When Christmas lands on a Friday, that means there’s a long lead-up to it. Schools let off their students the Friday before, and it means four whole shopping days of Christmas where you’re wondering what to do with the kids. It pays off at the other end, of course. Once New Year’s Day is through, we just have a weekend to go before we send the kids back to school, but it’s different to have a long ease-down after New Year’s than a long build-up to Christmas. In the former case, there’s none of the expectations to cope with. Your work is done. Take this extra time to enjoy winter, before getting back to the real world.
However, thanks to the help of grandparents, we’ve put the kids to work with some of the Christmas preparations. We even enjoyed a brief blast of snow over the weekend. And earlier today, I took the kids into Toronto for a visit to the Ripley Aquarium, which remains a popular (though expensive) excursion. The place is still making money hands over fist. Though it wasn’t nearly as crowded as it was on the previous school days I’d visited on, there were decent sized crowds, and the shark tank remains as popular as ever.
The drive to and from Toronto wasn’t too bad, either. Some bad traffic, but leaving Toronto during rush hour wasn’t as harrowing as you’d expect. I was able to take the girls on a drive-past of all of my schools and my childhood home in downtown Toronto, and they were impressed. And the burger meal at Five Guys Burger and Fries is a good way to cap off a Daddy-Daughters day.
Tomorrow, the Christmas celebrations begin in earnest with a four o’clock mass and early presents, and then there’s a big get-together on the day itself.
