Over the years, I’ve shared many of my favourite things about the holidays. To me, Christmas has never been about one day, or the presents under the tree. It’s about all the small moments and simple joys that make this time of year special and bring me happiness and peace.
Frosty cold mornings and snow laden trees And favourites like Elf, Home Alone and White Christmas on TV
Pretty green garlands of fresh spruce and pine Glasses of egg nog, hot cocoa and wine
Local church concerts and carols sung on high Finding the perfect gift then waiting for the Amazon guy
Filling the gaps in our old Christmas tree With shiny bright lights, homemade ornaments and memories
White chocolate-dipped Oreos and Mrs. Garrett’s butter tarts Nanaimo bars and haystacks and shortbreads cut in hearts
Candles glowing softly and red cardinals in the air Reminders of those we’ve lost but still with us everywhere
Bowie and Crosby, The Pogues and Buble Handel’s Messiah king of kings on Christmas Day
Gatherings with neighbours and laughter with friends A time to reflect and to make amends
Fighting over the chocolate in the advent calendar And constantly refilling the Scotch mint candy jar
The anticipation Christmas Day brings These are a few of my favourite things
This week’s #HappyAct is to enjoy your favourite things in the lead up to the holidays. What are your favourites?
This weekend, my girlfriends and I were talking about holiday traditions and lamenting the fact that “family time” over the holidays often involves each member of the household hidden away in different rooms on their devices.
We all decided we needed a new holiday tradition but had a hard time coming up with any good ideas. So I thought I’d reach out to you, my loyal readers to ask, what do you do in your house or with your family to spend meaningful time together over the holidays?
We’re only looking for answers that are an outing or activity–something we can do as a family that doesn’t involve screens (so not things like wearing the same Christmas pajamas, ugly sweaters or watching White Christmas on Christmas Eve).
Here were some of the ideas we bandied around:
Gingerbread house decorating contest
Family drive to see Christmas lights
Going to see a holiday concert or play
Playing indoor golf, bowling, laser tag or pool
Carolling around the neighbourhood
Sadly, while we think these would be fun, some are expensive for a family of four or six and there is a good chance our adult-grown children would groan and protest at things like carolling, so anything that is affordable and passes the Bah Humbug metre is a bonus.
Help us rediscover the joy of the holidays with our families and share your ideas by leaving a comment.
Read more about two of my favourite holiday traditions (although the first one is very unique to our family—you won’t want to adopt it!)
I remember it clearly. The year was 1992. Dave and I had just got married on a beautiful fall day, October 3rd and returned home from our honeymoon to watch the final games of the World Series in two lawn chairs in our empty apartment in Port Credit. 41-year old Dave Winfield swings and hits a two-run double in the eleventh inning of Game 6 against the Atlanta Braves to win the game, making the Toronto Blue Jays the first Canadian team ever to win the World Series of baseball.
Growing up in Toronto, I’ve been cheering on the boys in blue since their first at bat in April 1977, when they won their first game against the Chicago White Sox in a snowstorm at the old Exhibition Stadium. I remember going to quite a few of those early games with snowflakes in the air. In those days, Dominion grocery offered $4 tickets and all of us Ryerson students would skip classes and pile into the stadium to eat 60-cent hot dogs and drink $2 beers. When the Skydome and its retractable roof opened its doors in 1989, we felt like we were watching games in luxury, pure luxury.
Now the Jays are making another run at the coveted crown of baseball. It’s a Cinderella story. A bunch of rag-tag guys who started the season playing less than 500 ball, guys like Nathan Lukes who almost gave up the game after playing in the minors for many years and Addison Barger who just started playing in the majors in 2024.
This team has heart and a deep love for each other and the game.
My favourite moment so far was when Vladimir Guerrero Jr. fanned Alejandro Kirk with a towel after his epic run from second base to score home in Game 5 of the ALS championship series against Seattle. That’s love.
