Holiday Art Markets

Toronto Christmas Market

This holiday season Toronto will once again celebrate the romance and magic of a traditional

Christmas at Lowe’s Toronto Christmas Market. This free annual event captures all of the

tradition and charm of European Christmas Market, while showcasing hundreds of unique

handcrafted products. There are some different kinds of entertainment such as musicians,

carolers and children’s choirs to Santa’s workshop which kids can have the chance to meet

Santa. You can get many kinds of Christmas gifts, especially traditional items such as crib

figurines, toys, wood carvings, hand-made ornaments, candles and holiday memorabilia.

Distillery Historic District (55 Mill Street),

Friday November 29 – Sunday December 15, Mon -Fri noon – 9pm & weekends 10am – 9pm.

 

The Artisans Gift Fair

This homegrown gift sale in The Annex has been running over from the end of November.

The Artisans’ Gift Fair hosts fine collection of affordable gift products. Vendors gather at the

Tranzac, located in the Annex at Bloor and Brunswick, displaying handcrafted gifts. Look for

handcrafted items such as garments, soaps, jewelry, journals, and everything from cupcakes

to cat toys. The Tranzac (292 Brunswick Ave), December 14, 15, 21, 22. 12pm – 6pm, free.

 

City of Craft

City of Craft is an annual craft show and exhibition in Toronto. It is also a group of people

who make other crafty things which happen throughout the year. High quality wares and

promising local crafts will be on sale, and the gifts from this sale are sure to make an

impression.

The Theatre Centre (1087 & 1095 Queen Street West),

December 14 – 15, Saturday 11am – 6pm, Sunday 11am – 5pm, $2 (children under 12 free).

 

Toronto Etsy Street Team’s 1st Annual Christmas Marketplace

The Toronto Etsy Street Team will be holding its first Christmas Marketplace.

Saint-Stephens-in-the-Fields (103 Bellevue, College St, in the Kensington Market neighbourhood)

December 14, 11am – 5:30pm

2012 Toronto Christmas Market in the Distillery District

Christmas is in the air above the red brick cobblestones and inside each of the many Victorian era heritage buildings in the Distillery District until Dec 16th 2012; there’s a wide selection of hard-to-find goods and services associated with the season at the third annual Toronto Christmas Market.

The 2012 Toronto Christmas Market is distilled from the old school European – style festive organization that brings together culturally rich family entertainment including musicians, carolers and children’s choirs. These markets originated in Germany, beginning in the early 1400?s, and are now being held in many countries all over the world, and this is arguably Canada’s biggest and best example. You can follow the Toronto Christmas Market on Twitter @TOChristmasMkt

This is a world class shopping destination. The stuff sold here is very rare and special as merchants must apply and are selected by jury for the right to sell unique products all along the different streets. The Distillery District is playing host, for the third year in a row to this festive extravaganza that is expected to bring three hundred thousand people to the compound.

Lowe’s 2012 Toronto Christmas Market has a photo contest and you could win $250 cash or dinner in any of three world class Distillery District Restaurants!

Check the 2012 Toronto Christmas Market Photo Contest on Lenzr, or visit the Toronto Christmas Market website.

Sponsored by Toronto.com, this photo contest allows attendees to compare notes. Last year this same call-to-action collected over 300 pictures, which in turn accrued over seven thousand votes as folks laboured to get their pics up into the Top Ten to be eligible for the grand prize.

Prizes for the 2012 competition are as follows,

Winner will receive a $250.00 cash prize,

2nd place will receive a $150.00 Distillery Restaurant gift certificate

3rd place will receive a $100.00 Distillery Restaurant gift certificate.

RULES

Upload original photos now and until December 25th

Voting begins December 15th and ends midnight Dec 25th

Top ten images advance to judges. *Sponsor is Judge, Here is a link to the Term of Use page unique to this contest. Winner announced on Lenzr blog Jan 1st 2013. Lowe’s 2012 Toronto Christmas Market event runs from Friday Nov 30th to Sunday December 16th, 2012 at The Distillery District, Must Be 13yrs older to enter – gift certificates and cash prizes will be mailed anywhere in Canada only. Good luck!

Four Things You Never Thought of for your Valentine

It happens every year. You and your sweetheart are basking in the post-holiday glow. All of the chaos of Christmas, Hanukah, New Years and oh-so many family get-togethers has passed and its back to just the two of you when suddenly you see it: that first pink and red shiny teddy bear in the drug store window.

Valentine’s day is a great fun day to show your partner how much you care about them, but the pressure to create a lasting romantic memory strikes fear in the hearts of even the most assured couples. So whether you’re old flames or a new romance check out these fabulous ideas to sweep even the hardest to surprise valentine off his or her feet.

Make it Unique
A box of chocolates and flowers are Valentine’s Day staples, but think outside the box to really knock the socks off your date. The perfect gift starts in knowing your date’s interests. At the same time picking a hobby related item when you don’t know much about the subject is a minefield. The safest route is to pick something fun, luxurious, and that they would never treat themselves to (forget practical gifts for this day). A great resource for strange gift ideas is http://www.thisiswhyimbroke.com/. Updated daily, here you can find gift ideas ranging from suit-jamas (silk suit pajamas), Ninja Star coat hooks, to remote control sharks. Prices range from the $55,000 working Tron motorcycle to the $6.87 glow in the dark toiler paper. It’s everything you never thought of, but always want.
Transformers USB Flash Drive $14.00

Make it Homemade
Not every Romeo and Juliet has the old-family money to throw around. There are hundreds of things you can make or do, even if your pocket book is on the lighter side. Homemade cookies, brownies, or other sweet treats always show your care and effort (which is always better than throwing a lot of money around). Can’t cook? Try a homemade craft or card. Everyone at CityEvents is in love with this neat idea guaranteed to impress: “Rainbow Roses”. Pick up 6 white roses and with a sharp X-acto knife, slice a 3 inch strip in the stem at the end, then quarter it so the end of the stem breaks into 4 prongs. Get four cups, and add 30 drops (super saturated) of food colouring of yellow red, blue and green in each cup (one colour per cup). Dip one piece of the stem in each for each rose, then gently tie the roses together so they don’t fall over (they tend to do that once the stems are split). Leave for 3-4 days and the roses will soak up the colours and the petals will begin to turn. Once they are coloured, cut off the split ends and be prepared to stun your date.

A Night on the Town
Now that you’ve picked out something to give your Valentine, it still leaves the question about what to do? We live in an amazing city. Any night of the week there is something interesting going on, the problem is narrowing it down to find the perfect event to take your Valentine to. Any savvy-Torontonian knows to do their research before hitting the streets. The City of Toronto lists all festivals and larger events: http://wx.toronto.ca/festevents.nsf/. Here you can find everything from the fantastic Winterlicious meal-deals to Valentine’s Day parties. As always http://torontocityevents.ca/site/ has featured events if your date enjoys touring the city.

Hiberdating
Not every Valentine is the type to dance till dawn. Knowing your date’s style social style will dictate if you paint the town red or curl up inside in front of a roaring fire. Staying in and “Hiber-Dating” as it’s affectionately known can be better than spending your money and time outside. Make it a perfect cozy evening for two with a bottle of wine (check the LCBO’s blog for hot deals) and a home cooked meal. Making the night a personal party for two does take some planning however, so stock up on snacks, treats, and movies and your evening is sure to be sizzling.

 

There are many different routes to take when planning the perfect Valentine’s Day but when in doubt keep it simple, keep it thoughtful, and just remember: make it unique to your unique couple style!