Leap Day CN Tower Memories

Leap Day 2024 was more memorable than I could have imagined. In a previous post, I wrote I wanted to experience my second memorable Leap Day after only having memories of Leap Day 2020. You can read it here.

I made plans to celebrate with a CN Tower theme, since I wouldn't be travelling like I did on Leap Day 2020. Sometimes, we can make plans for something special that doesn't work out like we hoped.

I booked dinner at the Writers Room Bar at the Park Hyatt Hotel which completely exceeded my expectations. I had a seat with a view of the CN Tower and the sunset. The food and the service were exceptional. A woman sitting a couple of tables from us shared a photo she took of me taking a photo of my husband with the CN Tower in the background.

It surprised me that the patio doors were open in the winter so we could go outside and take better photos.

I especially love this Toronto Skyline photo with the beautiful sunset coloured clouds.

This was a perfect prelude to our evening painting of the Toronto skyline at Pinot's Palette. I didn't think I'd be able to paint anything that resembled the Toronto skyline, but the instructor was amazing in walking us through and showing each step. We were in a roomful of beautiful Toronto skylines. Every painting I saw looked beautiful, whether a beginner or an experienced artist made it.

Earlier in the day, I completed the CN Tower gingerbread "house" that I had purchased at Christmas time and had frozen when we didn't do it during the holidays. Unfortunately, I should have trimmed two of the cookies for the base of the tower since one was shorter, but I only thought of it once I saw the challenge of putting it together. It ended up a little lopsided, but I still enjoyed doing it. I took a time-lapse of the process. I started by melting sugar to make the glue that would hold things together.

A few days before Leap Day, I started a Toronto Skyline 4D puzzle. I hoped to complete it by Leap Day, but it took a lot longer than I expected. 

This is a time-lapse of the puzzle making up to Toronto in 1989. 

I paused at this point to enjoy seeing Toronto as it was when we first moved here. I especially loved adding the condo building we lived in then. It's all by itself on The Esplanade near Front and Yonge. 

It no longer has the view it did and is now surrounded by many buildings I still need to add to the puzzle. I'll continue the puzzle in the next few weeks to complete it by April 16 or 4/16 to reflect Toronto's original area code (416). I'll also finish the photo book I started that was focusing on the CN Tower, but recognizing that the view from the CN Tower is Toronto, so it will be a perfect time to finish the album.

I love looking at the changes over the years which goes along with the 4D puzzle of placing the buildings in chronological order. I like looking at the same view from different times. This photo on the left is the building I lived in when I first moved here. It's one of my favourite buildings in Toronto being flat-ironed shape. I could see our unit window from the CN Tower when we took this photo in 2005. I can't imagine living there now; having lost the view of the CN Tower and Lake Ontario.

Other comparisons make for happier memories, like seeing a parking lot in the 1970s become the Roy Thompson Hall in later photos. It's interesting to see how much Toronto has changed in the last few decades, especially in comparison with the CN Tower and its views. My photo book will include photos I have taken from 1978 to Leap Day 2024 adding to my Leap Day memories.

If you read my original post about planning a special Leap Day, I hope I inspired you to experience a memorable Leap Day. If you're reading this at another time, I hope I inspire you to make what could be an ordinary day, like April 16th, into one that is a little more extraordinary.

Leap Day Memories

Leap day was just an extra day until coincidentally I travelled to Hawaii on Leap Day 2020. Now I want to celebrate every Leap Day! I’m not travelling this time. Since I LOVE the CN Tower, I am having a CN Tower theme celebration to better remember Leap Day 2024. 

Do you have memories from past Leap Days? Special days give us the opportunity to make memories. TimeHop is a phone app that shows you past photos and social media posts from today's date. I opened my TimeHop app on February 29th 2020 and had no memories. No photos and no social media posts. I had never made a point of doing something or capturing something on Leap Day before (that I can remember).

The title on my calendar page in 2020 gave me the idea to make Leap Day amazing! I wrote a blog post in 2020 that you can read by clicking here.