Or this TSN post-game interview with Davis Schneider after Game 1 of the World Series who confessed that Barger, the night before hitting Friday night’s grand slam in Game 1 against LA slept on Schneider’s couch since his own place was full of visiting family.
Yes, this band of Boys in Blue deserve our respect. They deserve to win.
This week’s #HappyAct is to wear your bandwaggoner badge with pride and cheer on the boys in blue. Go Jays Go!
I’ve always been jealous of people who are really great at something.
I know I’ve been dealt more than a fair hand at life. I’m average-looking with average intelligence and am generally considered to be a nice person.
I was a good student but never Mensa or Harvard material. I can hold my own in most sports, but never competed provincially or at a higher competitive level. I can make a mean stew and banana bread, but would never cut it on Master Chef Canada.
I can write passably, but nowadays with ChatGPT, Bing and Gemini, any human and now machine can spew out the drivel I share each week in my little Crappy Act as Dave likes to call it.
The list of things I suck at is even longer. I can’t sew or hem, I wouldn’t know where to begin on any building or home renovation project and I’ve inherited my father’s innate inability at wrapping presents. (One of my favourite things to do on Christmas Eve was watch my father make a batch of wrapping every one of my Mom’s presents while drinking a few glasses of rye and ginger.)
It doesn’t help that the entertainment industry flaunts in our faces the many talents of celebrities who seem to be great at everything. Jim Carrey is an accomplished artist. Actresses like Anna Kendrick, Anne Hathaway and Kate Hudson can act, dance and sing like songbirds plus have successful businesses on the side. Anthony Hopkins writes symphonies for gods’ sake. And those Helmsworth brothers, Chris and Liam. It’s not enough they’re gorgeous and talented actors, they can even dance.
When I retired, I hoped I would discover something I’m great at. I tried painting since my Mom was an accomplished painter.
I signed up for a 3-hour workshop where the theme was painting a beach scene, since it was the dreary winter months. Using a photo as our inspiration, my friend Angela and I spent the next three hours practising our brush strokes painting white sand beaches, blue waters and palm trees. While people ooh’ed and aah’ed over each other’s canvases, mine somehow ended up resembling L.A. after the wildfires. One guy actually said to me, “Yeah, those palm trees aren’t good.”
I tossed the finished painting on my dresser for a couple of weeks, trying to decide whether I should fix it, paint over it or just throw it out. One day I came home and it wasn’t there. Dave had hung it as a joke in the kitchen above the stove. It’s still hanging there. A true masterpiece. Judge for yourself.
Okay, so maybe painting isn’t my thing. But just maybe it’s not as important to discover what you are great at, so much as what you are most passionate about and love to do.
It’s the last weeks of summer. Whether you’re planning a final road trip with the family or just looking for staycation ideas, now is a great time to visit a museum. Here is my top ten list of little museums that are perfect for a one hour or half-day stop. Be sure to check their websites for any free admission days.
Miner’s museum in Glace Bay, Nova Scotia: while the museum itself is small, the experience is large, making this museum one of my favourites in Canada. Join a former miner as you walk down the stopes underground and learn about coal mining in Cape Breton.
Canadian Canoe Museum in Peterborough: We visited this terrific little museum in 2020 before it expanded and relocated to the shores of the Trent-Severn waterway. I’m itching to go back to see what new treasures and exhibits are on display. You can even now spend a morning or afternoon paddling on site. Read my post An Afternoon at the Canadian Canoe Museum for the full rundown.
Les Trois Pignons rughooking museum in Cheticamp, Nova Scotia: located near the end of the Cabot Trail, this museum features astonishing works of art made from rughooking, the region’s specialty. It costs only $7 and you can tour it in about half an hour, making it well worth the stop.
Bata Shoe museum in Toronto: Opened in 1995 after the Bata family’s private shoe collection outgrew its home, this famous little museum has been attracting visitors for more than 30 years. Current exhibitions include the history of the cowboy boot, how crime investigators use footprints and footwear in their work, and footwear through the ages.
