Credit: Nativity Scene as Ice Sculpture.

If you really want to get into the Christmas spirit this year there’s an interesting holiday event that takes place annually in Hudson, Quebec called The Walk To Bethlehem.

You are taken on a guided tour through a series of live reenactments of various scenes leading up to the birth of Jesus. On the route you encounter kings, shepards, Roman soldiers and beggars. The tour culminates at a manger and the birth of Baby Jesus.

The Walk To Bethlehem takes place every evening from December 14th-16th, 2007. Tours leave every 10 minutes starting at 6:00 p.m. with the last one leaving at 9:00 p.m. It takes about 60 minutes and refreshments are served at the end.

This event is a really great experience for the whole family and best of all it’s free. Just remember to dress warmly because a good part of the tour involves walking outside.

You can get more information by going to the Walk To Bethlehem website.

The annual Gently Used Toy Sale is once again being held to support the charity Suitcases for Africa.

If you are looking to add to your children’s toy collection you can get a wide variety of toys at extremely reasonable prices. Little Tykes, Mattel, Barbie, Disney, and many more can be found at the sale. There’s a wide selection of children’s books, DVDs, videos, games and stuffed toys as well.

The sale is on December 1st, 2007 from 9:00 a.m. to 1 p.m. at St. Edmund of Canterbury Church in Beaconsfield.

They are also accepting any good quality toys, DVDs, CDs or games that you may wish to donate for the sale. All proceeds go to support the Suitcases For Africa Charity. Toys can be dropped off this week from Monday to Friday 9:30 a.m. - 12:00 or from 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.

Credit: Santa wants to hear from you.

This holiday season, if your child wants to write a letter to Santa, it can be addressed to:

SANTA CLAUS
NORTH POLE H0H 0H0
CANADA

or in French at:

PÈRE NOËL
LE PÔLE NORD H0H 0H0
CANADA

If your child does send a letter to Santa, you’ll get a nice reply in the mail. Don’t forget to include your child’s name, a return address and send it at least a few weeks before Christmas if you want to ensure a timely reply.

More information can be found at Canada Post’s Santa Letter Wrting Program site.

If you want your children to give their wish list directly to Santa, here is where and when Santa Claus will be arriving in local shopping malls on the West Island:

Useful Information When Preparing For Halloween

Photography: Halloween Pumpkins

The Canadian Government has put together a series of Halloween Safety Tips that can be downloaded as a pdf file, a Halloween Puzzles file and a series of tips on Food Safety During Halloween.

For a quick overview of all things related to Halloween check out this handy list of 101 Halloween Tips.

If you take your pumpkin carving seriously then you need to check out the Extreme Pumpkin Carving website for some ideas and how-to advice.

Need Pumkin Carving Templates? EHow has a few Downloadable Pumpkin Carving Templates.

Finally, if you still haven’t found a suitable costume, are looking for ideas or need some Halloween Party Supplies, check out our page showing retailers with extensive Halloween Supplies.