Celebrating a day makes it more memorable. We want to involve all our senses and add uniqueness to better remember the moments. I also ensured that I captured unique moments by taking photos of ways I could recreate later. Something as simple, yet unusual, were the mini gold sparkling wine bottles we had on the plane. I recently saw these at LCBO and bought some to celebrate this year.

When we arrived at the resort, instead of my regular glass of wine, I had my first ever Mai Tai on the beach. I think of Leap Day whenever I hear or think of Mai Tais.

This year, I'll be staying in Toronto for Leap Day but I am planning on making it a memorable day. I imagine being a tourist coming to Toronto. What would be on my list of things to do if I didn't live here?

Luckily or gratefully, I have done most of the big tourist attractions that I'm interested in. I went up the CN Tower as recently as last summer and have had meals in the revolving restaurant on a few special occasions. Going again would not make Leap Day memorable. I wanted to find something I hadn't done before.

I searched for Hawaiian restaurants in Toronto and learned that there's a poke place just down the road from me. I had seen the word Poke in a couple of places and figured that they were restaurants who also served Poke, but this one is actually a Hawaiian Poke restaurant. My husband had a few pokes while in Hawaii but it's not really my favourite, so I kept searching. I found a Tiki bar that could be fun to have a drink at. 

But then I wondered if I wanted to make Leap Day have a Hawaiian theme or if I wanted to do something different. I celebrate Lei Day on May 1st with a Hawaiian theme. Wouldn't going to a Tiki Bar be more fun when it's hot? I let go of recreating Leap Day Hawaiian memories but made a mental note to go to the Tiki Bar this summer.

I love a view so I researched restaurants and bars that have a view of the CN Tower. Being up the CN Tower is amazing, but you don't actually get to see the Tower; except for its shadow. My husband took this incredible photo in 2019.

I have been to a few places with a view of the CN Tower, but I wanted to go somewhere different. I booked a table for a before-dinner drink (or early dinner) at The Writers Room Bar at the Park Hyatt (Avenue Road and Bloor) just in time for the sunset (hopefully we end up with a table with a view of the CN Tower and the sunset). I am writing a book, so I liked the writing theme.

"Writers Room is a reimagined interpretation of the revered rooftop bar's 50 years storied past, paying homage to the history of literary legends who shared moments in the space."

I wish my palette wasn't so picky or I'd order a drink from the "curated selection of stirred cocktails, inspired by renowned Canadian literary icons." We'll see if I am adventurous like I was in Hawaii when I ordered a Mai Tai (not as adventurous as the cocktails at The Writers Room Bar); or settle for a glass of wine.

I kept searching for other unusual things to do in Toronto and saw a few ideas, but nothing that seemed special enough. I then googled "bucket list" Toronto and came across an Instagram account called Toronto Bucket List (@torbucketlist).

They had a recent post with 8 Date Ideas for Valentine's Day that included "Paint & Sip at Pinot's Palette". Intrigued, I went to their website and saw the class they offered that night (a couple of days after Valentine's Day) was "Monet's Lily Pond - Date Night". I LOVE Monet and I LOVE hearts! 

It was perfect for me, but it was the last night they were offering it. I scrolled down through their schedule. In a few days, there would be a Monet bridge class and a tropical one (great if I hadn't seen the Monet heart). As I continued to scroll, I thought, we'll see what the Leap Day class is, and whether it's meant to be.

I couldn't believe that it was this:

I LOVE the CN Tower AND sunsets!! How serendipitously perfect!! I had tears in my eyes realizing I had a reservation at a place with a CN Tower view and the sunset! The timing would be tight (I changed the restaurant reservation for earlier) but will still need to rush over to the painting place after the sunset.

I took an acrylic painting course once. We learned very basic paintings like this one I painted:

I don't know if I could paint the CN Tower scene well enough, but it will be a memorable way to celebrate Leap Day. When I wrote a list of dreams in 1996, I wrote "to write a song I like". Perhaps I will paint the Toronto Skyline in a way that I like by the next Leap Day (no pressure for this Leap Day). I'll keep trying until I can take it out to enjoy on February 29, 2028.

