Our Christmas in Calgary

Our family was both excited and a little sad about our first Christmas in Calgary. Back home Christmas was always filled with traditions, tons of food, and more family then we know what to do with, and the thought of not being a part of that this year made our hearts ache. We decided that we would make the most out of our first Christmas in Calgary and we would make our own Christmas traditions for our family here.

The first thing we needed was a Christmas Tree. Back in Ontario we would have headed to a Tree Farm to cut down that all important perfect tree before going home to blast some Christmas music and decorate. I had done some hardcore Google-ing in hopes of finding somewhere in or around Calgary that would allow us to chop down a tree without it costing too much. We were a little overwhelmed with some of the information I came across, but luckily I discovered the Junior Forest Wardens Tree Farm that was just a little drive from Calgary, near Sibbald Creek, so we packed up the kids and an ax before heading west to find our tree.

The views were magical and the wind, more then a little chilly, but the sight of so many trees brought back memories of home. At the tree farm we were only allowed to cut down Lodgepole pine trees which meant it was going to be a slightly non-typical tree for us this year. We searched for about ten minutes before we found the tree for us. It was a little spars in spots, but it had character, and for five bucks you couldn’t really argue. We will definitely be trying a different route next year, maybe getting ourselves a cutting permit and hiking into the bush to find that allusive perfect Christmas Tree, but this year we were all set. Decorating quickly ensued once the tree was in position back at home, while Christmas music blared and the kids argued and raced to put up the most ornaments. It may not have been the Christmas we were used to, but it was still a perfect holiday.

Since we all had time off over the holidays we decided to explore a little more around Calgary. We took a quick drive up to Airdrie just to see what was up there. It was a nice quiet drive and we stopped there to eat lunch. Another day we headed for Bragg Creek. We weren’t sure what was there and we didn’t really have any plans, we just knew we needed to get out of the house and see some wilderness. The drive had some fantastic views of the mountains and it was great to escape the traffic of the city. Bragg Creek is a tiny little town, but it was incredibly picturesque with the river running through it, and if it had been warmer out we probably would have explored the town a little more, maybe even hit up some the cute little shops, but our little man didn’t really appreciate the biting wind that day. We did end up at the Bragg Creek Provincial Park and took a quick walk down to the river. We didn’t get to do a whole lot, but it is on our list of places to check out once the warmer weather rolls in.

Instead of heading straight back to Calgary we took a little detour up to Cochrane just to see what was there. We want to know what Calgary and the surrounding area have to offer so the little trip was a chance to explore. Cochrane was a typical little town, but we found a perfect little view to enjoy. With the New Year here there is still plenty of places to explore, where should we go next?