Earlier this week a big news story was that a billionaire purchased a $170.4M painting using his credit card and he will now reap millions of reward points. Thanks to this spending, he’s promised to allow his family to travel pretty much anywhere on earth for the rest of their lives. We should be so fortunate to have such a purchasing experience (and credit limit) but the idea of using reward points as gifts for families is actually a really good holiday shopping tip.
TD Canada recently conducted a survey about online shopping habits and also consulted Cathie Mostowyk, an online shopping expert and president of Shoestring Shopping Guide Inc., and they’re shared some insights for the holidays.
Tips for Online Holiday Shopping
70% of Canadians surveyed do at least some of their holiday shopping online. Over 37% of those doing their shopping online are more likely to say they spend more than they would in store.
So what should you do? Make a plan and track each purchase to help manage temptation. That way, there should be no surprises when you see your credit card bill at the end of the month. Your family and friends can even use apps to send you their wish lists, such as Giftster, and some stores even have Wish List functions on their apps (like Target or Amazon).
Redeeming your credit card loyalty points for your holiday gifts is one way you can help stay within your budget, while making buying gifts easier and giving yourself more time to spend with your loved ones this holiday season. The TD First Class Travel Visa Infinite* credit card offers redemption flexibility for not only travel but also name brand merchandise and gift cards.
I know it’s a bit more clutter in your inbox, but signing up for savings programs from retailers can also be beneficial. When I’m asked for my email address in a store I usually don’t give it but I do stay on lists if I’ve been signed up after an online purchase. Subscribers can be offered special pricing and rates — I am a “Friend of the Empress Hotel” in Victoria and with that I get a good deal on their world famous Afternoon Tea.
One thing to look out for when shopping online is hidden expenses like shipping, duty, taxes, and exchange rates which can quickly add up. To cut shipping costs, shop in bulk at one retailer (to only get charged once for shipping) or pick-up in store if they have a location nearby.
With just a few weeks left to shop until the big day, these tips should hopefully help you save time and money this Christmas.
Ballet BC is proud to present Alberta Ballet in their exquisite production of the holiday classic The Nutcracker, with live music from the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra.
Image courtesy of Ballet BC/Alberta Ballet
Where: Queen Elizabeth Theatre (649 Cambie St, Vancouver)
When: December 29 & 30 at 7:30pm, December 30 & 31 at 2:00pm
Tickets: Purchase through Ticketmaster at 1-855-985-2787 (855-985-ARTS) or online for $35 to $110 (including GST and service charges). Family 4-packs are available from $250-$335.
Choreographed by Edmund Stripe, with sets and costumes designed by Emmy Award-winning designer Zack Brown, The Nutcracker is set in turn of the 20th century Imperial Russia, an era of opulent grandeur. This production “…sparkles like a Fabergé egg…” says the Vancouver Sun and extravagantly displays more than a million dollars in stunning sets and costumes. With scores of children, mice in the battle scene dressed as Cossack soldiers, and snowflakes dressed as Russian princesses, this “sparking and spectacular achievement” (The Calgary Herald) offers a perfect complement to Tchaikovsky’s glorious musical score played live by the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra.
Image courtesy of Ballet BC/Alberta Ballet
Win Tickets to The Nutcracker
Courtesy of Ballet BC, I have a pair of tickets to give away to the 2:00pm performance of The Nutcracker on December 31st. Here’s how you can enter to win & have a magical end to your 2015:
- Leave a comment on this post (1 entry)
- Post the following on Twitter (1 entry)
I will draw one winner at random from all entries at 5:00pm on Thursday, December 10, 2015. Follow Ballet BC on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram for more information about their performances throughout their 30th anniversary season.
Update The winner is Selina!
We stood out on a dock at Lac Beauvert in Jasper, on an October night so clear that the only clouds around were the ones we made with our breath. Across the lake, the bass from a wedding party thumped at the Fairmont Jasper Park Lodge and above us hung a moon so full we didn’t need flashlights. John set up a tripod, while I doubled up on my gloves, and we attempted our first night time/stargazing photography session.
