Do you believe in magic?

As a kid, Christmas was about friends and family as it is now, but it also had that allure of the magic of the season. One place that you can still find that magic is at the Christmas window displays at the Hudson's Bay Company store in downtown Toronto. Since the early 1900s, the company has been creating heartwarming scenes for families to look at in wonder. 

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This year, the Bay has decorated five of their windows along Queen Street showing Santa Claus and his elves celebrating Christmas decorating, getting ready for the holiday and sharing a feats. There are also scenes depicting families, small towns and merchants celebrating Christmas in Victorian times, sitting by an open fire, singing carols and decorating.

I took some photos, but it was hard to get good ones with the reflections in the windows, but then I found this great video showing all the details of the windows. Take a look!

Isn't it amazing?

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I love all the details in the windows, such as these little elves wearing jackets made from Hudson Bay's famous blankets.

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Every time I walk by this, I see something that I didn't see before.

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Elves working away at Santa's workshop. This little girl looks completely mesmerized.



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One of my favorite scenes is of Santa and his elves celebrating their hard work with a great big feast.

The food looks amazing, with so many wonderful details.

Yum!

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The Victorian scenes are gorgeous, with carolers singing, shoppers carrying beautifully wrapped presents and merchants decorating their windows.

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The final scene is of a family getting their home ready on Christmas Eve. The father and mother are decorating the house, as the children are asleep by the window.

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And what is showed below the floorboards of the room? A family of mice getting ready for Christmas too.

The mice are tucked into their beds made of Hudson Bay Company match boxes, snoring away.

I wish more stores would put up displays this time of year. 

Do any stores in your town/city do this too?

Toronto Christmas Market

Living in downtown Toronto, there are always plenty of fun activities to do around the holidays. One particular event that caught my eye this year was the first ever Toronto Christmas Market in the Historical Distillery District. Inspired by traditional Old World Christmas Markets, this free annual event captures all of the hertiage and charm of the popular European markets, full of hundred of local handcrafted gifts and goodies. There is also also performances by musicians, children's choirs, carolers and of course Santa too. Last Sunday, the boyfriend and I headed over to look at some of the shopping and partake in some of the specialty beer and mulled wine gardens.

All along the historic streets of the Distillery District, were adorable boths and displays, with all the traditional sights, sounds and smells of the holiday season.

In the center of the market was a 40 foot tall Christmas tree, all decked out with over 18,000 lights and ornaments. It was like a beacon everywhere you went.

My dear friends Dave and Alison came with the boyfriend and I, to join in all the seasonal fesitivities. Despite the absolutely freezing windy temperatures, it was a great time hanging out with them. With work and school, we don't all get to see each other very much, so its a special treat when you can see each other around the holidays.

While we roamed around the streets, we looked at some of the beer gardens, serving many different varieties of beer, mulled wine, hot rum drinks, schnapps and European Christmas cocktails.

We popped into the Weihenstephan beer garden to try and warm up by the outdoor fire places and heat lamps.Weihenstephan is the state brewery of Bavaria, and claims to be the oldest brewery in the world. Their beers are generally considered by beer ethusiasts to be among the best in Germany. However, we weren't really digging the idea of having cold beer when we were freezing so much, so we tried the hot mulled wine. Unfortunately, it was disgustingly sweet and strong, so we sipped it to keep warm before we started looking for buildings to pop into and warm up there instead.

As it started to get darker, we noticed people gathering down the main road....

Turns out that they were there to watch the arrival of St. Nicholas (also known as Sinterkklaas in the Netherlands).

The Dutch celebrate December 5th as his birthday and this is the night when many children get their presents. It was really interesting to see how another culture celebrates that holidays!

While walking around the booths, I saw many people eating roasted chestnuts. This vendor was eager to show me how to crack one open and kindly offered a sample.

I didn't have the heart of tell him I have a nut allergy, so I just politely declined. But I do have to say that thsoe hot little suckers did look awfully tempting when it was so cold out.

Along the way we decided to grab some Octoberfest sausages. They smelled so good!

The shops themselves were adorably decorated with lit-up trim and Christmas decorations. While shopping, we ran into an angel. I guess she had a few more things on her Christmas list too.

The booth were full of wonderful treats from Canada and all over Europe.

There were plenty of delicious treats for stocking stuffers and cute little gingerbread houses wrapped up as hostess gifts.

Or a cake shaped like a turkey? Complete with cake "stuffing".

We popped inside one of the buildings to warm up for a bit and saw this kid-sized Gingerbread House made by The Sweet Escape Bakery in the Distillery District. The house is 6 ft x 6 ft and stands 6 1/2 feet tall. Its made entirely with real gingerbread and real icing too. It took 8 large batches of dough to make all the 650 bricks and 1000 shingles of the house.

As I walked around the house, I could see where some people had got a little too excited and stole some of the gingerbread shingles and Christmas lights.