This gives me another idea for Leap Day. At Christmas, I bought a CN Tower-themed gingerbread house.

It ended up not working out for us to make it, so I put it in the freezer. How perfect, that I could make a CN Tower gingerbread house and then go (try to) paint the CN Tower at night!!

I may be ridiculously overdoing it, but I also have a CN Tower 4-D puzzle I haven't completed.

This is sounding like I will celebrate Leap WEEK...😂. I can't complete this puzzle in one day, so will start it and hope to complete it by Leap Day.

The 4th dimension of a 4D puzzle is time. The puzzle includes a time poster that will lead me through time as I rebuild Toronto’s skyline history. I have been up the CN Tower many times over its 48 years. The first time being for a Grade 7 school trip. When I first moved to Toronto, I lived on The Esplanade and would see the CN Tower when I walked to Union Station every work day. I wish I carried a camera with me in those days. I love to take a photo of the CN Tower, especially when I see it from a different view.

I'm also happy to complete projects I had plans to do "someday". Someday is now. I love connecting moments from the past while creating new memories to make it more meaningful.

I have wanted to make a CN Tower photo album for years. I am going to take this celebration as the nudge I need to get it done. The Toronto skyline has changed so much in the last few decades. It will be interesting to revive those memories by looking back at my photos while making the puzzle. 

How do we do a theme album or project that doesn't have an end date? Create an artificial deadline, so I will make a CN Tower album that will end with the photos I take on Leap Day 2024.

Love Memories

It's one week until Valentine's Day. Although sometimes I let celebratory days come and go without celebrating; I find I'm happiest when I make an ordinary day a little more extraordinary.

Sometimes, we're busy with life and then, at the last minute, we settle for an okay celebration. We can make Valentine's Day or a love anniversary more memorable with a little planning. We can also look at Valentine's Day, which may not be as important to us, as a stepping stone towards a bigger anniversary celebration.

I'd like to share some ideas on how to use our memories for more meaningful celebrations. We can then capture memories we make in the present that we'll enjoy in the future. 

Photos

Many of us feel overwhelmed by our photo collection. A great way to take a small bite out of the overwhelming project of organizing our photos is to focus on a theme when these opportunities to celebrate come up. We can use these special days as nudges to take a small step forward in preserving our memories.

Although I love looking back at memories; our happiness occurs in the present, so we want to focus on memories that enhance our present. We can start by looking back at past celebrations. 

• What have we loved in the past and may want to recreate? 
• What are our favourite activities and foods? 
• What do we care the most about? 

We have tools to help make looking back easier. We can look at 

• our photos from past Valentine's Days
• calendars (do we have restaurant reservations or travel plans?)
• old bills or budgets (what stores or places did we spend in February?)

On an iPhone (and possibly other phones), if you search Valentine and then scroll down, past categories like "Photos", "Text Found in Photos", "Moments" or "Albums"; it shows "Dates". By clicking on "Valentine's Day", we can see photos taken on February 14th over the years.

When looking at these photos, we can put hearts or stars to rate our favourites or copy our favourites into a specialized folder or album.

On Valentine's Day, we can see memories using the TimeHop app that shows all photos and social media posts from that day when we link it to Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.

To see Facebook posts at any time, we can search our profile for keywords like Valentine; or by date (year and month), but this is more time consuming that doing it on Valentine's Day using the TimeHop app. I used to take screen captures of my favourite TimeHop memories so that they would be in my photos to look at any time.

Celebrations

When looking back at past celebrations:

• Which ones make you feel the happiest? 
• Do you prefer celebrations out or at home? 
• Do you prefer to splurge or spend mindfully?

