One of my favourite things about living in Ottawa is all of the lovely, historical small towns nearby. Manotick is one of those towns, just a short drive away from the city. Along the Rideau Canal, Manotick is picturesque with a number of historical buildings including the old Watson’s Mill and the Dickinson House.

Olde Fashioned Manotick Christmas

On a recent visit to Manotick I had seen signs advertising their weekend long “Olde Fashioned Christmas” on December 3 and 4. We had attended the village’s “Dickinson Days” back in the summer and the kids had a blast. And, seeing as I love all things Christmas, I was definitely interested. Unfortunately this particular December weekend my husband was working, so it was down to just me to wrangle the kids – I would be outnumbered. Nevertheless, I still wanted to check it out.

Always In It For the Food

We went in the morning and our first stop was the Christmas Craft Fair at Watson’s Mill. It was sweet, with a few good vendors and a lot of crochet and knitted goods. My favourite stand was a wonderful baking corner with brownies, fudge, cookies, tortieres. I had to watch my kids pretty close as they were getting “handsy”… so I bought us some cookies and headed outside for the first of many sugar rushes.

Santa Sightings

While we were sitting and stuffing our faces with baked goods, a family walked by and told us that Santa was currently at the nearby toy store. So off we went in search of the main man. Sure enough Santa was holding court at The Toy Shop (pretty sure it’s the only toy store in Manotick). Photos with Santa were free, and they were accepting donations for CHEO. As usual, Rowan was too freaked out to get close to Santa, but Luke made sure he got right in there and for the hundredth time put in a request for a “transformer”. Pretty sure Santa has got the message.

Next Up…More Food

There was a stand set up outside of one of Manotick’s churches and people were serving free hot chocolate, hot apple cider and yep…more cookies! So, of course we had to make a stop. After our second dose of sugar, we grabbed some lunch at my favourite seniors serve you tea room and then THE PARADE!

The Manotick Parade Actually Just Means More Candy

Yeah so I guess small town parades are really mostly all about people in decorated vehicles chucking candy at kids. As if my kids hadn’t had enough sugar for the day now we were literally being pelted in the head with it. At one point I swear my daughter just started opening her mouth, trying to catch the flying sweets directly on her tongue.

There were a few good floats and lots of catchy Christmas tunes blaring. The important thing was my kids had smiles plastered to their faces the whole time. I thought the parade was a nice length, it only took about 20 minutes until we got to see the grand finale – Santa!

Two Days of Fun

After the parade it was time for me to drag my sugar buzzing children back to the car and head home. I thought the festival was fairly sleepy (much like the town) but really great for us. I would go again. The fun actually continues throughout the weekend. On the Sunday there is a breakfast buffet with Santa, as well as horse drawn carriage rides through the town, strolling carol singers and the craft market continues. For more information check out http://manotickvillage.com/event/olde-fashioned-christmas/