Toronto Holocaust Museum: Opened in 2023, this new museum on Bathurst St. north of Sheppard inspires visitors to think deeply about the tragedies of the Holocaust and make connections between the holocaust and contemporary world events and Canadian life. Montreal also has a holocaust museum. It’s currently under renovation and will reopen its doors in 2026.
The Canadian Potato Museum in Prince Edward Island: quintessentially Canadian, we loved this little museum that celebrates PEI’s biggest export (20% of the potatoes in Canada come from PEI). Learn about how spuds are grown and their importance to the development of Canada’s smallest province and enjoy a selection of potato dishes in their restaurant. Bonus points for having one of the friendliest and accommodating staff around—our family arrived in late April when the museum was still closed, but they let us in for free and let us look around “as long as we didn’t mind the mess”.
Diefenbunker: located in Carp just west of Ottawa is a four-storey underground bunker built in 1959 by Prime Minister Diefenbaker to serve as the headquarters and communications hub during the Cold War.
Tim Horton’s Museum in Hamilton: located on the second floor of the original Tim Hortons store in Hamilton at 65 Ottawa Street, this little museum recently underwent renovations. Make sure you order a double double when you’re there.
Gopher Hole Museum in Torrington, Alberta: Touted as the “world famous” gopher hole museum, this museum is by donation and features vignettes of gophers and a gopher gift shop. You gotta see it to believe it.
Kingston Penitentiary Museum: eclipsed by the Kingston Penitentiary tours (fantastic by the way and free with the tour), don’t miss this fantastic little museum in the historic warden’s house across from the pen. Learn how famous inmate escaped and life behind bars—the perfect one-hour visit.
This week’s #HappyAct is to visit one of Canada’s great little museums. And my apologies to BC: even though I’ve been to British Columbia many times, I never visit museums because the province is so beautiful, I tend to spend all my time outdoors.
Here’s a bonus museum for when we’re all ready to travel to the States again: It’s a Wonderful Life Museum in Seneca Falls, New York. Still under renovation, plan to visit this wonderful little museum in the future. Read my Lessons on Life and Happiness from the museum.
Photos: above: Dave holding up a canoe at the Canadian Canoe Museum. Below: our guide at the Miner’s Museum in Glace Bay; Clare and I in front of the Canadian Potato Museum this spring; one of the incredible rughooking works of art of Confederation at Les Trois Pignons rughooking museum in Cheticamp, NS.
Our bus hit a polar bear. Someone was giving the bear CPR and my head was stuck in its jaws and no one was helping me. Seriously.
Fear. Absolute fear. How did I get myself into this situation?
Well, I signed up for it, a Level One improv class at the Tett Centre in Kingston.
I was a longtime fan of Whose Line is it Anyway so when I saw the ad for improv classes pop up on my Facebook feed I thought ‘Why not’?
I sent the payment, put all the dates on my calendar, told my wife I would be busy Tuesday nights, poured myself a tall glass of red wine and thought to myself “What have I done….?’
The class will probably be filled with quick-thinking Queen’s students… and me. I’m almost 62. I forget people’s names, I can’t think of the right word now and then, I never remember where I put my wallet and keys and the list goes on.
Now I’m going to be put in odd situations with people I don’t know, with no prep time, and have to make a 3-4 minute scene flow seamlessly by blurting what comes to mind first! “Don’t think” they tell you, the gold is what comes out first. Oh, and it helps if you get a few laughs along the way. No pressure at all.
It turns out there was no pressure.
I wasn’t the oldest in the class which for some reason made me feel good.
And there was laughter. Every class. We laughed with others and we laughed at ourselves.