We can recreate experiences or "recycle" them by returning to a restaurant or place we've been; or we can upcycle by adding something more extravagant or meaningful. Perhaps when we were younger, we didn't have the money for the full experience but now we could do it properly. For example, we used to go to fancy restaurants for a cheaper lunch rather than dinner or we would find a local place or cook foods from a place we've travelled to. Perhaps we've rushed a celebration in the past that we can upcycle by making it more meaningful with more thought and planning.

Cards

I love using photos to make greeting cards. Sometimes I print them and give paper copies and other times, I email or text a digital copy. I enjoy the creativity in creating my own cards, but the more important bonus is that I am spending time with my memories to find the photo(s) I want to use. By scrolling or searching through my photos, I am reminded of the stories and memories which helps me to remember. 

I love the BeCasso app that offers artistic filters to edit photos to make them look like a watercolour, a cartoon, pencil drawing or in the style of famous artists. I use the edited photos to make cards. I also use Creative Memories digital paper and decorations to create digital and printed cards using Pages or Canva. 

Food

Food and decorations are also important to me. I enjoy making heart-shaped cookies, cakes and pizzas. I love using love-themed dishes, mugs and glasses on Valentine's Day. It helps that I looove hearts. 

I store my heart-themed and past Valentine's cards (inside a box decorated with hearts) in a storage box that I open in February. When I open it, I'm surprised and excited to see my special items again and it reminds me of how happy I am when I celebrate! I love staying in on Valentine's Day to enjoy my memorabilia, but it's also special to go out.

We were on a family holiday one year and we enjoyed a special meal at the French restaurant of the resort.

We've been lucky to have had a few amazing trips that included Valentine's Day; looking back at these memories brings me happiness and hope that we'll plan future holidays in mid-February.

My husband and I have surprisingly, also been apart quite a few times on Valentine's Day. I would joke that it's Valentine's Day every day; so it's not a problem if we're not together celebrating on the actual day. Even when he's away, I enjoy celebrating with heart-shaped ravioli with lobster, a heart napkin and heart confetti. 

Many specialty grocery stores sell heart-shaped ravioli in February and this is a favourite tradition for me. The local shop in midtown Toronto I used to get it closed a few years ago. Last year, I bought some at Continental Noodles on Valentine's Day (feeling very lucky they still had stock). I searched early this year to compare and found some at Pusateri's, Summerhill Market and Pascale's Gourmet. 

I normally try to find special wine, whether it's a quality one that we love or finding a heart on a label or the word love that makes me purchase it for the label appreciation.

Most of these are not available now, but sometimes it's the search and then the find that is exciting; rather than just buying one I've had before. Sometimes, I see one in the summer or fall that I save for Valentine's Day. I haven't found my Valentine wine for this year yet. I'm looking forward to the search and if I don't find one, we have some special wines with meaningful stories we've been saving for a special occasion.

Music & Entertainment

Music is a big part of my life. On Valentine's Day, I enjoy listening to a smart playlist I created in iTunes/Apple Music of songs that contain the word love or heart (it's a fast and easy although imperfect playlist that also includes breakup or irrelevant songs). 

• Send my love (to your new lover) by Adele
• Horseshoe in my glove by Embrace
• Every Day I Love You Less and Less by Kaiser Chiefs
• Pride (In the Name of Love) by U2

My playlist is almost 24 hours long so I can't listen to it all, but I put it on shuffle and see what comes up. I also have a favourite love songs playlist that is more curated than a smart playlist. It takes more time to create it, but it's a work in progress. I add to it when I hear a song I feel belongs in it.

Sometimes we enjoy watching a Valentine-themed movie like Valentine's Day, An Affair To Remember, Sleepless in Seattle or shows like A Charlie Brown Valentine. Back in the day, our favourite shows would have holiday themes. Now that seasons are on streaming services, my daughter would find these episodes to watch on Thanksgiving or Christmas. This Valentine's Day, I'll watch one of these episodes:

• Friends “The One With the Candy Hearts” (Season 1, Episode 14)
• Grey's Anatomy "All You Need Is Love" (2012)
• Downton Abbey (Season 4, Episode 1)

Check out this Wikipedia page that lists all kinds of Valentine's Day television specials to find your favourite family, drama, horror, reality or sitcom episode.

