Author: Nichole S.

Live from rockport!  SANTA!

I’m a total sucker for those incredibly sappy Hallmark Channel Christmas Movies.  Seriously can’t get enough.

November and December is clearly all about the boys and making the holidays special for them…but, after they’re tucked into bed…give me a pumpkin beer and a completely cheesy Hallmark movie and I’m in it to win it.

As if the movies aren’t excellent enough…the Hallmark commercials = total warm fuzzies.

So, here’s my public service announcement for you all ….

The Count Down to Christmas Hallmark Holiday Movie Fest!  (I may have added part of that title)

Entire Schedule HERE!!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Pick #1:  

Gloucester’s Annual Santa Parade and Tree Lighting.

Sunday, November 29th

Parade Leaves the State Fish Pier at 3:00 and heads to Kent Circle.  Tree Lighting takes place at approximately 4:30

Pick #2:  

Cape Ann Symphony Holiday Pops

This annual concert has become a joyful holiday tradition as the orchestra is joined by the Cape Ann Symphony Chorus to perform many holiday favorites including an audience sing-along. Wendy Betts, Choral Director.

 

While Sunday’s show is sold out, there are still tickets available for Saturday’s  8:00 pm concert.

Go Here to Reserve Yours Before it is Too Late

Pick #3:  

Santa On Stage at the Larcom Theatre

Enjoy a magical 90 minute Christmas program with your child at Beverly’s fully-restored, historic Larcom Theatre!

• Multi-media presentation of The Night Before Christmas narrated byDavid Bull (Le Grand David)
• Christmas songs by Allen Estes & Sing-along with Allen & Santa’s Elves
• Special appearance by Santa
• Perfectly lit Photo Op with your child and Santa together on stage. (Premium seats meet Santa first)
• Each child gets a stocking filled with a FREE GIFT.
  PLUS a Gingerbread Cookie from Topsfield Bake Shop!

Please go to GimmeLive.com to Purchase Tickets and Read More

Ever had days when you feel like you just can’t win? Welcome to every day for Mr. and Mrs. Flying Fish.

From the New Yorker

“Enough from the hatemongers, the fearmongers, and the warmongers. When are they gonna let the fishmongers speak?”

It came up in conversation the other day that most of us don’t know each other’s phone numbers.  True that.

I remember clearly a moment that happened YEARS ago……

A few years before our kids became a reality, a bunch of us were hanging out on July 3rd.  We were in my living room with some local friends as well as a few friends from Rockport who were home visiting for the 4th of July week.  On the 4th we all had different plans/obligations, but we wanted to meet up at the end of the day.  The questions arose, “Do we all have each others’ phone numbers so that we can track each other down?”   I, silly me, jumped up to retrieve a pad of “sticky notes” so that we could all swap numbers….   I walked back into the living room to see everyone else had whipped out their cell phones to add contacts.  I, of course, had a cell phone back then….but, hadn’t quite transitioned to the modern day way of easily saving phone numbers.  Much like some people now still jot down recipes from a website rather than taking a screen shot….or write down a child’s wish list from a store rather than snapping a photo of the toy or item.

So, back to phone numbers.  I can tell you without a second’s thought that my phone number from birth to age 9 was 774-7451.  My phone number from age 10-17 was 468-4544.  However, I can’t tell you my mother or father’s current cell phone number.  Nor can I tell you anyone else’s.  The only cell phone number I actually know is my husband’s and that is probably only because it is one number away from my own.

I do, however, know our dentist’s and doctor’s office phone numbers off the top of my head.  I could also order a pizza from two local take-out restaurants….because, I’m happy to report, they’re not simply saved in my contact list.

So, my question to you is….   In thinking of family members and good friends, how many phone numbers do you actually know?   Who could you call if you were to lose your contact list?

While it feels like I was doing Schooner Festival posts about a minute ago, facts are it is time for Christmas and Holiday posts.

Sorry.

For me, the holidays are about tradition.  I also love to create some special days with the boys….and sometimes those days involve day trips or special trips into the city.  Later on, my holiday posts will be about the more local activities that we love to do each year as well.

Pick #1  

Faneuil Hall Tree Lighting and BLINK

Blink! Takes place from this weekend until January 3rd, but the Tree Lighting Spectacular happens just once….  and that is Saturday, November 21st at 7:00 pm.

Read more HERE!

Entertainment Schedule:
2 pm The Revels Singers
3 pm Women of the World presented by Scullers Jazz Club
4- 6 pm Dress Rehearsal for the Tree Lighting Spectacular
6 pm Amy and the Engine presented by Hard Rock Café
7 pm Faneuil Hall Tree Lighting Spectacular Live Show
8 pm The Sugarbabies Band

Pick #2

Christmas at The Newport Mansions

November 21, 2015 to January 3, 2016

Read All about the Holiday Tour HERE!

The glitter of gold and the sparkle of silver will dazzle you as you tour three magnificent mansions decked out in Yuletide finery. Music, tours, and spectacular decorations highlight the celebration of Christmas at the Newport Mansions.

All three houses will be decorated and open daily for tours from Saturday, November 21, 2015 through Sunday, January 3, 2016.   The Breakers and The Elms open daily at 9 a.m., Marble House opens at 10 a.m.   The last tour admission at all three houses is at 4 p.m., and the houses & grounds close at 5 p.m.

A Winter Passport ticket providing daytime admission to all 3 houses is $29.49 for adults, $9 for children 6-17. Children under 6 are admitted free.  Regular Newport Mansions daytime tour tickets remain valid through the Christmas season as well.

