Holiday Hoopla...the good, the bad and the ugly...share stories, ideas, recipes etc

[Sprailenes 47]

Well tonight is the hoopla part of the holidays... Going over to the in-laws for their annual holiday party. I brought some Keiths back from Canada yesterday and I think they'll enjoy it. Also brought some Wayne Gretzky wine for the gift exchange.

[Kathryn41 3,205]

Have fun! I didn't even know there was such a thing as Wayne Gretzky wine!

[Sprailenes 47]

Have fun! I didn't even know there was such a thing as Wayne Gretzky wine!

http://www.gretzky.com/wine/

There it is!

It's not amazing or anything. My favorite wine to come out of the Niagara area is Chateau Des Charmes but I bought the Gretzky wine for the "tee hee" factor.

[Rhiannercakes 14]

My favourite wine comes from the Muskoka area.

Sadly, it's only avaliable in that area as well unless you buy it online.

Time to time LCBO buys a case, I've only gotten one bottle in lower Ontario. (For my wedding night )

They make some interesting wines.

cranberry.ca is where you can take a look at them.

[Kathryn41 3,205]

http://www.gretzky.com/wine/

There it is!

It's not amazing or anything. My favorite wine to come out of the Niagara area is Chateau Des Charmes but I bought the Gretzky wine for the "tee hee" factor.

Oh Oh Oh, I LOVE Chateau Des Charmes! I have looked for it here knowing that it is virtually impossible that it would be here but hoping, all the same. I have toured the winery, and I always had some of their wines in stock when I lived still in Canada. Their wines are some of the absolute best, not only in Canada but in the world. I remember the first time their Nouveau Beaujolais beat out all of the French Wines in the Annual taste testing and amazed the wine world.

Here in Georgia, we have discovered some superb wines at Habersham wineries. I don't know if their wines are available outside of Georgia, but they are also superb.

Edited December 28, 2009 by Kathryn41

[Sprailenes 47]

Oh Oh Oh, I LOVE Chateau Des Charmes! I have looked for it here knowing that it is virtually impossible that it would be here but hoping, all the same. I have toured the winery, and I always had some of their wines in stock when I lived still in Canada. Their wines are some of the absolute best, not only in Canada but in the world. I remember the first time their Nouveau Beaujolais beat out all of the French Wines in the Annual taste testing and amazed the wine world.

Here in Georgia, we have discovered some superb wines at Habersham wineries. I don't know if their wines are available outside of Georgia, but they are also superb.

Well I will for sure check out Habersham. Even if it's not available outside of Georgia, it's probably available online somewhere.

Chateau Des Charmes is one of my absolute favorites! I introduced my husbands family to their ice wines a few years ago and they too have fallen in love with it. I never got to go on the tour but I bet it was beautiful!

[Kathryn41 3,205]

Well I will for sure check out Habersham. Even if it's not available outside of Georgia, it's probably available online somewhere.

Chateau Des Charmes is one of my absolute favorites! I introduced my husbands family to their ice wines a few years ago and they too have fallen in love with it. I never got to go on the tour but I bet it was beautiful!

Interestingly, Brights Wines had the best tour - old vintage vats, lovely buildings, wine tasting room etc although their wines are not that great. The Chateau Des Charmes winery was smaller, modern, pristine and efficient. It wasn't beautiful, but you could gain a real understanding of how well they knew their craft and how seriously they worked at it - right to the direction of sunlight hitting the wines and on which directions the slopes were faced.

[Autumnchik 6]

Ya know, I actually DON'T have stories about how crazy the holidays were (not like most years). This was the most relaxed Christmas I have ever had. We stayed home in NH. My mom came to visit (she is still here). Normally, my mom gets super stressed at holiday time and drives me out of my mind. This year, she was actually able to just sit back and relax. So, on Christmas Day, we ate leftovers from Christmas Eve and just played with Declan and his new toys all day. It was pure bliss! The most stressed I got was worrying that he will fall off his new spring rocking horse. My mom got it for him. It is amazingly cool but also terrifying because it is not one of those low to the ground, easy on easy off rocking horses .... this is an old fashioned spring bouncing horse and the saddle is about 2 1/2 feet off the ground. Scary considering my little guy is only 3 feet! He is a monkey though and can climb on and off it with ease, although we make sure someone is in the room with him at all times.

[warlord 72]

Christmas in Canada went ok this year, haven't been there since 2001 for Christmas so it was a change to see all my relatives and brothers I haven't seen in 5 or so years. Comming home was a complete nightmare though at the Toronto Airport on Sunday. They had no clue how to do security checks at all and everyones plane was delayed. I got there at 5 am and to my gate at 7:20 which I thought I'd miss my flight. Only to turn out I was the first person for my flight there (leaving at 7:55). For the next 5 hours 11 more people showed up. We were told we can't leave till we have at least 68 people. By 1pm we finally had the 68 and took off at 1:30 (5.5 hours after the time we should have).

Lucky for me I had a direct flight, but most the people on the flight were Canadians and not only missed their connecting flights, all the other flights were booked and they were going to all be stranded in Denver on standby lists and maybe not even flying out till Tues.

This poor cute girl sat beside me and was the last to get on the plane and was crying. Turns out after 5 hours in security line standing there (like most people) they told her there was only 1 seat left and her and her friend had to put someone on there because all their luggage was on the flight and was going to Tucson with or without them. She had to leave her friend, get on the plane, and while she was running to the gate she got a phone call saying her grandma just died. She was going to miss her connecting flight and be stranded at DIA alone without her friend or her friends parents or keys to the place in Tucson she was going to. She's probably still at the airport now as she said she was just going to plan to sleep there.

Several people were going to Hawaii that missed all their flights and were on standby, others missed flights to their cruises etc.

Guess Sat they said they did the 2nd inspections at each gate and didn't have hardly any problems, then Toronto security decided not to do that on Sunday and do it all at the main security check which turned out to be the dumbest thing to possibly ever do. What a freaking nightmare. Thank hell I'm flying domestic in 3 days to California...

[Krikit 1,163]

Awwww. That poor little girl.

My family's flight from West Palm Beach to T.O. on the 26th was delayed for 6 hours. Their plane was delayed in Toronto. Apparently the Toronto to WPB people had to go through two security checks and then, after everyone was on board, they were each patted down individually with another security check, and then had to sit for 2 hours on the tarmac. I felt bad for anyone who was trying to get there for a cruise. My sister's flight to England from Orlando later that day was only delayed 20 minutes.

We spent Christmas in Miami. It didn't seem like Christmas at all. lol

[Marilyn. 340]

so i think today is the day the tree comes down I hate taking it down....

[Malrothien 6]

I'm taking ours down tomorrow.

[Sprailenes 47]

Can I just say that I am sooo happy this holiday hoopla is now finished?

Because I am. This has been one hectic holiday... I need a vacation from my vacation yanno what I'm sayin??

[Rhiannercakes 14]

I'm glad the holidays are over too.

[Wyatt's Torch 45]

I just love the point early in the new year, where the whole calendar is laid out before you. New Year's Day is typically my favorite holiday, just from a symbolic standpoint...but the feeling usually lasts for a few weeks. That's why when my wife and I parted at the airport this morning, it wasn't as emotional as it often is -- we're both excited about 2010 because of all it's going to bring. We both know it's going to be one of the most significant years of our lives...