House Arrest
Under house arrest nursing that baby? Hand-cuffed to your stroller? A prisoner of your to-do list?
Before you resign yourself to years of hard time, check out some of the Toronto-based resources we know and love that might just be able to liberate you from that ‘stuck at home with small children and can’t get out to do all the errands that need to be done or sneak in a little time for mom’ dilemma. They all come to YOUR house to help you out, and what could be better than that?
Nail Them Home
We’ve told you before but in case you forgot, you need to get in touch with Charlotte from Hello Nails. She is Toronto’s best travelling aesthetician. You can’t beat the price and the service. Whether you’re catching up on email or getting in yet another feed, it’s the ultimate multi-tasking and pampering all rolled into one. (And for winter, getting an at-home pedicure avoids the ‘sandals in the snow’ or ‘boots and wreck the polish’ dilemma!)
Home, James
So maybe we don’t have as many servants as we’d like (wait, maybe we don’t have ANY servants), but you can pretend you do with a few hours of assistance from Concierge and the City (416 727 5971) and their new Me, Mommy & Daddy concierge service. Their motto is “If you want it, we can facilitate it”. Which is a fancy way of saying ‘make it happen’, and that ‘it’ includes the drugstore run, the dry-cleaning pick-up, the video rental return, the grocery shopping (even the putting away of those groceries) and more. Hint, hint—makes a great gift (of time) too.
Home Baked (Faked)
Long our savvy source for the best birthday cakes in town, we’re very into YummyStuff’s holiday baking line-up. Just choose your flavours (chocolate gingerbread and hazelnut shortbread to name but a few) and the baking crew will deliver them to your house, packaged beautifully for gift giving at about $8 a dozen. Select the right variety and you might even be able to pawn them off as your own. (Please don’t give away our secret though!). Take a baking break this year, and have the homemade stuff come right to your front door with YummyStuff.
Worked Over at Home
Carrying 35-pound Jack around all afternoon finally got to your back? Treat yourself to a visit from Lisa Henderson, a highly-skilled registered massage therapist who specializes in home visits. She understands that rushing through traffic to get to your appointment and then rushing back to a parking ticket on your car kind of defeats the purpose, so she brings everything to you, including the professional massage table. Email her at [email protected] and enjoy an after-kids-in-bed massage in your living room, with a fire burning, and then get right into bed with some herbal tea. Aaaaah.
Home-ward Dog
Trying to improve your asanas (and your ass)? Graydon Moffat, mom of one and yoga guru to many, will come to your house to conduct at-home customized yoga classes. Drawing on her exposure to a variety of yoga techniques, she’s a master at addressing your individual needs (unlike your children). Graydon also offers yoga classes for children. Visit www.yogamum.com for more.
Consider these services your day pass from jail. You might have to go back in, but we’re sure the judge will give you a pardon pretty soon.
Savvy Readers Say…
We want to hear from you! We know you have savvy ideas too. Click here to tell us where your family goes to beat the winter blahs in Toronto—and you could be featured on SavvyMom next month. Include your savvy tips on how to make the outing easier as well! Those selected will win a SavvyMom t-shirt.