Pick #3

Events at MarketStreet, Holiday Stroll

November 22nd, 4:00 – 6:00 PM

Join us for our official kick off of the Holiday Season! Enjoy delicious samples, Holiday Caroling, Tree Lighting, a special visit from our favorite guest and more!

Christmas Tree lighting with special guest promptly at 6:00 PM

Entertainment from Victorian Carolers, Voices of Hope, Lynnfield Middle School, and the Lynnfield HIgh School Band

The skating rink will be open too!  Not to mention the plethora of great restaurants and places to grab a quick drink. And then, there’s the shopping.

Events at MarketStreet Lynnfield

Pick #4

Mayor’s Holiday Specials 

There are so many great options in the City of Boston during the holidays.  Many of which, however, are fairly expensive.

Make sure to check out the Mayor’s Holidays Specials for deals and discounts on over 100 shows!

Click HERE often to see new discounts for holiday favorites and new events.  

For a comprehensive list of family activities visit our friends at North Shore Kid

If you haven’t been to Assembly Row in Somerville, you might want to consider it.

For the kiddos, there is the LegoLand Discovery Center and the AMC Assembly Row 12.

For the grown-ups, there is some great outlet shopping and there are some great restaurants and  bars. With more than 30 stores and almost 15 places to grab a quick bite to eat or a fantastic meal, Assembly Row is a destination not unlike MarketStreet in Lynnfield…only with outlets rather than full-price stores.

On Sunday my fantastic brother offered to take my boys and my nephew to see the Peanuts movie.  While they hunkered down in the theater with tubs of popcorn, my mother, sister, and I did a bit of shopping and had a great lunch at the River Bar.

Learn all about Assembly Row HERE!

Reflecting on the day soon to be behind us….and thinking about what tomorrow will bring.

Thanks to the large number of fans who made a point to stop by and watch some fantastic hockey get played over the course of the weekend.  I even spotted the Mayor in the crowd at one point!

The Sal Grasso Memorial Westmount Friendship Tournament was a huge success…and not just because Cape Ann won.  Although I’d be lying if I didn’t admit that fact helps. If that sounds mean, check out the photo below that clearly shows that Westmount has been victorious a painful 18 out of 22 years…with Cape Ann only keeping the trophy safe for four.  But, not this year!  Because it is a friendship tournament and we have nothing but respect for Westmount and our long-standing friendship with them, I will simply state the facts.  At the end of the 24 games of play this weekend, Cape Ann hung up their skates with 16 wins, 4 losses, and 4 ties.

MUCH more important than the final tally is the fact that some friendly and topnotch hockey was played.  Cape Ann teams clocked serious hours at the rink to support other teams (as did their Canadian counterparts for sure), players shook hands, hugged, cheered, and stood quiet and still while each other’s National Anthems were played at the beginning of each and every game.

And, while the children were blissfully unaware, it was impossible to keep Paris, France out of one’s thoughts as our anthems played on…while chaos was simultaneously unfolding across the Atlantic.  Likewise, with hands on hearts every 60 minutes or so all day long on Saturday, it was hard not to think of the hearts that were breaking across the way.

This tournament is about friendship…about camaraderie…about respect…and some healthy competition.  Shared between two communities far, far away from each other, who share a passion for a sport.

While I have hundreds of action shots from the weekend… it is shots like these that summarize what the weekend was all about.

Congratulations to ALL of the players!  While you thought you were just playing hockey this weekend…you showed us much, much more.

It occurred to me yesterday that some of you may not know about this.

4th graders all over the country can get free admission to National Parks for the duration of the school year thanks to the White House Administration launching the “Every Kid in a Park Pass.”

Fourth graders nationwide can visit the new Every Kid in a Park website to obtain a pass that provides free access to students and their families to all federally managed lands and waters – including national parks, forests, wildlife refuges and marine sanctuaries. The pass is valid for the 2015-2016 school year and grants free entry for fourth graders and three accompanying adults (or an entire car for drive-in parks) at more than 2,000 federally-managed sites.

Check out the White House link introducing the program HERE

FIND OUT ALL ABOUT THE WHERES AND THE HOWS HERE!

everykidinapark.gov

There are so many great places in Massachusetts and certainly New England!

“Because no matter who you are, no matter where you live, our parks, our monuments, our lands, our waters — these places are your birthright as Americans”

PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA

Spring 2016 AAU Try-outs: MCW Starz

Anyone who knows basketball, knows Michael Carter-Williams.  If you have somehow missed the ride….allow me to catch you up….  Home grown local basketball icon, turned Syracuse Orange star, drafted 11th overall in the 2013 NBA Draft by the Philadelphia 76ers, 2014 NBA Rookie of the Year, and now Milwaukee Bucks Point Guard.  What is cooler than even all of that, is that he grew up attending and then coaching a basketball camp started by his own amazingly talented mother and step-father.  Now, your daughter can have the opportunity to play for the MCW Starz Team. Talk about a not-to-miss experience.

Check out this great video where Michael Carter-Williams, the Milwaukee Bucks Point Guard, talks about his family-run MCW Starz Basketball Camp

ATTENTION ALL GIRLS BASKETBALL PLAYERS 4TH-11TH GRADE.

This past spring was the first MCW STARZ AAU Season. They had 11 players on the 11th grade elite team and all 8 juniors (3 were 10th graders) are going on to play basketball in college 5 scholarships, 1 Ivy league and 2 will play at D3 great academic schools!

They attended exposure events that showcased their players at the right level!

This fall they added two teams and this spring they would like 1 team for every grade, 4th-11th.

Tryouts this SUNDAY!  A Fantastic Opportunity for players!