Most importantly, on Valentine's Day, I love looking back at our photos and videos; reading old Valentine's cards; baking and cooking special treats and enjoying making new memories while enjoying the older ones.

Christmas Memories

Part 6 of my 60T🖤60 Project began on November 19th and ended on December 23rd. (For more information about my 60T🖤60 project, go to my other blog My Life Is Like A Song) Seeing that end date, and knowing that sometimes, I sprint to a deadline to complete a mini-project; making Part 6 have a Christmas theme seemed the smartest thing to do. I didn't want to be focusing on a different theme the week before Christmas.

When our kids were young, I often felt rushed when Christmas came around. I procrastinate naturally, but with a family birthday in mid December, I would wait to get a tree or decorate until after we had celebrated the birthday. I had read or heard from parenting experts to ensure that a child gets to celebrate their birthday separately from the Christmas celebrations, and I accepted this advice by not letting our house become too Christmassy until after the birthday. 

I have to admit that in mid-November this year, I was not feeling cheerful or excited about Christmas coming. I was already feeling stressed, overwhelmed and not in a celebratory mood. 

Focusing my project on Christmas would force me to look at the positives and help to make Christmas more festive. Coincidentally, on the day that my project started, I attended a "Spill The Tea" event by Tea With Tracie where Brenda Jasmin was speaking about infusing more joy and less stress during the holidays. One of the activities was for us to determine what made us happy; our "Ho Ho Ho list" and what drained us or things we wanted to let go of; our "Ho Ho Heck No" list. It was perfect timing to start Part 6 of my 60T🖤60 Project. I wanted to focus on what I loved the most and let go of what I didn't.

Photos

My first activity was to gather past Christmas memories and create a Christmas-themed photobook. Looking back at happy times lifted my mood. I didn't complete it in time to order for Blurb's Black Friday sale so I decided to show it digitally to my family at Christmas before completing it, in case they had extra photos or memories they wanted to share to improve it. (That was the plan but it dien't work out the way I hoped).

Looking back at all our Christmas cards gave me the idea to display them on our "living frame". A few years ago, my husband took an old frame, removed the broken glass, and added wire with clips to hold photos. We rotate photos depending on seasons or celebrations. Normally at Christmas, we add photos taken at Christmas time, but I liked focusing on our Christmas cards or photos we sent with Christmas cards when I didn't order actual photo cards.

Last year I ordered snowball garlands. I thought the balls would be bigger than they ended up being when I received them. I was happy that one of them fit perfectly around our living frame to make it more festive.

Christmas Card

I wasn't sure whether to send Christmas cards this year, especially as more and more people are choosing to end the tradition. We didn't have a recent family photo; and we lost our dog this year. 

Working on my Christmas photobook and seeing our past Christmas cards, gave me the idea to have Christmas memories as a theme for the card. We had festive family photos over the years that we had never shared because they were taken at Christmas or New Year's; when our Christmas cards would have already been sent. I included a photo with our dog; a photo with the kids' partners. I included the new card in the living frame (top middle).  I wanted to let people know the news about our dog, so added the sad news in a fun rhyme.

Getting together and telling stories
Looking back at Christmas memories
Excited as we anticipate making more
Before we reach 2024

(couple of more private lines)
This year was sad saying goodbye to our pup
The house is sadly quieter but needs less cleanup

Festive decorating is coming along
We’ll enjoy our favourite Christmas movie or song
A dusting of snow sets the mood
Menus will mix classics with new found food

May your Christmas be spent with friends and family
On New Year’s Eve, pop the Bublé or bubbly
While making a wish upon a star
“Joy for our loved ones near and far”

Music

I love Christmas music and especially love new Christmas songs over traditional ones. I used to have CDs of our favourite Christmas songs, but with technology changes, when we switched from iTunes to Apple Music, I lost those playlists. This project encouraged me to search and add old and new Christmas songs in a playlist (almost 500 songs!) in order to create a top 20 favourite songs playlist.

