Giant Gingerbread Village | $100 Giveaway #MLGgingerbreadVillage

This past weekend we had a busy Saturday that saw us dancing along with Princesses at Kidzfest in downtown Toronto,  popping by the City’s Cavalcade of Lights AND walking through one GIANT Gingerbread Village! You may recall that Santa was supposed to be at Loblaws Maple Leaf Gardens and so we decided to swing by and say hello. We got in the holiday spirit at our local supermarket and we have a $100 President’s Choice gift card for one lucky reader!

Disclosure: This post is in partnership with Loblaws, but as always,opinions are totally mine!

The hubs and I rolled into the Loblaws Maple Leaf Gardens around 3 p.m. on Saturday with our double stroller (and the kids of course!) and we quickly spotted the giant gingerbread village. We had told Little Monkey about the gingerbread house and the possibility of bumping into Santa so she was eager to start exploring. Sadly we’d had a busy day already and so tempers were on high alert. Exploring the Gingerbread Village is free of charge and you can enjoy a few drinks and nibbles along the way.

As we pulled up to the house, we were greeted by Elves and the kids tried their best to steal gummies from the gingerbread house so we quickly ushered them towards the Apple Cider and Hot Chocolate stations. We were given mini cups of warm chocolaty goodness with plenty of marshmallows when Little Monkey swung her hand the wrong way and we were THAT family that made a mess of the gingerbread house. Opps! I apologized profusely and did my best to soak up the liquid with our napkins but we were totally failing and the Elves promised to take care of it and made us feel better.

As I was sampling some of the brie with red pepper Jelly on an ACE bread crisp, I spotted Santa trying to get some samples of the famous PC Insider’s Collection Cheesecake (I’ve had it before and it’s TOTALLY delicious and way easier than making it at home) and he quickly greeted kids. Baby Boy wanted NOTHING to do with the big guy (no surprise) but Little Monkey was cautiously trying to get closer. She’s well aware that she needs to share her Christmas wishlist with him, despite not wanting to talk to him.

$5 per kid (in benefit of the President’s Choice Children’s Charity), got us a fabulous family picture and the Elf on camera duty printed it out for us before we were done chatting with Santa. We must have lucked out during our visit because we had plenty of time with Santa and he not only looked like the real deal, he was also fabulous with the kids.

The real fun for the kids was the crafting table set up at the back of the Gingerbread House where Elves greeted us and gave each child a gingerbread man/woman to decorate. An icing bag and plenty of candy saw Little Monkey decorating away while Baby Boy decided to quickly decorate and then EAT it all immediately! Once the decorations were done Little Monkey decided to use the glitter pens and markers to write her letter to Santa. I’m in trouble guys, what are these talking Frozen characters she wants? Someone clue me in!! Envelopes on the table with Santa’s address makes it easy for parents. The hubs decided to go grab some pizza and groceries while I hung out with the busy kids and I must admit that the Gingerbread Village is well  thought out and not once did we feel rushed. We did park our stroller outside of the village (by the entrance) and definitely plan to do so as there’s no space inside for it. If it is busy, I’d recommend walking around the store and exploring the many aisles filled with goodies waiting to be discovered before popping by again.

The village will be open every Saturday and Sunday from November 28 to December 20 and on December 22 and 23 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. We not only grabbed milk, yoghurt and a few veggies during our visit to Loblaws Maple Leaf Gardens, but we also got our family picture and some gingerbread men before having freshly baked Pizza as a snack. Not bad for a grocery store visit eh?

To keep the holiday cheer going, President’s Choice would like to help you with your holiday entertaining and so we have the chance for you to win a $100 gift card. Good luck and be sure to check out our other giveaways!

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