a Believer! Young children visit Santa in his workshop until the big night as parents nibble on roasted chestnuts while listening to choirs and bands in the plaza.

• Carol Ships
A holiday tradition for over 50 years, it's beautiful to watch upto 50 decorated boats with 100,000 Christmas lights parading over the 20 night festival around the waters off Coal Harbour, English Bay, False Creek, West Vancouver's shores and North Vancouver's Deep Cove. 30,000 passengers per year take a night-time tour on a carol ship while many more watch from the shoreline or from the comfort of many seaside restaurants.

• Christmas on Grouse Mountain
It's fun spending time in a winter wonderland over Christmas by traveling one-mile up Grouse Mountain. It not only offers breathtaking views of the City of Vancouver, sparkling Pacific Ocean, Gulf Islands, and snowy peaks, The Peak of Christmas features sleigh rides, Christmas choirs, Santa's workshop and two of Santa’s reindeer,

Christmas at GE Ice Plaza at Robson Square

Dancer and Vixen, before the big day!

Besides skiing and snowboarding, skating in the fresh mountain air on an 8,000 square foot outdoor ice skating pond surrounded by snow-capped trees is lots of fun. For adventure seekers, you can zip at top speeds of 80km/hr across the peaks of Grouse and Dam Mountains over the December holiday break.

The Eye of the Wind, a 65 metre wind turbine, can be seen perched at the top of Grouse Mountain from the city below. The tower has an elevator that will eventually permit visitors to access the viewPOD. Can't wait to check it out!

To stay warm, you can enjoy classic Christmas movies on a large high-definition screen at the Theatre in the Sky or dine in the Altitudes Bistro or The Observatory.

• Skating at GE Ice Plaza
Located in the heart of downtown Vancouver, Robson Square's GE Ice Plaza's outdoor ice rink has attracted about 2000 skaters a day since the beginning of December. It's free to skate and $3 to rent skates! Not only the Twelve Days of Christmas have been celebrated with entertainment, visits from Santa and craft activities for children, a Children’s New

Christmas Trees at the Four Seasons Hotel

Annual Decorated Christmas Tree Competition.

Year’s Eve celebration and a Winter Games Festival in early January will lead up to the Vancouver 2010 Winter Games events at Robson Square.

• Heritage Christmas at Burnaby Village Museum
Enjoy the smell of cedar and pine boughs, the sight of festive wreaths with bright red bows, and the sounds of carolers? Besides being reminded of Christmases past with old-fashioned ornaments and decorations throughout the village and farmhouse, traditional entertainment, demonstrations, hands-on activities and exhibits from the early 1900s with visits from Father Christmas are enjoyed.

It's fun taking a ride on the C.W. Parker Carousel after viewing the seasonal storybook scenes from The Nutcracker Suite, Twas the Night Before Christmas, O Tannenbaum and The Gingerbread House. Taking part in the "Twelve Days of Christmas" scavenger hunt where you search for items mentioned in the song placed throughout the site and taking in the smells and tastes of baking right from wood-stove in the kitchen at the Love Farmhouse make a visit to the Burnaby Village Museum over Christmas memorable.

• Christmas at Capilano Suspension Bridge
Canyon Lights at Capilano Suspension Bridge is a winter celebration of light with over 250,000 twinkling lights throughout the park. A Christmas

Papa Canuck

Hanging out over Christmas holidays!

Band, dressed in historical winter costumes, performs every evening for everyone's enjoyment.

• Gingerbread Lane & Christmas Trees
In downtown Vancouver, the Travelling Canucks visited the 2009 Gingerbread Lane at the Hyatt where we voted for your favourite gingerbread house - a Vancouver Olympics inspired village of elves. We then headed for the Four Seasons Hotel that hosts an annual Christmas tree decorating competition. It's always enlightening to see how the professionals trim their trees!

• Christmas at Canada Place
From the west side of the sails including Stanley Park, West Vancouver, North Vancouver and surrounding waters, Vancouverites can watch a nightly festive light show on Canada Place’s five 90 foot iconic sails as they dance with festive displays and dazzling colours. Christmas at Canada Place has been a family tradition for over 2O years. Unfortunately, due to Olympic preparations, Woodward's window displays were on holidays this year as were other festivities usually held at Canada Place.

• Christmas at Granville Island
It's a Travelling Canucks family tradition to do our shopping at the Public Market at Granville Island on Christmas Eve. Turkey from the Turkey Stop, ham from Armando's Meats, croissants, petit pains au chocolat and baguettes from La

Best Christmas Dessert

St. Honore from Notte's Bon Ton Pastry & Confectionery.

Baguette & L'Eschalot, French pates from Oyama Sausage Company - for foodies, there's no better place to buy culinary ingredients for delicious Christmas feasts!

The crowds, the seasonal floral arrangements and crafts for sale, the sight and smells from the food stalls and sounds of Christmas remind us of past Christmases!

Next stop - Notte's Bon Ton Pastry & Confectionery on West Broadway to pick up our pre-ordered St Honore. A St Honore is a classic French dessert made of a circle of puff pastry with crème chiboust and finished with whipped cream with a ring of small cream puffs, dipped in caramelized sugar! Delicious!

As in past years, Mama Canuck again vowed to not line up for pastries at Bon Ton - unfortunately, the pain of watching the staff slowly fill Christmas orders will once again be forgotten next Christmas!

• Enjoy Live Theatre or a Musical Concert
It's a great time of year to be entertained - White Christmas at the Stanley Theatre, The Nutcracker at The Centre or It's a Wonderful Life at the Arts Club Theatre at Granville Island! Enjoy a musical holiday tradition - the VSO's "A Traditional Christmas" featuring the orchestra,

Coldest Day

-5C with windchill - Thank goodness for our Red Mittens!

UBC Opera Ensemble and EnChor choirs and narration by Bard on the Beach's Christopher Gaze. Carols, heart-warming music traditionally associated with Christmas, and plenty of audience sing-alongs make for a lovely evening!

This season, the Travelling Canucks attended the Carousel Theatre's "The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood" at the Waterfront Theatre on Granville Island. This classic folktale was really funny and entertaining for the audience of all ages. It was great seeing many Bard on the Beach actors playing over the Christmas season. Ryan Biel as Guy of Gisborne with his amusing French Canadian accent and Josue Laboucane as the wildly funny Sheriff of Nottingham were hilarious!

On January 1st, Vancouver’s Annual Polar Bear Swim that has been going strong since 1920 will kick off 2010! Granted the Travelling Canucks will not be taking the plunge, you might spot us in the crowd of 50,000 on the beach or walking around the seawall on New Year's Day with cameras in hand if it's not pouring rain!

So as 2009 comes to a close, the Travelling Canucks wish everyone a Happy New Year and Happy Travels!

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