Aunt Leah’s Christmas Tree Lots are now open in 5 locations around Metro Vancouver. These lots are a major annual fundraiser for Aunt Leah’s Place, with 100% of profits from the sale of the trees go to support the housing and training programs for foster youth and young moms.

About Aunt Leah’s

Every year in BC, over 700 youth will turn 19 and “age out” of government care, forcing an abrupt end to their social, emotional, and financial supports. Quickly, these youth must secure food, housing, employment, and develop the life-skills to keep it all together. It’s an exacting standard we ask of no other young adults in our society. As a result, nearly half of these youths will experience homelessness, less than a third will graduate from secondary school, and the majority will rely on income assistance.

Last year Aunt Leah’s Christmas Tree Lots raised over $500,000. Aunt Leah’s relies on the support of the community to raise these vital funds to ensure that youth aging out of care and young moms and their babies, like Amber and her daughter, have a place to go when they need support.

Volunteers Needed

They are in need of volunteers this season and it’s easy to sign up online to support one of the 5 locations around Metro Vancouver.

Aunt Leah’s Christmas Tree Lots 2018

Browse the selection of Douglas Firs, Noble Firs, Fraser Fir, Alpine Fir, Alberta Spruce, Grand Fir, Nordman Fir, and Interior Douglas trees available on the lots.

Aunt Leah’s has 17 years of experience in tree sales and four locations:

Vancouver Christmas Tree Lots

1) Location: St. Stephen’s United Church (7025 Granville St)
Hours: 7 days a week from 10:00am to 9:00pm

2) Location: River District Neighbourhood (3555 Sawmill Crescent)
Hours: Wednesday & Thursday 1:00pm to 8:00pm
Friday to Sunday 10:00am to 8:00pm
Closed Mondays and Tuesdays

Burnaby Christmas Tree Lot

3) Location: All Saints Anglican Church (7405 Royal Oak, Burnaby)
Hours: Monday to Thursday from 1:00pm to 8:00pm
Friday, Saturday, Sunday from 10:00am to 9:00pm

Coquitlam Christmas Tree Lot

4) Location: Eagle Ridge United Church (2813 Glen Drive, Coquitlam)
Hours: Monday to Thursday from 1:00pm to 8:00pm
Friday, Saturday, Sunday from 10:00am to 9:00pm

North Vancouver Christmas Tree Lot

5) Location: Lonsdale Quay (East Plaza) 123 Carrie Cates Court
Hours: Monday to Thursday from 1:00pm to 8:00pm
Friday, Saturday, Sunday from 10:00am to 8:00pm

Look for a special pop-up lot at Caps Bicycle Shop (434 Columbia St, New Westminster) on December 8 & 9, 2018 from 10:00am to 6:00pm.

You can also purchase trees online for delivery to any city in Metro Vancouver.

Wreath Giveaway

Thanks to Aunt Leah’s I have a wreath to give away to a lucky Miss604 reader. Beautifully handcrafted by a local artisan, this wreath is made of a mix of bows and pines carefully selected to create a high quality wreath that will fill your home with a very pleasant Christmas scent and will last all season long.

Here’s how you can enter to win:

• Leave a comment on this post (1 entry)
• Click below to get another entry by posting on Twitter:

[clickToTweet tweet=”RT to enter to win a handcrafted wreath from @AuntLeahs #AuntLeahsTrees http://ow.ly/hZAC30mQv6O” quote=” Click to enter via Twitter” theme=”style6″]

I will draw one winner at random from all entries at 12:00pm on Friday, December 7, 2018. The winner will be able to pick up their wreath at the Aunt Leah’s lot that is most convenient for them. Follow Aunt Leah’s on Twitter and Facebook for news and updates.

Update The winner is Esther!

Sponsored by London Drugs

The Stocking Stuffers for Seniors campaign currently underway at London Drugs stores across Western Canada with a goal of supporting 15,000 seniors in total this holiday season!

Shopping for others is one of my favourite parts of the holiday season. Selecting something from someone’s wish list, knowing they’ll enjoy the thought and the item, gives a warmer, fuzzier feeling than a festive mug of hot chocolate.

Stocking Stuffers for Seniors is a customer-driven donation drive in which people can visit their local London Drugs, choose a tag from the tree that contains the personalized wish list of a local senior. The gifts are then delivered to the seniors before Christmas. Just the act of receiving a gift helps to significantly improve the spirits of a senior and can have lasting mental and physical health benefits.

The donation drive concept originated in BC’s Okanagan and expanded to Edmonton in 2015 with a goal to help 40 low-income seniors by providing them with simple gifts such as food, hygiene products or warmth items. The campaign has grown quickly to now include all 80 London Drugs locations in 35 cities across Western Canada. Since the campaign started, gifts for approximately 14,500 seniors have been delivered.

The Stocking Stuffers for Seniors is a great way to connect with another generation and support our elderly. Isolated seniors is an epidemic in Canada – 1.4 million seniors report feeling lonely. Stocking Stuffers for Seniors is a small way we can brighten the spirits of lonely, isolated and low-income seniors at the holidays.

How to Participate

1. Visit your local London Drugs
2. Find the Stocking Stuffers for Seniors Christmas tree at the store
3. Choose your tag(s) containing the personalized wish lists of local seniors
4. Do your shopping and take your items along with the tag(s) to the cashier
5. Santa and his elves will deliver your gifts to your senior(s) before the holidays!