The full moon made it tough to capture all of the twinkles above but we were in such a fantastic location, that even our rookie attempts turned out pretty good. It’s such a wondrous feeling to look up into the night sky and see it shimmering from one end of the horizon to the other – such an awe-inspiring sight is rarely experienced in the big city because of all of the light pollution getting in the way. Luckily, there are several Dark Sky Preserves across the country so if you truly wanted to get away from it all and stare up at galaxies far, far away, you can in these very special places.
The Royal Astronomical Association of Canada (“RASC”) has several formal guidelines and requirements for becoming a Dark Sky Preserve, an Urban Star Park or Nocturnal Preserves.
In Alberta, there are three Dark Sky Preserves and it just so happens then John and I visited two of them on our recent trip: Beaver Hills at Elk Island National Park, Jasper National Park, and Wood Buffalo National Park.
Jasper Dark Sky Festival
Follow the Athabasca Glacier up to the Milky Way in this stunning national park, ripe with photo opportunities day and night. In October, Jasper hosts the Dark Sky Festival that features free community events with the TELUS World of Science Edmonton and RASC (that include fun family activities like building your own pop bottle rockets), as well as paid keynote addresses from some of the world’s most celebrated scientific (and entertaining) personalities.
John and I were in town for the Dark Sky Festival and we were able to sit in on a keynote with Commander Chris Hadfield as well as a trio of Mythbusters (Tori Belleci, Kari Byron and Grant Imahara). The festival included some nightly wine & dine events as well as generous samplings of the Jasper Brewing Co‘s Dark Sky Dark Rye Lager.
This legendary Rocky Mountain park has a bustling town centre, resort lodges, SkyTram, and skiing at Marmot Basin. It was gorgeous in the fall, when we drove up the Icefields Parkway from Banff, and I can only imagine how wonderful it would be to ski or snowshoe on a winter’s day, hug a mug of hot chocolate by the fire in the evening, and step outside to view the Northern Lights painting the stars in a brilliant green hue at night.
Dark Sky Preserve at Elk Island
Our second Dark Sky experience in Alberta was when we discovered Elk Island National Park, located roughly 40km east of Edmonton and home to hundreds of bison, a thousand beavers, and over 250 bird species.
Elk Island was founded in 1906, becoming Canada’s first wildlife sanctuary, and we toured the bison handling facility with two Parks Canada rangers who explained how these magnificent animals were brought back from near extinction. Around the turn of the century, after having a booming population of over 30 million, fewer than 200 plains bison were left in the world.
Today, Elk Island is home to 5% of the world’s bison population, with over 450 Plains Bison and over 300 Wood Bison, and they experience 20% herd growth each year.
At 194 square kilometres, it is Canada’s only fenced national park, and its wetlands and forests provide the ideal home base for those looking to look up at a clear night sky. The visitor centre is open year-round and camping is available from May to October. Photograph bison at sunrise, have an afternoon picnic by the lake, enjoy an evening campfire as the Northern Lights flicker above, and definitely get in some stargazing.
You’re only half an hour away from the hustle and bustle of Edmonton but you will feel like you’re in an entirely different part of the world. A place where the trembling aspen glow bright yellow in the fall as herds of elk graze beside swollen ponds, where busy beavers build up their lodges. We’re already planning to return in the spring to camp and canoe, and of course get in some dark sky viewing – and photography now that we have some experience.
Leave the city behind and explore another side of Alberta, while staring up at the universe, and discovering all that you can see and do under dark skies.
View all of John’s photos from our trip in his Flickr album, and find mine on Flickr and Instagram.
Robson and Granville on May 4, 1969
Photographer: Ernie H. Reksten
Archives: #2010-006.097
This image made available by the City of Vancouver Archives. Click here for the large version, to spot stores like House of Christmas, Manly Hat Shop, and Ladies City.
This intersection sure has changed over the years. In the 1970s it became home to Eaton’s at Pacific Centre, followed by Sears. This fall Nordstrom moved in and changed the landscape once again.
