Minnow’s Five Things
Santa bombing, awesome family Christmas videos, dancing at City Hall and cashmere—it’s definitely Christmas! Here’s what caught my attention this week.
1. Last week I told you I was a believer in Santa…and I still am. Last night I saw him—23 of him in fact—on Inglewood Drive in Toronto. Apparently five homes on the street decided to incorporate the huge inflated Santas into their decor, leaving the rest of the neighbours with Santa envy. One Dad with a very upset child (due to his Santa-less lawn) sent an email to Canadian Tire to ask where they could find more Santas. The marketing department got wind of this and found the remaining inflatable Santas in Canadian Tire stores across the country, then called every house on that street and asked if they could install a Santa on their lawn. The next week the street was officially Santa-bombed. 23 enormous light-up Santas were on display. There was even a hot chocolate and Beaver Tail truck for all the neighbours to celebrate! It’s safe to say that Canadian Tire nailed this one. Representative of their brand, they pulled off an amazing community act of good will, sprinkled some Canadian beaver tails and hot chocolate into the mix and wrapped it all up in the spirit of the season. Well done, team Canadian Tire. Thanks for reinforcing my belief in the big man.
2. Just when I thought I was filled to the brim with holiday spirit, I see this video of the Holderness family. They put pretty much every family to shame on the fun-o-meter and definitely win the holiday spirit award with their holiday message, #XmasJammies. Happy Holidays from the Holderness Family. Watch it now if you haven’t already.
3. It’s likely the Holderness’ holiday spirit has catapulted them to the top of the nice list, but there is no question that Toronto Mayor Rob Ford is sitting comfortably at the top of the naughty list. Despite his appeals for forgiveness in council yesterday stating he is ‘super, super, super, super, super sorry’, it’s just another day at City Hall.
4. In the spirit of giving this week, Tom Crist, the lottery winner from Calgary who donated the entire 40M of his winnings to charity caught my attention. He said very humbly that he has had a fortunate career and doesn’t need the money. I think there is a little bit of Santa in Mr. Crist.
5. Finally, some gift ideas have come across my desk recently that I thought might work for the above parties. I think Santa should deliver a treadmill desk to Rob Ford this year, and I was thinking that those poor Holderness kids could use a warm hat since they’re dancing around outside in just their xmas jammies. I found a new Canadian company that sells the most beautiful cashmere hats for kids. Check it out. There is nothing better than cashmere in the winter.
Have a great week and a very, very Merry Christmas.