Reader’s Digest had a section called Laughter is the Best Medicine. Turns out it’s true. Laughter is a wonderful thing. Studies around the world have shown laughter boosts immunity, lowers stress hormones, decreases pain, relaxes your muscles, and can help prevent heart disease. Those are just the physical benefits. Mentally, laughter eases anxiety, tension and stress, and can improve your mood. It checked a lot of boxes for me.
Improv was a great way for me to challenge myself, but more importantly, a great way to laugh at myself and at others sweating it out on stage!
For two hours a week I gave no thought to divisive politics, inflation, how to survive retirement, or the long list of social issues we hear about on our daily news feeds. I just laughed. I highly recommend it.
I hope that polar bear is doing okay.
Jon Begg is a communications specialist, husband, father, grandfather, and fisherman who’s been telling jokes and laughing all his life.
If you’re looking for a fun and interesting way to spend a morning, go to an auction.
Yesterday, Dave and I headed out under grey cold rainy skies to an estate auction on Maple Road, just north of Odessa. It was an antique and collectibles auction of a local farmer featuring horse gear and memorabilia, but with lots of interesting household antiques, prints, books, and tools.
The auction company was Snider and Sons, and what made this auction particularly interesting is it was their father who had passed away, so the sons who were the auctioneers had first-hand knowledge and commentary on many of the items.
Some people might balk at bidding on the cherished possessions of a family member who has passed, but I’ve always taken the opposite view, taking comfort in knowing these precious antiques and treasures will be loved and become a part of a new family’s home for generations to come.
There’s always so much to see at an auction, starting with the treasures themselves. There were antique baskets, cowboy and bowler hats, snowshoes, rugs, horse bits, drill bits and wrench sets, stamps, and books under the main tent, and more garden and farm tools on three wagons out in the yard.
I had my eye on a cast iron rabbit, a unique wood carving of an Indigenous chief and eagles, some signs, including a No Fishing sign I wanted for the lake where our geothermal coils are in the water, and some antique oil lamps.
I was bidding on this unique wood carving but it ended up going for more than I was willing to pay
Sometimes there are items that nobody knows what they are; sometimes there are items you haven’t seen in years, like the stoneware bed warmers called “pigs” that sold yesterday for $10.
These stoneware pigs were used as bed warmers in olden days
Then there’s the people. You get “all kinds” at an auction, from serious collectors, to local farmers, and casual bidders like me who just love a good auction and turn up for fun. There was one couple who bid only on tire-shaped ashtrays and cigarette lighters (they had a whole box of them by the end of the auction), a younger woman and older fellow who got into a bidding war whenever antique horse bits were on the auction block, and a guy who wouldn’t bid on anything over $10.
The fun thing about an auction, unless you’re an expert or a collector, is you never know what price things will go for. Some box lots can go as low as $1, but then a pair of wrenches (these ones were rare Comet and Oxo wrenches) went for $75. I was surprised when two small sleeves of stamps went for $370.
There is a noticeable excitement in the air when rare or big ticket items come up for bid. At yesterday’s auction, the biggest items were Black Horse Ale collectible statues that went for $1,500 and a custom display of antique horse rosettes or pins that went for $3,100. The crowd applauded after the bidding ended.
If you’re new to the auction game, there are some things you should know. First, not all auctions are alike. The ones we like best are estate auctions, where you can get a glimpse into the person’s life and the contents are from one home (some auction houses will combine lots).
Always get a bidding number even if you’re not sure you want to buy anything. You don’t want to be unprepared if something comes up you want to bid on.
A good auctioneer will signal what an item is worth and what they hope to get in their opening chant. The first amount they say is what it’s worth, the next amount is closer to what they are hoping to get, then they’ll come down to where people want to start bidding. So they may say, “$100, do I hear $100, $50, do I have $50, $25…” and maybe starting as low as $10, but if the auctioneer started at $100 and dropped it to $50, there’s a good chance the item will go for between $50-$100.
In the end, I only walked away with my no fishing sign, $10 well spent for a morning’s worth of entertainment.
