2012 started with a great weekend in Montreal. From January 20^th to 22^nd,the Par-T-Perfect team met up at our annual conference.

 The Par-T-Crew started arriving on Friday the 20^th to catch up on old times and share industry insight.

 On Saturday the 21^st the team spent the day sharing ideas to ensure we maintain our place as the industry leader in children and family events. The cornerstone of our success over the past 24 years has been; great staff, clean equipment, safety, and of course creative fun! 2012 looks to be an amazing year with lots of great memories for our customers!

Saturday night the team got together for some great Quebec hospitality and enjoy the food and sights of downtown Montreal.

 On Sunday morning after a brief review session over breakfast it was out to enjoy the festival – Fête des neiges de Montréal. Some of us stayed a few days longer to enjoy this great city. We can hardly wait to have a franchise in Montreal so we have reasons to return more often!

Here are a few ideas on how to keep the kids entertained during the Super Bowl.

Decorations

Use your teams’ colours and if they didn’t make it to the Super Bowl you’ll want to divide the decorations so guests can choose a team to get behind. A general football theme is also perfect.

Game Day Food

A football party menu for kids won’t be hard.  You’ll want to serve snacks that are easy to eat and hearty, like mini sandwiches and dips. Pizza is another favorite. Of course, you can never go wrong with hot dogs and hamburgers.

Super Bowl Activities

Football Bingo. Kids love bingo and you can make it even more enticing for them by using smarties or marshmallows as markers.  You can create your own bingo picture template or find a free download online.  If you keep the boards generic enough, you could laminate them and use them next year.

Football Cookie Decorating. Get some fun football themed cookie cutters use sugar cookie dough. Once the cookies have been cut, baked and cooled, provide frosting and sprinkles in your teams’ colours for the kids to decorate with.

A Football Toss. Give each pair a mini, soft football.  Have them begin about two feet apart facing each other.  Then have one person toss the football to the other.  Each time a successful catch is made, the each take a giant step away from each other.  The last pair to complete a catch successfully, wins!

Coloring Pages. Provide markers and crayons and find lots of different football themed coloring pages to print for free online.

Half Time Show. Ask the kids to work on putting together their own half time show for everyone to watch. Give some props or costumes (karaoke machine, football gear, pom poms, glamor make up or face paint… etc) for them to use. They will love being centre stage for part of the celebrations.

Have fun and enjoy!!!!

As you all know by now, we love the fun facts and traditions that make each holiday tradition special!  We figured that a leap year is pretty special so we went on a hunt to find out some history and traditions behind the leap year!

A leap year has 366 days, why you ask?  Well, the ancient Egyptians figured out that the solar year and the man made calendar year didn’t always match up!  The Earth actually takes a little more than a year to travel around the sun – 365 days, 5 hours, 48 minutes and 46 seconds if you really want to get technical! As the hours accumulated over the centuries, an extra day was occasionally added to the calendar, over time the practice became more or less official.

The Romans first designated February 29th as a leap day but in the 16th century the Gregorian calendar fine tuned the calculations to include a leap day in years only divisible by four. We still follow this now, in 2012!

Some of the other facts about leap years include

• The “rules” state that no year divisible by 100 would have a leap year, except if it was divisible by 400 yet, 1900 was not a leap year but 2000 was – who says rules can’t be broken?!
• If you were born under the sign of Pisces on February 29th you have unusual talents – according to astrologers
• 56 countries around the world will observe Rare Disease Day on February 29th 2012 calling for more research into ailments that have no known cure
• The Gregorian calendar was first adopted in Italy, Poland, Portugal & Spain in 1582 – that year they dropped 10 days in October
• In the U.K. & America, the Gregorian Calendar was adopted in 1752 – they dropped 11 days
• Sweden & Finland had a “double” leap year in 1712 creating February 30th. This was done because the dropped the leap year in 1700 & needed to add an extra day to be in synch with the Julian calendar
• The Julian calendar (between the years 1901 and 2099) is 13 days ahead of the Gregorian calendar because too many leap years were added.
• Leap years that share the same day of the week for each date repeat only every 28 years

Leap years provide us with some crazy age old traditions, superstitions and folklore! Here’s some of our favorites!