My personal favorite feature was the row of cupcakes as trim along the top of the roof...if I could only reach them!

Despite the cold, it was a beautiful night spent outdoors with friends. If you're in the Toronto area and looking for something fun to do this weekend, be sure to check out the Distillery District Christmas Market!

Open from tonight from 12-8pm every night until Sunday December 12th, with Beer Gardens open until 11pm. For more information, go to: http://www.torontochristmasmarket.com/

Gift Giving with Local Toronto Artists

One of the wonderful things about living in Toronto now is that they are so many opportunities to view and purchase unique pieces by some of the great artists living in the area. This past week I grabbed my friend Ash and headed over to the historic Gladstone Hotel for the Annual Holiday Sale for Speakeasy, a monthly gathering of Toronto’s creative community. Six times a year, people from the community come together to share ideas and keep in touch, while viewing what everyone else has been up to. The minute we walked in the door and saw all the displays, we knew we were in for a treat. Here are some snapshots of a few of the wonderfully creative artists that were there.

I'm always a sucker for handmade jewelery, so I made a beeline for Kathryn Rebecca's table. I got talking with Kathryn and it turns out that she is always a small town girl (from Bala, Ontario!) who came to Toronto to further her career.

Her beautiful pieces reflect the nature that she grew up with in Muskoka, while still showing some urban flare of a live in the city. I love when an artists' work shows so many aspects of their own personal growth.

It was a cold and windy night, so when I saw 100% Dandy Knits by Lisa McGlade, it warmed my heart...and my hands.

Plus these little pouches just about did me in. so cute! Perfect for keeping your iPod cozy this winter!

Looking for something different from the conventional spa gift baskets? Take a look at these great handmade 100% organic oil based soaps, shampoos and conditioners by Enfleurage Organics.

The scents were heavenly, but not over impowering. Nothing like vitamins and pure essential oils to keep your skin revitalized over the winter!

I am firmly of the thought that women cannot possess too many purses, especially when they are as cute as the ones made by designer Alicia Mansillo. What started as a hobby for Alicia has quickly turned into a beautiful collection of pieces that are perfect for any ladies on your list this year.

My friend Ash was happy to model this bag for me. Stylish enough for the city, but perfect for travelling too.

I have to say that my favorite exhibit was the White Squirrel Club. As a regular patron of Trinity Bellwoods Park, I am quite familiar with the legend of the white squirrels. For several decades albino squirrels have lived in the park in downtown Toronto and have become an urban folkstory, which is perfect displayed on these t-shirts, totebags and boxers by local artist Julia Burton.

Ironically the next display I saw had a small handmade Christmas ornament showing the infamous white squirrel attempting to steal from a birdfeeder.  

There were so many adorable variations on the birdfeeders that I wish that I could make a tree full of them all. My mother would love this little one, as I'm sure it would remind her of the little cardinal that used to tap on her bedroom window a few years back.

Artist Wayne Murphy makes his figures out of wire, air-dried modelling paste, several layers of acryllic paint and finally protective sealer. His scultures capture a perfect moment, such as Santa soaking in a tub (presumably after a long night delivering toys), or a child making a snowman. More of his work can me seen at http://www.statuesosmall.com/.

I was immediately struck by the beautiful presentation and stunning simplicity of the wood jewelery by artist Alex Russel.

 

A perfect gift for the minimalist in your family!

You can't deny the Canadian nostaliga of Offcut Studio's unique pieces. The wooden skate guards reminded me of many winter nights spent as a child skating on the river behind our home.

Toronto furniture designer and cabin Cameron MacLean uses mostly offcut pieces of wood to create one of a kind, custom and limited edition pieces, such as these maple, walnut and oak clocks.

Jewelery is always an appropriate gift, and what better than the beautifully made pieces by contemporary designer Shareen Woodford.

Shareen takes her inspiration from organic forms, the ocean, minimalism, retro patterns and even yoga.

Coincidentally, I came to the show right from the gym, so when I saw these bamboo facial cleansing cloths from Kaia, I jumped at the chance to give them a shot. Sure enough they made my skin feel revitalized and happy all over again. These packs are perfect for throwing in your gym bag.

Soaked in vitamins and rich with natural ingredients, these cloths are a great natural makeup remover, that are ideal for people with sensitive skin.

Made by a local felt artist these whimsical and creative one-of-a-kind felted accessories are as not only unique by functional.

These photos do not to justice to the vibrant colours and creative textures.

And on a final note, I wanted to show the Green Wall in the Gladstone Hotel. Added in 2009, the wall is alive with lucious green plants that give the air fresh oxygen, while filtering out impurities. It makes me smile every time.

Thus concludes my tour of the Speakeasy Holiday Sale. Thank you to all the artists who kindly let me photograph their incredible work. Please support our great local artists here in Toronto and give the gift of creative works this year!