December has been a jam-packed month in our household. We went to theatre shows, circus shows, Christmas festivities, parties, and more. And that was all on top of a busy schedule of workout classes, swimming lessons, ringette, musical theatre, and tutoring. And it was Emily’s birthday!

It was hectic, but there was so much awesome entertainment to take in. The highlights were:

East Van Panto – Robin Hood

The East Van Panto has become an annual highlight for our whole family and this year’s show did not disappoint. It’s impressive that they can pack a show with so many cultural and political references and still keep it interesting to young kids and adults. Our mayor, Ken Sim, was deservedly roasted and mocked throughout for the terrible decisions he’s made over the past year.

Cirque du Soleil – Echo

One of Cirque’s big top shows is in Vancouver every winter. This year it was Echo. It met the high standards set for Cirque shows – the clowns were funny, the acrobatics were impressive, and visual imagery was stunning. Once you’ve seen a few Cirque shows they start to blend together and feel formulaic. As much as we enjoyed it, we plan on taking a few years off before going back again.

VanDusen Festival of Lights

One of the more magical Christmas activities in Vancouver is walking around the VanDusen Botanical Gardens during the Festival of Lights. If you can time it right – not too crowded and the weather cooperates – it’s a beautiful evening strolling through gardens lit by impressive light displays. We ended up with a rare foggy evening, which gave the gardens a mystical glow.

Flow

Astrid’s grandfather took her to see the animated movie Flow for her Christmas present. The movie is receiving all kinds of awards buzz, but is hard to find in theatres. They were lucky it was playing at the Rio (our local, independent theatre). The film doesn’t have any dialog. All of the story is expressed through the emotions and movements of the animals on screen. They left the theatre feeling amazed.

The Lion, The Witch, & The Wardrobe

Astrid really enjoyed this play for young people at the Carousel Theatre, which she watched with her grandmas and cousins. Astrid thought it was mind-blowing that two actors portrayed so many different characters. They managed to squeeze a lot of content into 45 minutes and keep the kids attention throughout.

Vancouver Art Gallery

For Emily’s birthday, we spent the afternoon at the Vancouver Art Gallery. We were a little nervous that Astrid would be bored, but they had interactive activities and she really enjoyed recreating the artwork in her sketchbook. I also made a scavenger hunt for her to keep her occupied while we walked around.

Emily really liked the special exhibits featuring artwork by Firelei Báez and Shelley Niro.

Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour

We didn’t actually go to the concert, but it was the biggest entertainment event in Vancouver this year and hard to ignore. We took pictures with the signs across the city, stopped beside the stadium one night to listen to a song, and generally enjoyed the positive energy all the Swifties brought to Vancouver.

We enjoyed all the festivities, but we are looking forward to some rest and a quieter January.