• Leap days resulted in social customs turned upside down! February 29th became a “no man’s land” without legal jurisdiction!
• A woman may propose to a man in a leap year – this tradition has dated back to the 5th century beginning in Ireland
• In 1288 Queen Margaret of Scotland declared that on February 29th a woman had the right to pop the question to any man she fancied. Men who refused the proposal were fined with a kiss, a silk dress or a pair of gloves to be given to the rejected lady. Some women were know to fund their entire wardrobes by proposing to a lot of men they knew would reject them.
• Leap day plays a role in “The Pirates of Penzance” comic opera where the hero realizes his apprenticeship binds him until his 21st birthday but since his birthday falls on February 29th technically he won’t reach his 21st birthday until he is in his eighties!
• People born on leap year’s day are called leaplings
• Anthony, Texas is the self proclaimed leap year capital of the world. Each year this town holds a festival and leap year birthdays are celebrated with hot air balloon rides. People from all over the world travel here to celebrate their special day in style! (I wonder if they have bouncy castles too???)
• Chances of having a leap year birthday are 1 in 1461
• 4 million people in the world have been born on Feb. 29th

So, if this is your “real” birthday year, be sure to celebrate it in style and don’t forget to show off your unusual talents too!

Be sure to visit our website for more of our fun fact filled blogs www.par-t-perfect.com

Par-T-Perfect Victoria is pleased to announce that our newest indoor facility in now available to book parties!

We are excited to now partner with the Victoria West Community Centre for our Par-T-Rec packages!  The Victoria West Community Centre is a beautiful facility offering all we need to offer you another option for indoor  bouncy castle parties!  As with our other facilities we will be offering 2 hours of fun including an inflatable and other activities such as face painting and balloon animals!  At all our locations we have access to kindergym equipment to add to the fun as well as kitchen access! The best part is that you don’t have to do the clean up!

Our facility locations include Cedar Hill Rec Centre, Burnside Gorge Community Centre, Fairfield Community Centre, Oaklands Community Centre and now Victoria West Community Centre.  We are also pleased to offer our special Par-T-Spa package exclusively at Westshore Parks & Rec.

Alternatively we have some fabulous options for at home parties such as our Par-T-Bear, Tale Time Fun (story time party) or have a costumed leader come in to do face painting, balloon animals & crafts!

Still want something more elaborate?  How about booking our Par-T-Fun or Par-T-Deluxe packages, we’ll assist with the room rental at any of our facilities too!

Be sure to contact us at 250-386-5867 for all pricing and availability! For more information on the parties we offer and inflatables available be sure to visit our website www.par-t-perfect.com

Although winter might still be here, we’ve got all the options you need to make your next birthday party an amazing one!

While we put the finishing touches on our present wrapping, tree trimming and food preparations, many of our friends & neighbours may be celebrating something other than Christmas!  We uncovered some great history behind Hanukah & Kwanzaa that we wanted to share.

Hanukah is a relatively new, minor Jewish holiday, getting started more than 2000 years ago, celebrating the miracle of a small jug of pure olive oil that kept the golden menorah glowing in the holy Temple for 8 days when there was only enough for one day. It is a time to recall a historical event more than 2100 years ago when a small Jewish army, led by five brothers known as the Maccabees, defeated a huge Assyrian-Greek army complete with elephants and led by an intolerant King name Antiochus.