10 Popular Gifts for Seniors

My Shopping Experience

I spent some time at my local London Drugs picking up items for a few seniors whose wish lists hung on the store’s Christmas tree. It was like a store-wide scavenger hunt to find the requested items, and it actually felt really special to pick out items as a gift for someone. Tea, socks, lipstick, a CD, a scarf, or a box of chocolates. Such seemingly simple items can have such a huge impact.

I think Garfield the Cat put it best when he said, it’s not the giving, it’s not the getting, it’s the loving! Show a local senior that someone cares about them by participating in this program at London Drugs, on now until December 9th.

Follow London Drugs on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram for more information about #StockingStuffersForSeniors and their many other community initiatives.

The Firehall Arts Centre is pleased to present Anosh Irani’s Bombay Black, from Wednesday, December 5 to Saturday, December 15, 2018.

Named one of the top shows on Vancouver stages in 2017 by The Georgia Straight, Bombay Black is a searing play set in the bitter reality of present-day India. The iron-willed Padma (Jessie Award nominee Nimet Kanji) takes money from men who watch her daughter, Apsara (rising star Arshdeep Purba), perform an exotic dance. When a mysterious blind man named Kamal (Jessie Award nominee Munish Sharma) arrives for an appointment, his secret threatens to change each of their lives forever.

Bombay Black at the Firehall Arts Centre

When: December 5-15, 2018
Where: Firehall Arts Centre (280 E. Cordova, Vancouver)
Tickets: From $20 online or call (604) 689-0926

Directed by Mumbai-born, multiple award-winning Indo-Canadian producer Rohit Chokhani, Bombay Black features a remarkable poetic text, bold theatrical imagery and a gritty twist. Chokhani’s reimagination of Irani’s work marks the first time this play is presented from the perspective of a blind man. An earlier version of this production, which was Chokhani’s directorial debut at the 2017 Vancouver Fringe Festival, enjoyed a sold-out run and received the Pick of the Fringe Award.

Win Tickets

I have a pair of tickets to give away to opening night on December 6, 2018 at 8:00pm. Here’s how you can enter to win:

• Leave a comment on this post (1 entry)
• Click below to get another entry by posting on Twitter:

[clickToTweet tweet=”RT to enter to win tickets to opening night of Anosh Irani’s #BombayBlack @FirehallArtsCte http://ow.ly/Ju0R30mPmcv” quote=” Click to enter via Twitter” theme=”style6″]

I will draw one winner at random from all entries at 12:00pm on Tuesday, December 4, 2018.

Follow the Firehall Arts Centre on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram for info.

Update The winner is Jeff!

Sponsored by Purolator

“Can we postpone the meeting? I am waiting for a delivery,” are words I’ve uttered before. As someone with a home office, who receives several press deliveries and packages from contest partners every week, catching a delivery when it arrives is crucial. If I miss the buzzer, which goes to my phone, I either have to announce to the driver over the loudspeaker “I’m not home right now” and have that echo across the neighbourhood, or I have to wait for the door tag.

Ah, the door tag. The wonderful announcement that my parcel has arrived, but I just can’t access it yet. Lucky for me, and you, there’s still a way to receive parcels and packages while you’re on the go, so you don’t need to worry about missing that knock at your door with your latest gift or business delivery!

Purolator Mobile Quick Stop

Purolator Mobile Quick Stop has set up in the Greater Toronto Area, Metro Vancouver, Ottawa and Montreal this season to improve the online shopping experience for Canadians. Mobile trucks are serving as a convenient pick-up location for customers with doorknocker notices, as opposed to commuting to a traditional Purolator facility further away.

Where:

• 3701 West Broadway, Vancouver, BC, V6R 3R6
• 11666 Steveston Hwy, Richmond, BC V7A 1X3
• Coquitlam Centre – 2929 Barnett Hwy., Coquitlam, BC V3B 5R5
• Opening December 3rd!
  Big Bend Crossing, 5751 – 5821 Marine Way, Burnaby, BC V5J 0A6

When:

• Service will operate Monday to Saturday from 3:00pm to 8:00pm now through December 28, 2018.

While you’re out and about around Vancouver getting ready for the hustle and bustle of the holidays, Purolator Mobile Quick Stop’s convenient locale can give you what you want most – more free time. So, if you’re in the neighbourhood picking up a package, take some time to enjoy your newfound freedom by exploring the local holiday delights in and around the Mobile Quick Stop.

Enjoy sushi at the funky spot The Eatery. Famous for funky décor and punchy names, the rolls here can’t be beat. Order to go for extra convenience. Stop by Browns Socialhouse for a happy hour drink. Delicious food on a menu that will please the whole family. Grab a coffee and a famous cinnamon bun at Grounds for Coffee – a cute west side café close by Purolator’s Mobile Quick Stop in Vancouver.

Last minute gift ideas? Check out 4Cats Arts Studio, for one of their arts and crafts classes – suitable for all ages – and make the perfect gift for someone in your life. Need a little holiday pampering? Try Le Petit Spa, which features massages, waxing, facials and more! Be sure to check out their specials.

For more information, visit Purolator.com to find out where your closest Mobile Quick Stop truck is located.

Experience sponsored by Willamette Valley Oregon Wine Country along with Eugene, Cascades & Coast

John and I believe in balance: We work hard to play hard. We also enjoy fine foods and beverages, as well as physical activity. It just so happens that we found this balance during our recent trip to Willamette Valley Oregon Wine Country.

Hiking in Philomath

Before stopping in at Cardwell Hill Cellars in Philomath, Oregon, we went for a hike in the Beazell Memorial Forest, which is a testament to true love. For real! Even though my Cascadian heart finds forests utterly and hopelessly romantic settings in general, this one was specially created for all to enjoy thanks to a dedication from a beloved husband.

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