I really enjoyed listening to my favourite songs during the holiday season. My in-laws arrived at Christmas with a CD we made for them in the late 1990's or early 2000's.

I found it interesting how different this list was to my current one.

Every year, I love playing Christmas songs on the piano. This year was extra fun trying to learn songs on the ukulele. I initially thought I'd learn the Hawaiian Song Mele Kalikimaka; but it ended up being too difficult for me, so I found a couple of easier ones to learn.

Last year I tried to compose a Christmas melody. I wondered what made a melody sound Christmassy if it didn't have Christmas lyrics. I found some chord progressions that are popular in Christmas songs but didn't compose anything I liked. I enjoyed trying again this year, but still no success. One of these years, I'll compose a Christmas melody I will love. I'm adding that to my wishlist like I did in 1996 when I added "to write a song I like" on my list of dreams.

Movies

Last year, our daughter wrote a list of movies and shows to watch and put it on the fridge. I stored it with the Christmas decorations to continue the tradition. With a little research, I created a new list that we kept on the fridge this eyar. This helped in the decision-making process. We didn't need to keep searching streaming apps to figure out what to watch since I already did that to compile the list. When we watched one, we'd colour the bullet. I stored the list with the decorations again this year to be reminded to continue to complete watching it; or to re-print an updated list.

Gifts

Shopping for me is often stressful because I don't like buying something for the sake of buying something, but this year, I found meaningful gifts and had lots of help from my daughter that made me happy with the gifts I was giving.

Sometimes I also feel that if we are feeling happier, we are open to seeing clues for what we are looking for. In contrast, if we are feeling negative, clues pass us by without us noticing. I like to think that my improved mentality helped for me to find great ideas for gifts.

For many years, our kids decorated a gingerbread house during the holidays. 

I serendipitously found a gingerbread house that included the CN Tower, Rogers Centre, and downtown Toronto. I thought it would be a fun Christmas time activity for us to build it.

Food

While making the photobook, seeing photos of treats and foods we love at Christmas time helped me plan better and get the ingredients I needed early. I made favourites like tourtière (French Canadian meatpie) and sweetheart cookies (jam thumbprint cookies sometimes with marshmallows). 

Instead of my traditional shortbread recipe, I tried a new sugar cookie recipe cut in hearts and snowflakes  that turned out great (forgot to take a photo). A newer tradition is to make scones with cream. This year, our daughter found a bakery that sold homemade scones and traditional British clotted cream with homemade butter.

My French-Canadian heritage, mixed with my husband's British heritage, adds up to delicious treats.

When I first spent Christmas with my husband's family, they introduced me to a British tradition called Christmas crackers. Two people hold a cracker until it pops to reveal a paper crown/hat, a toy and a joke. When I popped mine, I felt a little disappointed at first by the yellow crown (instead of my favorite purple), but I was thrilled to find a heart keychain, just like the one I got last year. What a coincidence! (I love hearts in case you haven't been a regular reader of my blog)

Looking back at photos reminded me how much I love seeing Christmas lights around the city. I had hoped to visit the Eaton Centre, Nathan Phillips Square, the Distillery District or Inglewood "Kringlewood" Drive lined with giant inflatable Santas; like we had in the past or the new Illumi light festival in Mississauga, but I ended up not in the mood with the rainy weather. 

Even if I focused on Christmas Memories to help make Christmas more festive and meaningful, plans don't always go as we hope. With COVID visiting our family, and us not being all together, the gingerbread pieces and royal icing ended up in the freezer. My Christmas-themed photobook was saved for next year.

It's a good reminder that life is filled with ups and downs. Everything isn't always perfect, but we can make the best of what is presented to us.

This reminds me of a great quote: "Things turn out best for those who make the best of the way things turn out." 

