I love a Santa Claus parade!

Posted on December 3, 2012 | Leave a comment

Kids love parades. Mine had never been to one until this past weekend, but they fully embraced it. I think it was the steady stream of candy canes handed out to them, or perhaps the anticipation of seeing Santa Claus riding on the final float. Whatever it was, they loved the lights and the waving and the crowd’s excitement and didn’t seem to mind standing around in chilly Banff for over an hour.

Avery and two friends wait for Santa (and more candy canes).

Avery and two friends wait for Santa (and more candy canes).

The Santa Claus parade down Banff Avenue takes place every year in early December. It concludes the town’s Christmas in the Rockies festival and is a kid-favourite.

Personally, I am not a parade person. Maybe it’s because I’m a jaded adult (or it’s the painful memories from my elementary school pom-pom years, marching in the Evergreen town parade), but I really do not enjoy standing around for hours watching decorated flatbed trucks filled with waving people crawl by at two kilomteres an hour. It’s the reason I’ve only been to the Calgary Stampede parade once.

Parades involve a lot of waving. Your arm will be tired.

Parades involve a lot of waving. Your arm will be tired.

But the great thing about Banff’s Santa Claus parade (and so I’ve been told, any small-town parade), is how short it is. With only 22 floats it lasts an hour tops. ( And I can easily wave at cute Aussie parade marchers wearing snowflake T-shirts for an hour.) What’s more, you can show up five minutes before the parade starts and get a spot right along the side of the road with no one obstructing your view. There aren’t even any barricades so kids can run into the parade route between floats and grab fallen candy canes off the street. And of course, saving Santa for the last float is a smart strategy to keep kids excited for the duration. “It’s Santa! It’s Santa, Mommy!” Bennett yelled. Avery was excited too, but she had more important concerns (like stuffing 30 candy canes into her pocket).

I’m sure Avery and Bennett will be bugging us to watch Calgary’s Stampede Parade next summer. If we can be guaranteed front-row seating, no wait, copious amounts of free candy and the best floats packed in to an hour, we’ll be there.

Leave a comment

Posted in Parenting, Potpourri

Tagged , ,

Drink of the Week: Mint Julep

Posted on November 30, 2012 | Leave a comment

Yes, it is totally the wrong time of year for this minty spring sip. However, since I was lucky enough to sample a lovely, strong version of the Mint Julep at Booker’s Crab Shack during a recent TMAC (Travel Media Association of Canada) meetup, I wanted to share it now instead of saving it for Derby Day.

Besides, bourbon is a nice, dark fall spirit, and I’m taking a gamble that the star ingredient, mint (which is joyously available in Calgary all year long), will evoke images of candy canes, not Kentucky blue grass. It’s a stiff sip and somewhat of an acquired taste, but stick with it — as the ice melts and dilutes the bourbon, you will find your minty-sweet happy place.

The taste of boozy candy cane in a glass? You decide.

Mint Julep

  • 2 oz Maker’s Mark bourbon
  • 1/2 oz mint simple syrup*
  • Crushed ice
  • Mint sprig garnish

Pack a julep cup with crushed ice. Add bourbon and simple syrup, then swizzle a straw around in the ice to mix. Slap a mint sprig against your hand to release the essence, then poke the stem into the ice-hole where your straw was, as a garnish. Poke a new hole with the straw and serve. (This sounds like a lot of work and just the kind of task your seven-year-old will want to help with. Be sure and supervise or she might get a little sippy with your julep.)

*Mint simple syrup

  • 2 bunches mint, stems removed, set aside enough sprigs for garnishes
  • 2 cups sugar
  • 1 cup water

Combine sugar and water and heat until the sugar is dissolved (be careful not to bring to a boil). Pour the syrup over the mint leaves in a bowl and let steep for 20 minutes. Using a fine strainer, remove mint from syrup, then cool syrup and refrigerate (discard the mint).

— Recipe courtesy Booker’s Crab Shack

Leave a comment

Posted in Cocktails

Tagged , ,

Drink of the Week: Gibson’s Maple Lemonade

Posted on November 23, 2012 | Leave a comment

The 100th annual Grey Cup takes place this Sunday (go Stampeders!) and if you’re looking to drink something more refined than a pint of beer, I’ve got just the cocktail for you. I was fortunate to receive a bottle of Gibson’s Finest 100th Grey Cup Limited Edition Canadian whiskey in the mail along with some recipes.

It’s sweet, tastes of maple and has been made special for the Grey Cup. Yum.

So for the past couple months I have been trying it in various drinks including a whiskey sour and a fizzy number called the Gibson’s Blueberry Pancake — the whiskey’s hint of maple lends itself to cocktails with citrus and other fuit. But ultimately I think the drink to mix up on Grey Cup Sunday — just the right combo of patriotism and whiskey — is the Gibson’s Maple Lemonade.

It’s pretty, patriotic and will help you cheer for your team. Go Stampeders!

True, lemonade and raspberries aren’t exactly seasonal come November, but they’ll lighten the mood should your team (the Argos) be losing. And the maple syrup and whiskey add just the right amount of sweetness and warmth on a cold fall night.

Gibson’s Maple Lemonade

  • 1 oz Gibson’s Finest 100th Grey Cup Limited Edition Canadian whiskey
  • 2-3 oz lemonade, to taste (I made my own using 1 part lemon juice, 1 part simple syrup and 1 part water. Yum.)
  • 1 tbsp fresh raspberries (I used strawberries)
  • 1 tsp maple syrup (as in 100 percent pure maple; not Aunt Jemima)

Muddle the berries and maple syrup at the bottom of a shaker, then add the whiskey and lemonade and shake. Pour contents into an ice filled rocks glass and garnish with a lemon wedge.

— Recipe courtesy Ginson’s Finest Canadian Whiskey

The taste of victory and, well, boozy maple lemonade in a glass.

Leave a comment

Posted in Cocktails

Tagged , , ,