10 Holiday Helpers in Ottawa That Will Make Life Easier

The holidays may be the most wonderful time of the year, but they're also by far the busiest. Find the joy in the season again by outsourcing all that you can, even last minute things, with the help of great local businesses ready to do the hard work for you.

Love the smell of roasting turkey, but hate the idea of stuffing a raw bird? Sobey's has an amazing solution: their Festive Turkey Kit comes with a pre-cooked bird that you warm up in your own oven, creating all the great holiday dinner smell without all the work. A few side dishes are also included; drop by your local store to pre-order.

It's pretty tough to sneak toys into the cart without eagle-eyed preschoolers noticing. Get some alone time to power shop by taking advantage of the drop-off program at Kids Kingdom Kanata location. (The indoor playground has both Orléans and Kanata locations, but only the latter offers the holiday drop-off camps). They'll have a day of fun while you have a day of giving Santa a hand—win-win! 24 hours notice required.

Don't have it in you to produce the perfect Christmas Dinner this year? Red Apron has whole turkey dinners for 12 with all the trimmings ready to go—you won't have to lift a finger…except to raise a fork to your mouth. And if it's a smaller crowd, there's even a turkey dinner for two or just a la carte traditional tourtiere on the menu. Pre-orders required.

Avoid cold snow, long lines, and tight parking spots by doing all your shopping online—even for locally made goods from Ottawa-area businesses. Givopoly makes it easy by pulling great gift items from dozens of local shops into their online store, and helps find the perfect present by letting you search by occasion, price, or giftee. And with next day delivery throughout most of the Ottawa valley area, you can deal with any emergencies without breaking a sweat.

Put the Griswolds to shame by covering your house in dazzling lights—all without taking the ladder out of the garage. Ottawa Christmas Décor lets you specify exactly what level of razzle dazzle you'd like, then handles all the hanging, hook up, and clean up while you cozy up by the fire.

Impress the in-laws with your spic-and-span house—that you didn't lift a finger to clean. Enviropure Cleaning will get the house ready for the pickiest of guests with their specialty cleaning service, and with their allergy and asthma-focused cleaning techniques, every guest will be breathing easy.

It never fails: right when you have a big crisis at work, cards to send, and presents to wrap, your caregiver gets the flu. Keep that tight Christmas routine on track by dropping the kids at Kids and Company, which offers a great back-up care option for temporary situations where your regular care falls through. And with fun activities and freshly made lunches on the menu, the kids might never want to come home.

Be prepared for Christmas morning breakfast by stocking up on yummy breads from Second Avenue Sweets in the Glebe. There's a wide range of delicious muffins, scones and croissants, but it's their pecan breakfast pastries that are sure to become a holiday tradition. It's not strictly required, but calling ahead to pre-order is recommended.

Be prepared for drop-in guests with sweet little goodies available at Three Tarts Bake Shop in Wellington West. We adore their itty bitty snowmen and Christmas tree shortbread cookies. Add in some macaroons with dulce de leche filling, chocolate crème cookies with ganache filling, and some homemade chocolate covered marshmallows for a gorgeous plate of treats that fits any hosting event.

Restore your energy after a day spent doing it all by having a home-cooked meal delivered to your west-end door by newcomers Pinch Catering. Make your life even easier by booking them to cater your annual Christmas dinner party so you can actually relax with your guests, while someone else pulls together appetizers, main courses, and desserts that will have everyone raving.