Aunt Leah’s Christmas Tree Lots are now open in 5 locations around Metro Vancouver. What sets these lots apart is that they are a major annual fundraiser for Aunt Leah’s Place, with 100% of proceeds going towards housing for vulnerable youth leaving foster care, and young moms and their children.

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.

Aunt Leah’s Place provides supportive housing for youth transitioning out of foster care and young mothers in need. Their programs target the entry and exit points of the foster care system, with a goal of providing stability, resources and opportunities similar to those provided by mainstream Canadian families.

Aunt Leah’s Christmas Tree Lots

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 Lot

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

Burnaby Christmas Tree Lot

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

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

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

New Westminster Christmas Tree Lot

Location: New Westminster Brewery District (287 Nelson’s Court)
Hours: Thursday to Monday from 12:00pm to 8:00pm
Tuesday & Wednesday closed

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 on Salt Spring Island 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/s9Je30gVrkt” quote=” Click to enter via Twitter” theme=”style6″]

I will draw one winner at random from all entries at 12:00pm on Wednesday, December 6, 2017. 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 Cynthia!

Just in time for the holiday rush, a new history book has been released about my hometown, the City of Surrey! Add it to your wish list, shopping list, and even the list you send to the Santa in your life. It’s a history book but not the kind I would have found in my history class at West Whalley Junior High.

Surrey: A City of Stories

They’re calling it a coffee table book and that is the perfect description. Written by award-winning author K. Jane Watt, Surrey: A City of Stories was designed so you could flip to any page, take in an amazing old picture, read a quick story and be transported to a different time.

Boomers and their parents will remember the scenes and sites featured in the book, while Gen-X and Millennials will be amazed by the change. It’s a colourful “then and now” look at the City beaming with nostalgia.

I highly recommend it for that memorable present the whole family will be looking at post-Christmas dinner. You can pick yours up for $25 at virtually any City of Surrey facility or have it shipped for an extra $10 when you purchase online or over the phone.

Every Surrey resident, past or present, should have a copy. You really need to see the book to appreciate it. Here are a few highlights…

Cars parked on the sand at Crescent Beach in 1957.

A May Day celebration at the corner of 64th Avenue and 152nd Street in the 1950s.

Surrey Place Mall which opened in 1972.

Four Convenient Ways to Purchase the Book

• Order online and have it shipped to your home (plus $10 shipping within BC)
• Call 604-501-5100 Monday to Friday and have it shipped to your home (plus $10 shipping within BC)
• In person at Black Bond Books in Semiahmoo Shopping Centre or Central City
• In person at any of the City of Surrey facilities below:

Purchase online today or pick one up in person at one of these locations. Follow Heritage Surrey BC on Facebook for more information.

The Lights at Lafarge Winter Lights Display is now on nightly until January, with hundreds of thousands of lights illuminating one of Coquitlam’s star attractions. It’s free to attend, has community engagement and family activities with Coquitlam’s Park Spark team, and provides plenty of photo ops.

Winter Lights at Lafarge Lake

Dates: November 25, 2017 to January 21, 2018
Times: Nightly 4:30pm to 11:00pm (past midnight on New Year’s Eve)
Where: Lafarge Lake, Town Centre Park Coquitlam
Admission: FREE!

The Lights at Lafarge Winter Lights Display is located just steps from Lafarge Lake-Douglas SkyTrain Station and is a wonderful opportunity to get outdoors and get active with friends and family.

Follow the 1.2km trail around the lake and enter a variety of themed light zones. Walk through the lighted 90-foot-long framed caterpillar, take pics at the Arbour Walk lighted archway, visit the Fantasy Forest with an elfin tree house, and tip toe through the Woodland Garden with overhead starbursts and tulip lights over the ground.

#ExploreCoquitlam Giveaway

I’ve had so much fun partnering with the City of Coquitlam this year and we’re both very excited to host a photo contest for Lights at Lafarge.

When you visit the attraction, you’ll find two picture frame signs in the area that are marked with #ExploreCoquitlam.

1. Take a photo with a frame and post it on social media using #ExploreCoquitlam & @Miss604
2. You’ll be entered to win an awesome prize package valued at $400!

The Prize

• One night’s stay with breakfast for two at Executive Plaza Hotel & Conference Centre in Coquitlam
• Tickets for two to see The Good Lovelies on January 28 at Evergreen Cultural Centre
• $50 gift certificate to Coquitlam Centre
• $50 gift certificate to Tacoreano Restaurant
• $30 gift certificate to Mariner Brewing
• Two drop-in passes to Coquitlam’s City Centre Aquatic Complex

All you need to do is visit this the free Lights at Lafarge display by January 2nd, find a frame, and post a photo tagging #ExploreCoquitlam & @Miss604 and you’ll be entered to win!

I will draw one winner at random from all entries received (combined on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter), on January 2, 2018 at 12:00pm. Follow the City of Coquitlam on Facebook and Twitter for more information.

