Category: Lifestyle

Bring the Magic of Christmas to Life with Country Bright

2021 has been a difficult year and in the coming weeks, it appears it may just be that harder. As a family, we have struggled to get into the Christmas spirit. We’ve gone through the motions but there has been something missing these last few weeks. The sparkle of Christmas was just not there no matter how hard we tried. We jumped at the chance to attend Country Bright – a light show display located not too far away from our home. While we weren’t too sure what to expect, we were excited for this adventure.

We headed out to the Country Bright light show located in Milton, Ontario. The light display is nestled on a farm setting at Country Heritage Park. We weren’t too sure what to expect on this 3/4 km walk but knew it would be special when we pulled up to the site and could start to the see the twinkling lights in the background.

While we were a bit cautious of COVID, I was happy to see so many families still wearing masks and social distancing outside both at the entrance/exits and throughout the Country Bright displays. The staff did an amazing job of ensuring vehicles and people were flowing well through entries and exits points and there were no real spots of congregation, which was perfect for our family who are still very cautious of being out and about.

There was a great variety of displays around the site – everything from lit up tunnels to themed cabins covered in colourful lights, to large snow globes and candy cane trees. The displays at Country Bright took our breath away – they were so skillfully put together and brought the displays to life. We loved walking through the lit up tunnels and managed to take quite a few family photos under the lights.

We were welcomed to the Country Bright light display with all of our favourite Christmas songs playing, which was also featured throughout the whole length of the display trail (large speakers were strategically placed throughout the trails). We had so much fun singing along and debating whose song was the best Christmas song (my personal favourite being Silent Night!). Spread out along the trail as well were several stops that you could purchase hot chocolate and goodies (debit and credit only). This makes a huge difference on those nights when it feels a bit chilly out there. While it was warm on the night we attended (and by warm I mean sitting around 0 degrees), we bundled up in layers, boots, hats and gloves but the hot chocolate really helped make a difference. I would strongly recommend boots for this walking adventure – while the paths are easy to navigate for strollers and able bodied individuals, they were also wet and muddy at some points. Make sure to wear several layers, warm boots and bring extra gloves just in case.

We each had our personal favourite displays – my eldest loved this wagon, while our youngest fell in love with the large red barn. My husband adored the Ford displays and I loved the reindeer and globes.

My son had this to say about our family adventure: “I had a great time with my family and made a great video edit for all of us for a memory so this was a great thing for me and my family. Thank you Country Bright for this awesome time”.

Tickets are still available for purchase to this magical holiday adventure which runs until January 2nd. Tickets have to be purchased in advance and can be purchased here.

Make sure to check out the Country Bright website and follow them on Facebook and Instagram.

Disclosure: We received tickets to visit the show, all opinions expressed are my own.

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Bring the Magic of Halloween to Life with Pumpkins After Dark

Halloween and the fall season in general are by far my most favourite times of the year. I love the change in the weather, setting up seasonal décor (love my pumpkins and scarecrows!) and watching movies with the family under a warm blanket. Over the last year, COVID has (like for so many other families) disrupted our normal routines, took a loved one from us and changed the way we go out and participate in activities. Not only does this event have everything that I love about the fall season but it is COVID friendly for families like ours, who are just not quite ready to get back to packed events or who perhaps have a family member too young to be vaccinated.

Pumpkins After Dark is located in Milton, Ontario and was a short roughly 35 minute drive from our home in the GTHA area. Our youngest thought it was the perfect setting as we passed by some very interestingly shaped trees that looked like they came straight out of a horror movie (my youngest’s words exactly). They were older trees that looked misshapen and broken over time but fit the backdrop perfectly. The drive was nice as we travelled down several older roads and the traffic was light at that time of day. The entrance was a bit harder to spot but they had employees outside directing patrons into the site.

I had heard of Pumpkins After Dark a few times in the past but was not entirely familiar with the event. The site is a 2.5km (roughly forty-five minutes to one hour) pumpkin display exhibits. The art that was created from these pumpkins was incredible. The exhibits use a combination of craft and real pumpkins and each one is hand carved in 2D and 3D to fit their specific exhibit. Throughout the event, you are taken on a journey through movies, fairytales, cars, anime and so much more. I loved that the exhibits had a touch of scary but they were also appropriate for all age groups .

You enter into the exhibit by queueing in the parking lot just inside the entrance. Guests are expected to remain inside the vehicle at all times so I would strongly recommend bringing some snacks for the kids (and the adults!). We rolled down each of the windows (and even the sun roof so our youngest could sit on the arm rest and watch at times from there especially in the tunnels – the speed was incredibly slow so there was not much movement as he sat there) and had so much fun at each exhibit. I learned that my children were very much lacking in their nursery rhymes education (they did not get Humpty Dumpty!) and I was so excited to see their faces light up when they saw Kong and their favourite anime characters from Naruto (this was a huge surprise for all of us and I think was the icing on their cake for them that night). My personal favourites were the animals and the Greek mythology exhibits.

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Tips for the Event:

  • Order your tickets online in advance as tickets are not sold on site due to COVID (you can purchase tickets here and use the code September15 which will give you 15% off for the month of September dates)
  • Arrive no more than 15 minutes early as entry is based on the time of your ticket
  • Pack your snacks and warm drinks
  • Turn your radio to the assigned station and turn the volume up high
  • Roll down those windows, open your sun roof and get ready for some fun!

Pumpkins After Dark is a fun, family geared art exhibit that will meet the likes of every member in your family. There was a little bit for everyone and we loved that we were able to get out and participate in something fun despite our reservations due to COVID.

Have you been to Pumpkins After Dark? What was your favourite exhibit?

