Listicles: Traditions We Didn't Do

I wear a wedding band, but we didn't bother with the engagement ring.

Hello again! It's that time of the week when I post a list of ten things, otherwise known as Listicles. This week's topic is traditions. As usual, I thought I'd turn it on its head & write about ten traditions we don't follow. Here goes:

1. Engagement ring. We just skipped this part--it's not a very old tradition & only really started to prop up the diamond industry. We invested the money in real estate instead.
2. White wedding dress. I did wear a skirt, but since our wedding was at the top of a mountain we hiked up, it was a blue quick-dry fabric running skirt from MEC. 
3. Wedding then reception. We got married, then had our honeymoon & when we came back we had a party.
4. Naming our son after a man in the family. We gave him a first & middle name we liked. Our daughter does have her paternal grandmother's name as her middle one, though.
5. Christenings. Not being religious at all, we never bothered with these.
6. Weihnachtsteller. This is a tradition my husband grew up with--a plate of goodies given on Christmas Eve. We follow my family's tradition of stockings instead.
7. Christmas presents. Okay, my husband & I buy for each other, as well as presents for children in the family, close friends' children, but not the adults like my sisters or our parents. It got to be just too much shopping, so we started donating money instead.
8. Burials. Everybody that I know of in my family was cremated.
9. Thanksgiving & Easter dinner. We often have a family dinner then, but not always. 
10. Summer vacations. I grew up going camping & travelling across the province to see family in the summers, but Oli & I just haven't really done much travelling in the summers due to our jobs & having the kids the last few years. I'd really like to start at least camping once or twice every summer though.

After writing this list, it seems traditions for me can be summed up by: marriage, birth, death & holidays. How about you? Can you think of any traditions that you didn't do? Are there any that you'd like to start? Let me know in the comments below!

Join in the fun yourself--enter the link to your list here (click on the Listicles button to the right), or just browse the many other entries on Northwest Mommy.

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Vancouver Christmas Market Opens Friday, November 22nd

Food, Fun & Christmas Cheer at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre Plaza


The Vancouver Christmas Market has become part of our family holiday tradition--a little taste of the German culture that Oliver wants to pass along to our kids. It features more than 45 traditional wooden huts decorated lights, all showcasing an assortment of vendors selling authentic food, gorgeous handcrafted decorations, goodies & quality gifts like wooden toys made in Germany. The wide variety of performers scheduled throughout the festival will entertain you with traditional carols, upbeat jazz performances, costumed mascots & even stilt performers.

This year there's a couple of great new deals: for the price of any paid admission, visitors will be given a FREE Season’s Pass so they can enjoy the Market time & again throughout the 33-day event. Also, come early on weekdays to beat the crowds and enjoy 2-for-1 lunch admission, making the Market the perfect place to grab a delicious midday meal with colleagues & friends. Don't leave without enjoying a cup of authentic Glühwein, & taking a spin on downtown Vancouver’s only Christmas carousel.
 The market is open 11am to 9pm, daily on the Queen Elizabeth Theatre Plaza, in downtown Vancouver. Admission is $6 for adults (13+) Monday to Friday from 4pm to 9pm & Weekends 11am to 9pm. Adults can get in for just $3 Monday to Friday 11am to 4pm. Youth (7-12) are $3 & children under 6 are FREE. Carousel Rides cost $3 per ticket; $10 for a package of 5 tickets. 

For more information visit www.vancouverchristmasmarket.com.

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How We Named Our Children: A Tale of Flowers & Thunder

Linnaeus Bastien & Brontë Sonja. I know, they're kinda weird names. My poor children will probably hate me every time they have to fill in a form too, as they've both got a double-barrelled last name that includes my all-the-vowels nine-letter french-canadian moniker plus their father's short-but-still-unspellable teutonic surname. A lot of people have asked how we decided on these particular names or what they mean, so I thought I'd write a post about it.