This week’s #HappyAct is to go to an auction, but hurry, before it’s going once, going twice, sold!
As a big fan and regular attendee of the Kingston Canadian Film Festival, I can attest that Canadian film is alive and well. I also believe now, more than ever, we must support Canadian arts and films.
There are local events happening across the country and several streaming services are highlighting Canadian films. You can find a list of local screenings near you at canfilmday.ca.
Here are ten great Canadian films to check out this week:
The Queen of My Dreams: a young Queer Pakistani-Canadian woman returns to Pakistan for her father’s funeral, learning about her mother’s past in this romantic comedy/drama. My favourite film from last year’s KCCF screenings. Now streaming on Crave, Amazon Prime and Apple TV+
The Swearing Jar: I loved this sweet romantic comedy about a high school music teacher who hires a guitar player to play at her husband’s birthday party. Watch on Prime Video.
Scarborough: Catherine Hernandez’s poignant novel is brought to life in this captivating film about children growing up in poverty in Scarborough. Now streaming on Paramount Plus.
Blackberry: Jay Baruchel portrays CEO Mike Lazaridis in this fascinating tale of the rise and fall of one of the greatest Canadian success stories. Available on CBC Gem, Prime Video and Crave.
Shepherds: this year’s opening night feature at the Kingston Canadian Film Festival is a stirring story of a Quebec man who decides to leave big city life behind to become a shepherd in France. Now streaming on Crave.
One Week: this 2008 film starring Joshua Jackson follows Ben Tyler who takes a road trip across Canada after being diagnosed with cancer and scored Jackson the Best Actor nod at the 2010 Genie awards. Streaming on Amazon Prime Video or Paramount Plus.
Peace by Chocolate: inspired by a true story of a Syrian refugee in Nova Scotia who is torn between his dream of becoming a doctor and his love for making chocolate. Watch free on Plex.
Just Friends: while technically not a Canadian film (it was an international production between Canada, US and Germany), this hilarious comedy featuring Ryan Reynolds and Anna Faris is still one of my favourites and will appeal to every Canadian who loves pond hockey, wintry weather and Christmas. Streaming on Amazon Prime Video.
You are Here: The Come From Away Story: this heartwarming documentary returns to Gander 20 years after this small Newfie town became a safe haven for travellers stranded in the aftermath of 911. The friendships forged will restore your faith in US/Canadian relations.
Meatballs: still a Canadian classic, this 1979 film about a bunch of goofy camp counsellors starring Bill Murray will leave you in stitches and chanting, “Spaz, spaz, spaz…”. Watch free on CTV with ads.
This week’s #HappyAct is to support Canadian film. Happy viewing!
It’s been a rough couple of weeks in our household. We were out of power off and on for five days during the “Ice Storm of 2025”, the Montreal Canadiens lost a few critical games in their bid for a wild card spot in the Stanley Cup playoffs, and I was struggling with some of my writing projects.
A bit of backstory. I’ve been taking a writing course through the Seniors Association of Kingston on refining and editing your work. The instructor brought in a bunch of “how to” books and I borrowed one called “The Essential Guide to Writing a Novel” by James Thayer. It had some great insights and tips, but I discovered to my horror that I’ve made every rookie mistake a wannabe author makes when writing their first novel and that publishers look for before tossing the manuscript in the “no” pile.
As I tried to apply the learnings from the book—include backstory, but not too much or too soon; describe your characters, don’t describe your characters, let the dialogue show who they are–I became more and more confused and started second guessing everything I wrote. Every word I put down on the page sounded like crap and I found it very humbling and demoralizing.
I put my laptop away and turned on the TV. It was April 1st, April Fool’s Day and the Montreal Canadiens were playing the Florida Panthers one of the best teams in the league. The Canadiens were down 2-1 and Dave, whose nickname in our household is “Worst Habs Fan Ever” was about to say, “Turn it off, I can’t watch them lose again” when Nick Suzuki tied it with nine seconds left in the third period, sending the game into overtime. 29 seconds into overtime, Suzuki scored again with a class wraparound play to win the game 3-2.