Getting Ready for Thanksgiving

I want to thank you

for giving me the best day of my life

Oh just to be with you

is having the best day of my life

(Thank You by Dido)

Next weekend is Thanksgiving in Canada. It will be a Thanksgiving like we have never experienced before. So how can we celebrate and be thankful when we can't all get together? 

I think that celebrating Thanksgiving is still important and it can still be wonderful in a different way even if we can only be with our loved ones with a socially distant visit, phone call or video call. 

Are you normally so busy preparing, travelling, hosting or visiting for Thanksgiving that you often don't get to truly enjoy the weekend? Of course we love being with our loved ones but maybe we can love or at least accept the COVID gift of time and space. 

Be Grateful

Thanksgiving is a time to be grateful so hopefully you take a moment to reflect on what you are thankful for. My friend Brenda is offering a free 10-day gratitude experience starting on Monday October 5th. Click here to sign-up for her daily emails or join her private Facebook group.

Eat

We can try a new recipe or prepare a more time-consuming meal that we may not make when hosting others. Here are some ideas from Canadian Living to try. Even if there isn't enough people for a whole turkey, I have purchased turkey breast, drumsticks and thighs separately in the past. It's a great way to enjoy turkey for two or four. A rotisserie chicken is also a great option. We can make the celebration extra special by setting a beautiful table and using our most special china, silverware and crystal. 

We can support our favourite restaurants by visiting their patio or ordering takeout. While working on this post, I started getting ads for catered meals. That's another great idea if we don't want to cook.

Decorate

We can celebrate by purchasing new fall decorations and taking the time to decorate our table, house, front porch or deck. I've just added pumpkins to my next pick-up grocery order to ensure I don't forget. This could also be a good time to start thinking about Halloween decorations.

Reminisce

We can take the time to reflect on past Thanksgiving celebrations and getaways. With the extra time available, we can go through past October photos and videos to prepare a slideshow to enjoy. While going through the photos, be productive by deleting bad photos and duplicates. If you're using a photo program that allows it, add keywords or descriptions for future reference. We can also enjoy sharing the stories with our loved ones.

Music

A Thanksgiving playlist is something fun to do, whether they are songs that are about giving thanks or just songs that you're thankful for. Creating and listening to a playlist you love can add enjoyment to your weekend.

Movies/TV

Another entertainment idea is to watch movies or television episodes set around Thanksgiving. Here's a wikipedia page with a list of movies and another list of Thanksgiving-themed episodes from television shows. Choose your favourite and hopefully you can find the episode or movie on a streaming or TV service you have. 

Tourist in Your City

The extra time we'll have gives us a great opportunity to enjoy our city and parks. We can take in a sunrise or sunset, enjoy the fall colours or go for a hike. We can visit a tourist site that is open or visit a farm. Here's a list of farms in the Greater Toronto Area. Make sure to check to ensure it's open before driving out to one. We can get more ideas by googling Thanksgiving events in our area.

Fall Colours

The To Do Ontario website has a great fall colour report. Click here to go to their website and find out where and when to see the fall colours. The website also has great road trip and drive ideas.

This map shows the peak timing of colours. Click here to go to the website for updates and to use the interactive map for your area. If you're not in Ontario, hopefully you can find a similar website by googling "fall colour report" for your area.

Even if you're "not in the mood" and more like Meredith in Grey's Anatomy:

"Gratitude, appreciation, giving thanks - no matter what words you use, it all means the same thing. Happy. We're supposed to be happy, grateful for friends, family. Happy to just be alive. Whether we like it or not."  

"Maybe we're not supposed to be happy. Maybe gratitude has nothing to do with joy. Maybe being grateful is recognizing what you have for what it is. Admiring the struggle it takes simply to be human."

"Maybe we're thankful for the familiar things we know. And maybe we're thankful for the things we'll never know. At the end of the day, the fact that we have the courage to still be standing is reason enough to celebrate. "

(Grey's Anatomy Season 2; Episode 9 - Thanks for the Memories)

Perhaps in 2020, we can add a twist by also being thankful for what we don't have and can't do that we don't want.