Linnaeus the botanist, via WikiMedia Commons

Sprout's Name Story

Linnaeus, as you might know, is an 18th century Swedish botanist, famous for developing the system we use to this day for plant & animal identification. However, we didn't start by saying, "Hey, we love this name, let's use it on our son!". I had a strong hunch I was carrying a girl when I was pregnant with Linnaeus, so I was more focussed on the list of girls' names. The 20 week ultrasound showed otherwise, so we set our girls' names list aside & started narrowing down the boys' list. 

I vetoed Oli's suggestions of Falco & Haldor. The initials with the former would be somewhat disastrous, no matter what the middle name. Imagine if we'd called him Falco Ulysses Corriveau-Kuehn? Gah! Haldor, well, it might sound all Viking & stuff, but it's also a character from World of Warcraft. Just doesn't seem an appropriate place to be taking names from.

I had ideas like Orin, Stirling, Kiefer & sorta liked Joachim (pronounced the German way, yo-AH-khum). But none of them really seemed right. By the time Linnaeus was born, we still didn't really have a solid shortlist. The week he was born, we went back to the girls' list & took our favourite--Linnaea, which is a little flower that grows in Sweden & Canada--tracing it back to the botanist who named it. Karl Von Linne, or Carolus Linnaeus, since anybody important got latinized in those days. The name Linne actually has its origins in the word Linden, as in the tree, which pleases the crunchy-earth-muffin side of me.

Linnaeus' middle name was easier to pick--I think Bastien had been on my list--it also happened to be the first name of a soccer player on the German team at the World Cup that year. After some Googling to make sure he wasn't someone we wouldn't want our son's name associated with (no criminal convictions, no sex scandals, that sort of thing) we decided on it. I preferred the French spelling of Bastien, rather than Bastian, & that was it. The short form of Sebastian, which the Baby Name Wizard posits is likely a derivation of the Latin name Sebastianus, which is derived from the Greek word "sebastos" meaning "venerable" & closely related to the Latin "augustus"--the same meaning.

Anne, Emily & Charlotte Brontë, via WikiMedia Commons

Bug's Name Story

When it came to Brontë's name, we didn't spend that much time thinking about what to call her. We kept procrastinating... & then she was born. I wasn't happy with my list of girls' names from my previous pregnancies. Things like Raven, Callisto, Cassiopeia, Ponderosa... I just didn't really like them anymore. Because we'd stolen our best girl's name for Linnaeus, we more or less had to start over. 

I really wanted to give her a name that went well with her brother's name, something with a little weight to it. I favour surnames as first names--obviously--but I like ones that are pretty rare. Brontë as a first name is actually less rare than Linnaeus--it's not that unusual in Australia. Brontë was actually on my list from a while ago, but Oliver hadn't really been in favour of it, as he thought it was too 'anglo'. I mean, yes, how much more anglo can you get than using the surname of three of England's most famous writers? 

There's another meaning to the name, which some of my friends & family have already figured out: Bronte means 'thunder' in Greek. I had the idea to name my daughter something that meant thunder in another language because of the thunderstorms when I was in labour & shortly after her birth. Thunderstorms are relatively rare here & I really love them. We almost settled on Aska, which means thunder in Swedish. However, I just couldn't commit to that name after thinking about it for a couple of weeks. The pronunciation is a bit foreign--it is supposed to sound a bit like Oscar, but without the R--so no one would ever say it right. I was also a bit wary of just picking a word out of Google Translate, in case there was some connotation that we weren't aware of, as neither of us speaks Swedish. The final strike against Aska was that her name would sound like a sentence: Ask a ___... 

I realized that Brontë fit the bill for thunder, as well as being the solid kind of adult name that she could grow into. So my next step was to try to convince Oliver, who, to be honest, is still coming around to the name. I offered a compromise: if we used Brontë as her first name, he could choose her middle name. Oliver went for this & decided on naming her after his mother, Sonja. Though I felt that it's sort of uneven in a way to name one child for a family member & only one side of the family, I think the name works. Sonja doesn't get to see her grandchildren very much, living 400km away, & I know she'll appreciate the namesake. 