Miss604 is a proud sponsor of Lights at Lafarge

UPDATE: The winner is Lloyd Silva!

What’s even better than giving an awesome gift? A gift that keeps on giving of course! According to the Canadian Red Cross, an impressive 63% of Canadians feel compelled to donate to charity or volunteer their time as we approach this holiday season. In this spirit, I have put together a gift guide, with meaning. You can give a thoughtful gift to a friend or loved one, and in turn that gift also supports your community or efforts abroad.

Gifts with Meaning That Give Back

Organization: Downtown Eastside Neighbourhood House
Gift: Holiday Gift Baskets for $99 including local, hand-made, artisinal items from local businesses. Bombay Masala Tea, olive oil, honey, salmon, locally-roasted coffee and much more in this delicious gift. All proceeds benefit DTES Neighbourhood House and their programs. Delivery is free to Burnaby, Vancouver, Richmond, North Vancouver and West Vancouver.

Organization: Big Brothers Big Sisters Of Canada
Gift: Cozy For A Cause With Bootlegger supports BBBSC when you purchase some festive Holiday Slipper Socks for $10, $1 of each pair sold directly benefits the charity. The money raised helps ensure that Canadian youth who are in need of a mentor receive the support of an adult to help them tackle issues like bullying, and help to give them self-confidence.

Organization: Me to We
Gift: Browse an entire catalogue of handmade items, from coffee to necklaces, each supporting a pillar of Me to We’s programs: Education, Water, Health, Food, and Opportunity. Just one example: You can gift a gorgeous #GirlLove rafiki bracelet, created in collaboration with Lilly Singh, handcrafted by a mama in Kenya who is empowered through earning a fair wage for her work, and from which proceeds provide access to education. Every gift in the Me to We holiday guide has an impact, in fact you can even browse the online shop sorting by impact.

Organization: Cause We Care
Gift: Blue Ruby Jewellery and Cause We Care have teamed up once again to offer a beautiful bracelet for purchase with proceeds supporting a local cause. 100% of the proceeds from these bracelets go towards Cause We Care Foundation’s programs and initiatives in support of single mother-led families and children in need in the Vancouver area.

Fund a Need

Organization: UNICEF Canada
Gift: UNICEF Canada Survival Gifts are a collection of over 65 charity gifts essential for child survival, protection and development – available both as online and offline catalogues. They are not only gifts that give back but real items that are distributed to children and their families in response to real need. You purchase the survival gift on behalf of a friend or loved one, they receive a personalized card, and a child receives the gift.

Organization: Canadian Cancer Society
Gift: Make a meaningful gift in someone’s name through the Canadian Cancer Society’s gift program. You can order daffodils, give the gift of sleep, help give camp supplies to a child with cancer, donate a wig, fund research or stock a lab. Place your gift order, send a personalized card to your loved one, and let them know what you have been able to fund in their name.

Organization: YWCA Metro Vancouver
Gift: Fund a need for local women and children, on behalf of a loved one this season through the YWCA Metro Vancouver’s Simplify the Season campaign. Give the gift of healthy lunches for a month, clothes for a family in need, groceries and more. Shop needs online, click to purchase, and the YWCA delivers while you let your friend know that you’ve made this gift on their behalf.

Organization: Canadian Red Cross
Gift: Build a Survival Kit from a selection of gifts online that will deliver hope and comfort this season. Now through December 25, 2017, all gifts are matched by Aviva Canada meaning your gift is doubled. You can add blankets and comfort, mother and baby health packs, or grocery packs to your cart and send these gifts on behalf of your friend or loved one, with an option to send them a personalized e-card to let them know.

If you know of any other initiatives, please feel free to leave information in the comments section. Happy shopping!

You can purchase or upgrade your winter tires and also support an awesome cause in your community this season with Kal Tire and Food Banks in BC.

I didn’t really realize the impact and effectiveness that winter tires can have on a car until I was ripping across a closed course runway at the Pitt Meadows airport with Kal Tire and slamming on my anti-lock brakes last year. I then repeated the process a few times, at various speeds and with various tires, getting quite an education. Winter tires are crucial components, and they’re even legally required on many BC highways starting in October and lasting throughout the season.

When you purchase a set of any four tires at Kal Tire this season, you will receive $50 off your tire purchase and your local food bank will also receive $50. All donations stay in your local community, and the cash donation gives your local food bank some great buying power.

For every $1 the food bank gets, it can turn it into almost $3 worth of food, enabling your donation to go further so they can provide non-perishable items for those in need. Also, about 40% of food distributed by food banks is fresh, meaning your dollar contributions can help them purchase and supply what is most needed.

Over 860,000 Canadian use the food bank each month and 1 in 3 food bank users is a child. 156,000 Canadian in rural communities also rely on a food bank.

Participating Kal Tire locations in BC:

This is a great way for families to ensure they have safe tires on their vehicle this season as well as make an enormous difference for other families in our community. For more information, follow Kal Tire on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.