What To Do With Your Family During The 2020 Holidays?

Let’s face it. We are on our way to becoming experts in this field. For ten months now, the parents have been trying to reconcile telecommuting, managing daily life and family activities.

Swings and slides in neighbourhood parks have never been so popular for families with young children, whose silhouettes have been seen all summer and fall long after dusk.

For teens, video game use has certainly peaked in 2020, fortunately interspersed with family outings and meals. The weather was so nice and warm.

The Gaspé Peninsula, the Magdalen Islands and the North Shore gave us a breath of fresh air alone, with friends or with family. Thank you to these Quebecers for generously welcoming their compatriots from the cities.

And then there was the backyard for the lucky families with a pool.

With the arrival of winter and everyone back in the house, we now spend our free time playing board games, cooking comforting recipes, and making Christmas crafts and decorations. At least, I suppose so.

What to expect now as a family with several days off for the long holiday season?

I assume that we have already thought about making snowmen and snow forts, if there’s enough snow. That we have planned to go snowshoeing, cross-country skiing where it is allowed according to the region where we live.

As such, the City of Montreal will be offering FREE rental of cross-country ski and snowshoe equipment to its residents this winter for children under 17 years old!
As of December 19, 2020, the outdoor equipment rental service will open 7 days a week in the following nature parks:

• Cap-Saint-Jacques Nature Park
• Bois-de-Liesse Nature Park – Des Champs sector
• Île-de-la-Visitation Nature Park
• Pointe-aux-Prairie Nature Park Heritage sector

And of course, we’ll drink hot chocolate when we get home. With marshmallows and popcorn please.

Here are some smart ideas from the Milesopedia Facebook community.

In the Quebec City area at Valcartier, the Winter Games Centre will open on December 19 and the Ice Hotel on January 2, 2021.

Day and evening snow sliding, lighted skating trails, high-speed snow rafting, which will replace Wi-Fi for teenagers. And for the little ones, tunnels and mini-slides.

In short, there is something for everyone in the family.

Closer to Montreal, the Super Glissades Saint-Jean-de-Matha will also be open from December 19 and offer much the same activities for families.

The sites have sanitary measures in place.

In the Eastern Townships, for families who wish to ski or snowshoe in the area, the Delta Hotels Sherbrooke Conference Centre offers stays on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays for $75/night before taxes and service for a room that can accommodate up to four people. The promo code to enter is HL1

Free parking and dining room breakfast service ($9-$16) with the usual sanitary safety measures are a plus.

The Delta Hotels Trois Rivieres Conference Centre offers nights at just over $160 before taxes and service, but the hotel has an indoor heated pool that the whole family will enjoy.

A Starbucks coffee shop is open for breakfast and dinner. Local restaurants also deliver to the hotel.

Five kilometres from the hotel, the magnificent Parc de l’île Quentin offers free skating trails, a refrigerated skating rink, walking trails, snowshoeing trails, fatbike trails, heated areas and portable toilets.

Everything is already open except for the skating trail which is scheduled to open on December 27. Something for the whole family to enjoy!

Although many Christmas markets in Quebec have decided not to go ahead this year and some have already ended, a few are still holding their ground and offering visitors an adapted version of their services.

Still open, you will find: 9 small markets in Montreal including the Atwater market, the Jean-Talon market, the alley behind the Pépin house, the Italian Christmas market.

Some are virtual, free or with fees. Members of our families will be able to discover local products and the work of our craftsmen.

The l’Assomption Christmas Market until December 23.

The Joliette Christmas Market is also open until December 23.

The Grand Marché de Noël of Quebec City until December 31.

The Mirabel Christmas Market until December 20th.

The Desjardins Illuminated Village at the Village Québécois d’Antan in Drummondville until January 2, 2021.

This one is not free, but offers several activities for families including street entertainment and sleigh rides.

In short, here are a few ideas for expanding our parenting expertise to provide great experiences for our families this holiday season. There are probably several others.

Feel free to share them with us in the group or in the comments!