There you have it: the story behind the names. Now you tell me: how did you choose your child(ren)'s names? Please leave a comment below--I'd love to hear about your process!

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PNE 2013: Seven Tips for Attending with Small Children

Well, we did it. I managed to waddle around the PNE for our annual family tradition of attending Vancity Members Day. At 38 weeks & 4 days pregnant, this was quite a feat. The weather wasn't ideal, but we had fun. There are LOTS of benches to sit on everywhere & we sort of planned things so I could sit & relax in between short bursts of walking.

There are still a few days left of the Fair--it runs until September 2, so I thought I'd share some of my ideas for how to make it a fun outing when you go with little kids &/or babies along with a few highlights of what we got up to:

1.
The PNE has got some great amenities for parents of babies & toddlers. Notably, the baby zone, a couple of portables where you can change babies, warm bottles & breastfeed on a couch  in a separate room if you're not comfortable doing it al fresco. There are extra washrooms near the kiddie rides area too which are not that busy.

2.
The helicopter rides are a good bang for your buck with really small kids (even under 36"). Just two tickets gets your kid in & a parent/caregiver gets to ride for free. Ask for the list of rides that allow parents on for free at the booths in Kids Playce where you buy tickets.

Papa & Oli 'flew' in Zippy the helicopter

Over 36": tall enough for lots of rides!

3.
There are quite a few water fountains around, so keep hydrated in the lion's jaws or bring your own bottle to refill. The cheapest cold drinks we saw were $3.75!

Drinking water from the jaws of a lion? Why not?

4.
The best deal on fried snacks is pakoras at Curry in a Hurry: $3 a plate. Everything else is quite expensive. Bonus: pakoras actually have vegetables in them!

Gotta get a photo before we polish them off...

$5 corn dog. Meh.

5.

If there are big line-ups, keep walking into the park: the third or fourth mini-donut stand won't be as busy.

I can't resist these & make a beeline for them immediately upon arrival.

6.
Cloudy/showery days are much less busy if you don't mind getting slightly damp. Putting the kids in muddy buddies & gumboots mean no wet pants from benches/rides or puddles.

He might have had more fun in the puddles than one ride he tried.

7.
Check the live show schedule at beginning of your visit, or better yet online before going--we saw a farrier shoeing a police horse & caught a bit of a kids' stage show but missed out on Superdogs & the pig races as we didn't plan ahead.

8.
For our little urban boy, looking at all the animals is always a highlight of the Fair. It was also a great place to get out of the rain & sit for a bit--there are benches everywhere in there, great for resting while pregnant or breastfeeding.

Poking at some ducklings.

Did you go to the PNE this year with little kids? Got any other tips to share? Leave them in the comments below...

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Blending Christmas Traditions

When my husband & I spent our first Christmas together, some of the quirky little family traditions that I hadn't given much thought to suddenly showed up in stark contrast. You might not think that German Christmas traditions would be that different from the Canadian ones I grew up with. A lot of North American Christmas traditions come from Germany, like the Christmas tree. But that's where the similarities end, in my experience.

Dorky parlour games: a family tradition

My husband's first Christmas stocking was the one I crocheted him about ten years ago. He still thinks they're a bit weird. Weihnachtsteller is what he grew up with. A plate of chocolates & other goodies for each person appears under the Christmas tree on Nikolaustag (St. Nicholas Day), December 6th. The date of the big event is different: his family always celebrated the holiday on the evening of the 24th: December 25th was for skiing. He was horrified at how early I'd get up on the 25th but I just couldn't help myself. I still have trouble sleeping on Christmas eve. Turkey for the big dinner? Nope. Goose. Then schmaltz (goose fat) on rye toast for breakfast in the following weeks.