Make sure to follow Pumpkins After Dark on Facebook, and Instagram.

Disclosure: We received tickets to the event, all opinions expressed are my own.

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Snatch the Treats from Granny in Greedy Granny from Goliath Games

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Can you steal the sweets from Granny without waking her up? Try your skills out in the new Greedy Granny game from Goliath Games.

About Greedy Granny

Grab the treats as quickly and quietly as you can with Greedy Granny! Granny loves her sweets, but she’s not so great at sharing (oh no!). While Granny snoozes, spin the treat wheel to see which sweet to swipe. But be quiet…one wrong move will wake Granny up and send her teeth flying.

In order to win, you must collect each one of her treats.

Game Contents:

  • 1 Greedy Granny in an Armchair (2 Pieces)
  • 1 Set of Granny’s Teeth (1 Piece)
  • 1 Treat Wheel
  • 12 Treats

Our Thoughts

Greedy Granny made a great new addition to our pandemic game nights. While our lockdown rules may have lifted quite recently, we are still spending the majority of our time at home. To keep the nights fun and everyone in bright moods, we turn to games that entertain and bring out our competitive nature.

Greedy Granny was a new concept to me, the game requires no batteries to use (my favourite part) and was easy to set up. The set up consisted of attaching Granny’s upper body and the top of the recliner to the base and you are ready to play. To be fair – I was awful at this part (for some reason I could not get the top to recline and Granny’s arms to go down) but my husband figured it out quite quickly.

The game concept is fun and easy to follow as you spin the the wheel to determine the treat you need to steal and the amount of times that you must press the button (this will eventually trigger Granny to wake up). In order to win the game, a player must collect one of each of her favourite treats without waking her up (which causes quite the scene as she moves forward and sends her teeth flying). The game can be played with two to four players and is suited for players aged four and up. It was easy to play together and follow the rules (the game design makes it hard to cheat – a must have in our competitive family). The set up and clean up is simple as it is one unit with a few smaller pieces (treats).

Greedy Granny is a fun and easy game to play that the whole family will fall in love with.

Greedy Granny Video

You can purchase Greedy Granny from Walmart, Amazon and Target.

Make sure to stay up to date with new game releases and more from Goliath Games by connecting with them on their Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

Disclosure: I received this product in order to facilitate this review. All opinions expressed are my own.

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Beat the Winter Blues with Rummikub Premium Edition

It has been almost one month since we have been in lockdown in Ontario and the weather is cold, grey and miserable. We have been spending a lot of time indoors and are constantly looking for something new and fun to play. The catch? It has to be something that we all can play and would enjoy playing together.

Rummikub Premium Edition

Rummikub Premium Edition is a new spin on a fun game that you may or may not have heard of before. For me, this was a brand new game and it took me a few tries to understand the rules. I had to read the instructions over several times and walk through it slowly with my kids.

The game is designed to be played with 2 to 4 players. The game starts by dumping all of the tiles out and players choose fourteen tiles. Each player then takes turns to create a ‘group’ or ‘run’, with the main objective to get rid of all of your tiles onto the table. This person becomes the winner of the game.

This game was a lot of fun and I loved the sleek design and attention to details (the tiles are gorgeous!). I did have to have the instructions out the first two times we played (and we likely played incorrectly) but we still had a lot of fun.

The game is designed for children eight years of age and older, and I think this is appropriate as it did take a bit longer to learn (although if you have played similar games in the past this one will be easy). We really enjoyed that this game kept you on your toes and made you think. You never quite know who is going to win, as it is a surprise right up to the end. I also appreciated that it includes some great educational concepts for younger learners, including patterns.

I found this helpful tutorial on the Pressman website, which I would definitely recommend watching before playing if you are new to the game:

Rummikub Premium Edition will make family game night fun and exciting. The game can be purchased online on Amazon and Walmart.

Disclosure: I received this game in order to facilitate this review. All opinions expressed are my own.

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Take a Bite Out of the Holidays with Dino Crunch!

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Looking for something exciting, different and fun to do this holiday (especially with the looming lockdown)? Check out Dino Crunch – featuring a hungry T-Rex that is ready to attack.

About Dino Crunch

Dino Crunch features one hungry T-Rex and a nest full of stolen eggs. Players have to roll the dice and try to rescue as many eggs as possible. But be careful – you never quite know when the T-Rex will attack! The game is suited for two to four players, aged 4 and up.

The game comes with one T-Rex, one dinosaur nest, twenty dinosaurs eggs and a pair of tweezers. The game requires 2AA batteries that are not included.

Our Thoughts

We were not quite sure what to expect with this game when we opened it up but we ended up loving it. The game literally comes to life with dinosaur themed sounds that come from the nest which really puts you on the edge of your seat (it also gave our Yorkie quite the scare when she decided to get close up to check out where those sounds were coming from). We would each take a turn rolling the dice to rescue the corresponding egg from the nest. My years of tweezing paid off for this game – I was the pro at getting an egg out quickly! Our youngest found it a bit harder but it definitely helped encourage those fine motor skills that are so important.

We loved the suspense of the game, you could never tell when the T-Rex was about to pounce. You could accidentally knock the nest a bit and he wouldn’t attack or as my youngest loved to do, give him a pat on the back in the hopes that he would attack his brother. It really was the luck (or unlucky) of the draw when it came to when he attacked, which ensured no fighting among the kids because no one could cheat to win.

Dino Crunch is a fun, interactive game for the whole family. Each one of us loved the excitement and suspense of the game, and it made for the perfect addition to game night for all members of our family (young and old).

You can purchase the game at Walmart and Amazon.

Disclosure: We received this game in order to facilitate this review. All opinions expressed are my own.

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