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Castle Noel

There are few places in North America that are close to a Christmas paradise, that is until you hop on the Polar Express for a trip to the North Pole! One is RetroFestive in Oakville, Ontario, the second is Santa’s Village in Bracebridge, Ontario, and the other is Castle Noel in Medina, Ohio.

Castle Noel is America’s largest indoor, year-round Christmas entertainment attraction. After years of admiration, we recently visited for the first time on a family trip to the A Christmas Story House in Cleveland, Ohio, which is the perfect double whammy for any Christmas movie fan!

Castle Noel is where we got to see Cousin Eddie’s RV from National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation in person – and we felt like a kid at Christmas!

Cousin Eddie's RV at Castle Noel
Merry Christmas! Shitter was full!
2019 at Castle Noel
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The Christmas Chronicles Filming Locations!

In 2018 Netflix released a new holiday film called The Christmas Chronicles starring Kurt Russell. We were very excited about this new Christmas movie – and then we found out that The Christmas Chronicles filming locations were right here in Canada! There is not much we love more than Christmas movies – unless that movie was filmed in Canada!

The Christmas Chronicles follows Teddy and Kate Pierce as they try to celebrate Christmas after the recent passing of their father. Teddy resents the holiday, while younger sister Kate still takes great joy from the spirit of Christmas. After a series of mishaps, the Pierce children must help Santa (Kurt Russell) deliver gifts around the world before it is too late.

Eight tiny reindeer. Two squabbling siblings. And a Santa who’s full of surprises. It’s a Christmas Eve they’ll never forget.

– The Christmas Chronicles tagline

The Christmas Chronicles takes place mostly in Lowell, Massachusetts and Chicago, Illinois but most of the movie was filmed in Toronto at Pinewood Studios and throughout the city.

The Christmas Chronicles Filming Locations!
We could be wrong, but is that a GO Train?

It quickly became a fun game to point out all of The Christmas Chronicle filming locations that were obviously in Canada. Whether it is a car chase, a jail break, or a touching conversation between two characters, Toronto and the GTA look so good in this movie!

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Christmastime with Mister Rogers

After the massive success of the documentary Won’t You Be My Neighbor, it seems everyone has become infatuated with the life and legacy of Fred Rogers, or as he is more lovingly know, Mister Rogers. With the upcoming release of the biopic A Beautiful Day in the Neighbourhood starring Tom Hanks, we thought this was the perfect time to reflect on Christmastime with Mister Rogers.

Christmastime with Mister Rogers

Christmastime with Mister Rogers was a one hour primetime special that was released in 1977 during  the four year hiatus of Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood on PBS. 

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Top Ten Christmas Books of All Time

Who does not love snuggling up with a good Christmas book during the winter season? The holidays are the perfect time to gather the whole family together to recite Christmas books like The Night Before Christmas and The Polar Express.

There are hundreds of Christmas movies to choose from every year, and books are just the same. There are so many to books choose from whether you would like something funny or silly, or more nostalgic and sweet. We have made a list of some of our favourite Christmas books for you to dive into this season.

A Christmas Story Novel

A Christmas Story by Jean Shepherd

Every fan of the film A Christmas Story knows the film was adapted from Jean Shepard’s “In God We Trust, All Others Pay Cash”. A Christmas Story the novel gathers hilarious short stories featuring the autobiographical humour that Jean Shepherd. They are irresistible pieces of Americana that warm the heart and tickle the funny bone – just like the movie!

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2019 SANTA CLAUS PARADES IN CANADA

Santa Claus is coming to (your) town! We have made a list of 2019 Santa Claus parades in some Canadian cities so you can mark your calendars!

Ontario alone will host over 150 Santa Claus parades throughout November and December! Who doesn’t love a Santa Claus parade full of bands, colourful floats, mascots, and jolly old Saint Nick himself?

Don’t see your local parade listed?
Give us a shout on Facebook or Twitter and we’ll add it!

Oakville Santa Claus Parade
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