• Hanukah is an 8 day long Festival of Light which starts on the 25th day of the Hebrew month of Kislev (this year Hanukah starts Dec. 20th)
• Hanukah was instituted after the Torah (sacred texts) was completed
• A family centered holiday celebrated mostly at home
• Children receive coins (real or chocolate) for playing dreidle, a spinning top with letters on each of its four sides that provide directions for a game as well as the sentence, “A great miracle happened there…”
• Hanukah is celebrated by eating food cooked in oil, singing, telling stories and reciting special blessings over the Hanukah menorah
• Hanukah is not to be considered the Jewish Christmas
• Gift giving is not traditional during Hanukah, though due to the influence of Christmas children may receive a small gift each night such as a book or toy.
• In Israel, the dreidles say, “A great miracle happened here.” (the dreidles we have here say, ” A great miracle happened there”)
• Dreidles were once used as decoys. When Rome conquered Jerusalem and forbade the study of the Hebrew Torah, Jews who wanted to study anyway hid their books and took out dreidles whenever the Roman soldiers came around. That way the scholars could say to the centurions that they were just playing a game, not studying!
• Menorahs should be placed in a window to share the miracle  & celebration with passers by
• The candles used for lighting the menorah are supposed to burn for at least 1/2 hour after the stars come out
• It takes 44 candles all together to observe the eight days of Hanukah
• The most popular foods eaten during Hanukah include Latkes (potato pancakes – my personal favorite), Sufganiyot (jelly doughnuts), Hanukah Bimuelos or Loukoumades (fried honey puffs) & Cheese Gelt Coins – a cheddar cheese cracker

To our friends celebrating, we wish you a very Happy Hanukah!  To my friend Shoshana Litman (an amazing storyteller) I thank you for your help with this blog!

Kwanzaa was created by Maulana Karenga, a professor of black studies at California State University in 1966. It is a nonreligious celebration of  the first harvest of the crops, families, social values, culture & traditions of African origin.

• Kwanzaa is celebrated daily from Dec. 26 – Jan. 1st
• Kwanzaa is Swahili for “Fresh fruits”
• The karamu, or feast is held on December 31st
• Families celebrating Kwanzaa decorate their households with objects of art & colorful African cloth.
• Gifts are given to children mainly, they must include a book and a heritage symbol.
• The colors of Kwanzaa are black, red & green
• Some choose to fast, eating only after sunset
• Lighting ceremonies are performed by the youth. They light the Mshumaa for each day
• The seven principles for Kwanzaa are Unity, Self-determination, Collective work & responsibility, Cooperative Economics, Purpose, Creativity & Faith
• Traditional African foods are served & enjoyed such as collard greens, roast pork, corn, okra, tomatoes and sweet potato patties

To our friends celebrating, we wish you a Joyous Kwanzaa!

Whatever your holiday traditions may be, enjoy time with your friends & family!

Each year we begin our Christmas with traditions that we grew up with.  We feast on great food, enjoy the company of friends & family and hopefully a little time off work too!  There are however some pretty crazy things you may not know about Christmas, we went on a search to see what we could find behind the conventional Christmas stories we know! Hope you enjoy some of the funny, crazy and really wacky things we found out!

• A traditional Christmas dinner in England used to be a pig’s head prepared with a mustard sauce.  I’m pretty sure most of our English friends are happy this is not the case anymore!
• Norwegians hide their brooms on Christmas Eve as old legend has it that witches & evil spirits would steal brooms on Christmas Eve!
• “Bah Humbug” was not Dickens first choice of lines for the famous catchphrase. Originally, it was going to be “Bah Christmas” but he felt it didn’t sound right – good thing he reworked it! He also though Little Larry, Puny Pete & Small Sam were choices before settling on Tiny Tim
• Parts of the Evergreen tree is actually edible…quoted as being a good source of vitamin C. Pass the Evergreen anyone?
• There’s an old wives tale that suggests if you bake bread on Christmas Eve, it will be mould resistant, good thing we know that’s not quite true!
• It has been confirmed that at least 3000 tons of foil is used to wrap turkeys annually!
• Rumour has it that while out Christmas shopping, you will be elbowed at least 3 times – Yikes! Hopefully we can share a few smiles instead along the way!
• The average American sends out 28 Christmas cards to friends & family AND they also receive 28 cards!
• If you’re not online shopping, you’ll walk an average of 5 miles between parking lots & stores!
• Spoiled leftovers are responsible for 400,000 cases of post Christmas associated illness – be careful!
• If you counted all the gifts that were given in the song “Twelve Days of Christmas” you would receive 364 gifts in total
• Christmas was illegal in England from 1647 – 1660
• Christmas was once a moveable feast celebrated at many different times of the year. In the 4th century A.D. Pope Julius I chose Dec. 25th to coincide with the Winter Solstice pagan ritual celebrations
• “White Christmas” was the first movie to be made in Vista Vision
• According to a survey done in 1995, 7 out of 10 British dog owners give their dogs a Christmas present. Fido has a stocking in our house!
• An artificial spider & web are included in the decorations on Ukrainian Christmas trees. A spider web found on Christmas morning is believed to bring good luck!
• For every real Christmas tree harvested, 2-3 seedlings are planted in its place
• In parts of France, roasted goose & oysters are part of the Christmas dinner
• Greek legend has it that Kallikantzaroi plays pranks at Christmas. To get rid of them one must burn a shoe, salt or hang a pig’s jawbone by the door!
• While children in North America hang stockings, Dutch tradition is that you set out shoes to receive gifts.
• Dec. 5 is St. Nicholas Day in Belgium.  This is when children receive their gifts, not Christmas day. Children put out their shiniest shoes & the largest, deepest plate they can find for St. Nicholas to leave treats & presents for them
• In Syria, Christmas gifts are distributed by one of the Wise Men’s camels
• Gifts are not always delivered by Santa in some countries. La Befana in Italy, The Three Kings in Spain, Puerto Rico & Mexico, St. Nicholas in Holland & Belgium, Father Christmas in England & Christkindl in Switzerland & Austria
• Super Bowl ranks third behind Christmas & Thanksgiving for the largest occasion in the U.S. to consume food
• 269 wreaths hang in the White House
• Dec. 19th is the busiest mailing day while Dec. 21st is the busiest delivery day
• Approx 87% donate to charity during the Christmas season