Having Sprout makes the whole issue that much more important because now we're not just doing what we feel like that year, we're creating our own family traditions. There's more onus on us to have consistent family customs around the holidays. We needed to make decisions like following the Santa Claus tradition or not.

Stockings were a big thing for me--that was non-negotiable. I have so many fond memories of opening all the little gifts that my mom stuffed into my (large, stretchy) stocking. Even the stocking itself is a lovely memory: my grandmother knitted one for each of her grandchildren, our names stitched into the yarn above the little Santa design & the bell attached to the toe of each one.

So for Sprout's first Christmas, my sister took up the torch from my grandmother, whose knitting days were past her at that point, & knitted a gorgeous stocking for him. It was so big he could fit inside it, as you can see.

He wasn't terribly impressed about being stuffed into this...

Of course, I know we don't have to do everything exactly the same each year & there's always room for improvement. I plan to try to make each Christmas a little greener than the last. Going as paperless as possible is part of that--I made fabric gift bags & wraps to avoid the mountain of trash at the end of the day. We also tried to choose gifts for Sprout without excessive packaging.

Opening up the gift bags on Christmas morning.

This year I've been thinking a lot about the activities we can do around Christmas, & not necessarily things we did as children. The miniature train at Stanley Park's Bright Nights Festival wasn't around when I was a child. Going to the Vancouver German Christmas Market is another new one--it's only been in Vancouver since 2010--but it's a way to expose Sprout to a little of his German heritage.

I guess how you might describe our blending of traditions is "Something old, something new, something German & something... blue?" Even after spending a dozen Christmases together, two of them with our little boy, we're still figuring it out. But whether it's turkey or goose, the 24th or the 25th, what's really important is spending time together with family. Not just the three of us but making time to see all our extended family. Then playing silly parlour games with them.

What about you? Have you come across any conflicts when blending two different family or cultural traditions? How have you worked it out?

This post is the ninth of twelve in a series on Christmas Traditions. Head over & visit my friends to see their take on traditions at Christmas. If you just joined in now, here's what you've missed:

Day 1 - November 26th - Julie Nowell on traditions in a new home
Day 2 - November 27th -  Jen at Mama Papa Bubba on crafty traditions
Day 3 - November 28th -  Lori at The Write Mama on her Christmas Village
Day 4 - November 29th -  Amy at The Connection We Share on her Experiential Advent Calendar
Day 5 - November 30th - Erin At Large on the Giving Part of Christmas
Day 6 - December 1st -  Jessica at North Shore Mama on a few of her favourite (Christmas) things
Day 7 - December 2nd - Suzanne at the Enchanted Chameleon on Christmas, gluten free
Day 8 - December 3rd - Hillary at Double the L Please on her time-honoured tradition of... BBQ

But wait! It's not over yet! Don't forget to visit these three for the next in the series:

Day 10 - December 5th - Eschelle at Mumfection on German pickle & candles
Day 11 - December 6th - Brandee at One Crazy Kid
Day 12 - December 7th - Tairalyn at Little Miss Mama on baking stained glass cookies

Green Sprog Tips: 6 Ways I'm Greenifying Christmas

Decorating our tree in 2011.

This year, I'm going to try a few things to have a greener Christmas. I did quite a few last year (here's the roundup) & I plan to keep up with all of them again this year, but there's always room for improvement, so here's my list of new ones:

1. Making an advent calendar felt board--reusable, using felt that's made from recycled pop bottles, thus avoiding the plastic, cardboard & foil in the disposable chocolate ones. Also avoiding the sugar high each morning when he gets his fix...
2. Hand decorated wrapping paper made of reused packing material (newsprint). This isn't necessarily an improvement on the fabric gift bags I sewed last year, but it's a way to use that paper one more time before recyling it.
3. Reduce the number of Christmas cards I send. I still want to send out some real ones to family & a few friends, but this year I'm going to make a nice digital version of our card to email to most people.
4. Baking Christmas goodies myself rather than buying the (usually) plastic-wrapped store-bought kind. I'm hoping to make shortbread, sugar cookies & some peppermint bark. I will try to do some sort of pie too, I think.
5. Going car-free. This year we're hosting dinner at our place, so we don't need to drive to Coquitlam. The money we save on the car booking, I think we may 'invest' in item #6 on this list:
6. Getting a free-range & possibly organic turkey for the big dinner. Not only better for the animals' welfare, but better for the environment because organic meat doesn't involve pesticides in the feed they're given, or the overuse of antibiotics.

What are you doing to make this a greener Christmas for you & your family? Got any ideas to share? Leave a comment & share!


Nothing says “best gift ever” like a gray fox!
 

Starting at just $40, Gifts of Canadian Nature help protect habitat for Canada’s native wildlife. A Gift of Canadian Nature lasts for years to come and is a gift that gives thrice! Once to the recipient with a personalized certificate and a beautiful calendar, once to the giver with a charitable tax receipt, and once to Canadian wildlife. This year we are featuring the snowy owl, the grizzly bear, the caribou, the gray fox and the Canada lynx. Click the image or follow this link for more information.

Vancouver German Christmas Market for 50% Off

Breastfeeding at VCM 2010

UPDATE #2: Ethical Deal has a similar 50% off offer that's still available until midnight on Saturday November 24! Here's the link. Their referral system is a bit different: if you click on my link here, I get $5 Ethical Dollars & so do you!
 
UPDATE: Due to an overwhelming response, this Groupon is already sold out as of Tuesday morning! Read through for another way to save on admission.

One of the events we try not to miss during the holidays is the Vancouver German Christmas Market. It's a German style market where you'll find traditional Christmas goodies like giant gingerbread cookies & Glühwein (hot mulled wine), as well as other traditional German food & drink. More on the edibles here. Vendors in cute wooden huts will be selling things like gorgeous handcrafted tree decorations, quality wooden toys & cozy wool hats that make great gifts. To see the full list of vendors, see the Vancouver German Christmas Market's list here. Costumed characters, local & international choirs, bands & dancers perform every day at the market, plus there's a carousel to ride on! Sprout's been each year so far & this year he's old enough to go on the carousel.

Sprout & I at VCM 2011

Now until Saturday evening, Groupon is offering three different deals for the Christmas Market:

• $8 for admission for two plus two carousel rides (up to a $16 value)
• $17 for admission for two, two carousel rides, two hot spiced apple ciders, & two souvenir mugs (up to a $34 value)
• $34 for admission for four, four carousel rides, four hot spiced apple ciders, & four souvenir mugs (up to a $68 value)

If Groupon is new to you, the way it works is you sign up, then you can buy the voucher for the deal, which you either print off or access on your smart phone. Follow this link to buy the Groupon deal. If you're thinking of going, but not sure about the Groupon, you can still save by going to the market weekdays before 4pm for just $2 each. PLUS: Your admission works as a season's pass so you can go back for free the rest of the year! Carousel rides are $3 per person. Also worth noting: children under seven are free.

Frohe Weihnachten!


Disclaimer: if you follow the Groupon links in this post & buy a deal, I'll get $10 in Groupon bucks referral bonus. The words & opinions above are my own.



Nothing says “best gift ever” like a caribou!
 

Starting at just $40, Gifts of Canadian Nature help protect habitat for Canada’s native wildlife. A Gift of Canadian Nature lasts for years to come and is a gift that gives thrice! Once to the recipient with a personalized certificate and a beautiful calendar, once to the giver with a charitable tax receipt, and once to Canadian wildlife. This year we are featuring the snowy owl, the grizzly bear, the caribou, the gray fox and the Canada lynx. Click the image or follow this link for more information.