Now I’ve been a hockey fan all my life and I never, EVER give up on my team until the buzzer goes (and just for the record, I cheer for the Leafs, Habs and Sens or any one of the Canadian teams once the playoffs start). I have always believed “it’s not over until the fat lady sings*”. The Canadiens proved that night you just need to have faith.
Later that week, I was back on the couch watching an interview on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon with Elton John and Brandi Carlisle who have just released a new album called Who Believes in Angels. They went into the recording studio without a single song written in advance with the goal of writing the entire album in 20 days. The first few days of recording were a disaster and Elton said he experienced moments of serious self-doubt. When Fallon expressed surprise that someone like him Elton John, could experience self-doubt, Elton replied, “You’re not a creative artist if you don’t doubt yourself”.
So I’ve decided I am going to embrace my self-doubt about my writing and see it as part of the creative process. I will continue to have faith in myself and keep writing.
This week’s #HappyAct is to never lose faith: in your team, in others, and most importantly, in yourself.
Ed note: The famous idiom, “It ain’t over until the fat lady sings” can be traced back to different sources, including when the lead soprano would sing in operas, but became a common saying in sports and hockey when Kate Smith would sing God Bless America at Philidelphia Flyers games in the 1970s. Go Habs/Leafs/Sens go!
Last week, I was lucky enough to attend a Choir Choir Choir performance at the Grand Theatre in Kingston, featuring the songbook of Queen and Freddie Mercury.
In case you are unfamiliar with Choir, Choir, Choir, it’s a performance where a duo called Daveed and Nobu sing and play guitar and conduct the audience in harmonies of their favourite songs. At a triple C performance, the audience is the star.
Choir Choir Choir is uniquely Canadian. It started in Toronto 14 years ago as a weekly drop-in for people who were looking for an outlet to sing. Since then, it has grown to be a popular mainstage show, the duo having performed at Carnegie Hall, Radio City Music Hall, and Massey Hall. They describe the experience as equal parts singing, comedy, and community building. Their motto is “Never stop singing”.
It was surprising to see how quickly the audience came out of their shell. As adults, we tend to be self-conscious when we sing, especially if we aren’t blessed with a great voice, but the sheer joy of the music and the experience quickly drowned out our fears and feelings of self-consciousness, and soon everyone was singing in full voice.
It is a powerful thing to hear voices raised in song, singing with passion and commitment. When the crowd sang the Canadian national anthem at the recent Four Nations Cup hockey tournament in Montreal, it was an incredibly moving and galvanizing moment for Canadians. I wish I had been there to experience it.
For “You’re My Best Friend”, they asked the audience to videochat a bestie during the song. My friend Leslie was laughing as I sang to her “been with you such a long time, you’re my sunshine”…
When it came time for the encore, Bohemian Rhapsody, Daveed and Nobu invited people to join them on stage to sing and dance along.
A few interesting facts about Bohemian Rhapsody, arguably the best rock song of all time. When it was first released in 1975, it immediately went to #1 on the charts in almost every country in the world, except the US where it climbed only to #9. The song found a whole new generation of fans and hit #1 on the charts again in 1992 when Canadian Mike Meyers’ Wayne’s World was released.
As we sang Scaramouche, scaramouche can you do the fandango, we were all on our feet, singing at the top of our lungs. Watch the video below to see the crowd erupt on stage during the guitar solo.
I walked out of the theatre feeling joyous and uplifted. People were smiling, laughing, singing and humming, with one lady singing Don’t Stop Believing loudly in a vestibule. Oh, what a night.
This week’s #HappyAct is to never stop singing. Let’s take a pledge going forward to all sing our National Anthem out loud at events instead of standing in respectful silence.
Happy Act 