However you celebrate the holidays, we wish you a great season! For more fun traditions be sure to check out our website www.par-t-perfect.com

With Christmas just around the corner, here are a few ideas that you and the kids can do to get ready for the big day!

First of all, you should find out if you are Naughty or Nice ! There are so many cool safe internet sites that have great Christmas games, activities and so much more!
Here are a couple that we found:
http://www.claus.com/index.php
http://www.northpole.com
http://www.santagames.net

You’ll want to get started early on your letter to Santa this year so he will have time to write back!
Visit the Canada Post website for more information on how Santa can write back to you! Too late to get a letter back? Not to worry! Santa is now online and can answer your emails (who knew they had wi-fi in the North Pole?) You will get an instant response and can even watch a video e-mail from Santa himself! Another special way to connect with Santa is by phone. A website has been set up where you enter your information and you will get a call from Santa!

Holiday treats are always a favorite. Baking is also a great way to hang out with the kids and have some fun. Make sure to let them help with the measuring and reading the recipe (they will be learning and they won’t even know it!) There are so many great recipes on the internet. We like these Reindeer Pops made with Rice Krispies! Try to choose something special that is not too hard, or chose a few and let the kids select what one they like! Make sure to have lots of different candies and sprinkles to decorate!

Another great idea is to have the kids create a box, tin or jar to put the cookies or treats they have created in! They can make it their own and give them as gifts instead of buying something for grandma and grandpa, their brother or sister or even their school teacher. Most dollar stores carry inexpensive containers that are perfect for decorating! Click here for some fun ideas on how to decorate your cookie jar!

Don’t stop at baked goods! There are plenty of crafts that kids can make for their Christmas gifts! Find more ideas here!

Par-T-Perfect loves Christmas and is available for corporate or private events! Our elves will come out to face paint, balloon twist and play games. We can bring bouncy castles and carnival games to liven up your Christmas party! Check out our website for more of what we offer.

And when the big night arrives, don’t forget to track Santa on Christmas Eve! Google Earth will be tracking the big guy all night so you know when he will be Ho Ho Ho-ing over head!

Happy Holidays from Par-T-Perfect!

While we prepare for the upcoming Christmas season with advent calendars, decorating our trees, putting lights up and hanging our stockings; have you ever wondered how these traditions became part of our celebrations? Well, we did & here’s what we found!

Christmas trees were first decorated in 16th century Germany. They chose fir trees for both indoors & out. Decorations included apples, roses, gilded candies and colored paper. It was believed in the Middle Ages to symbolize the Garden of Eden. It is also believed that Protestant reformer, Martin Luther was the first to put lights (really they were candles) on his tree after being inspired by a star filled December sky. The Christmas Tree was brought to “life” in England by Prince Albert around 1848 and by the 19th century the Pennsylvania Germans brought the Christmas tree tradition to America.

Christmas stockings came out of the legend of a nobleman that was overcome by grief at his wife’s passing that he squandered all his fortune, leaving his 3 daughters with no dowries. The generous St. Nicholas hearing their plight, anonymously threw three small pouches of gold down the chimney where they landed int he girls’ stockings that were hanging by the fireplace to dry.

Mistletoe is believed to be first used by Druid priests and the ancient Celtics believed that mistletoe had healing powers to ward off evil spirits. The plant is also seen as a symbol of piece. Roman enemies who met under mistletoe would lay down their weapons and embrace. Scandanavians believe the plant is associated with Frigga, their goddess of love – those who kissed under the mistletoe had the promise of happiness and good luck in the following year.

Poinsettias are a native Mexican plant, named after Joel R. Poinsett the U.S. ambassador to Mexico who brought the plant to America in 1828.  The bright red petals are often mistaken for flowers however they are actually the upper leaves of the plant.

Candy canes became part of 17th century Christmas after a craftsman created the white candy stick in the shape of a shepherd’s crook at the suggestion of the choirmaster at the Cologne Cathedral in Germany.  The candy treats were originally given to children to keep them quiet during Christmas church ceremonies, soon after, this tradition spread throughout Europe.  According to the National confectioner’s Association, in 1847 German immigrant Augus Imgard used the candy cane to decorate a Christmas tree in Wooster, Ohio. In the 1950′s Gregory Keller invented a machine that automated the production of candy canes.

Christmas Cards were created by Sir Henry Cole, the first director of London’s Victoria and Albert Museum. In 1843 he found himself too busy during the Christmas season to compose individual greetings for his friends. He commissioned artist John Calcott Horsley for the illustration. The card featured three panels, with the center panel depicting a family enjoying Christmas festivities. The card was inscribed with the message, “A Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to you.”

Gift giving has a strong association with Paganism although the Roman festival  of Saturnalia featured periods of gift giving, the idea was incorporated into the traditional Christmas celebrations.

Santa Claus became part of Christmas around the Middle Ages however, Santa really only became popular in the 19th century after being depicted as a jolly stout old man wearing a red & white suit. Santa Claus is said to be inspired by St. Nicholas of Myra, a bishop, who went around giving the poor children of his village gifts.

Christmas Carols have been around long before Christmas was actualized. The carols we sing today were written in the 19th century. In the 1820′s churches adopted the tradition of carols to give a greater sense of reverence.

Whether you string up lights, garland or popcorn on your tree, we hope you enjoy a little history behind the fun traditions of Christmas!  Watch for our next blog about Christmas traditions & fun facts from around the world and don’t forget to check out some of our other great blogs on parties and ideas on our website  www.par-t-perfect.com

If you are looking for something to do with the family this weekend, you must check out the 2011 Grey Cup Festival! The events will be taking place from Thursday November 24th – Sunday November 27th. (times vary)

Some of the events will include live bands, autograph zones with CFL players and alumni, interactive sports games, obstacle courses and special guests like Bobs and Lolo.

Make sure to stop by the Face Painting Zone where Par-T-Perfect will help you show your team colours with some fabulous cheek art and face painting!!

Visit the Grey Cup Festival website for more information and show times!
Plan your route and don’t drink and drive if you plan on partying at the Molson Beer Garden! Check out Translink to get you to and from the festival safely!
See you there!

If you cant make it to the festival or would rather stay home for the big game, here are some tips for making it a family event!

Tis the season to plan parties… office Christmas parties, mall arrival of Santa, Christmas brunch at the golf club, special holiday sales and events. You need something fun and memorable for the children to do. High holiday energy and small spaces can present a challenge for the party organizer. We have theme parties with holiday crafts, gingerbread scented playdoh, reindeer stuffing, musical candycane walk, mug painting and more. Let our elves create a complete holiday event for you. We also have mini golf, indoor bouncy castles for the energetic ones and Santa!

Whatever your needs we can help.  Here is a taste of what to look for Christmas Video 

or visit us www.par-t-perfect.com