Holiday means family but family means something beyond those people who are related to you. Family also means community. When you do your holiday shopping, this year more than others, it is important to think of your Montreal family and the people whose income depends on you supporting them – and not someone in a faraway factory.

Shopping right here for things made right here is a win-win proposition for Montreal. These mostly small (often family) stores generate income for them and more money (in taxes) to improve our own city. Spending your money here helps keep stores open here and families living here. Shopping in our own city keeps the world greener by not having to ship goods by planes, boats and trucks.

At Il EtaitDeux Fois objects and accessories are designed from recycled materials, mostly by Quebec artists. Creative handbags might be made from inner tubes, seat belts, soda pop pull tabs or records. Clocks are made from hub caps, bowls made from candy wrappers, coasters from LP record labels, 45 RPM records turn into clocks and picture frames are from computer keys.

Gift items galore can be scored from the tires made into belts, cutlery turned into magnetic hooks, record album covers into notebooks, bike gears into candle sticks and bracelets or the planters made out of newspapers.
Location: 4539 boul. St-Laurent
corner: at Mont-Royal
Tel: 514-692-6149.
Hours: Tues & Wed 11-6, Thurs & Fri 11-9, Sat 11-5, Sun 12-5

The next shop is a marriage of two local-oriented businesses; One, Coccinelle Jaune, offering up gifts and Folle Guenille, locally-designed clothing. In the front there are finger puppets, cat rugs, re-cyled records made into chip dishes, 50 collections of jewelry, and flattened wine bottles which you can use as serving trays.

In the rear, 25 local designers are showcased, some who are just starting out and some who are quite established. The  women’s clothing ranges XS-XXL and covers the wardrobe from tops, pants, skirts and dresses to coats.
Location: 4236 Ste-Catherine Est
corner: Pie IX
Tel: 514-259-9038
Hours: Mon-Wed 11-6, Thurs & Fri 11-8, Sat & Sun 11-5 
www.folleguenille.com   www.coccinellejaune.com

At L’Arterie, everything is made in Montreal. Either you can buy from the 50% that is the friperie (men and women) or from the 50% that is hand-made crafts. So shop for the vintage look jeans, tops, skirts and windbreakers, or buy the jewelry, soaps and hand-made animal creatures.

This is the place to head to for vegan shoes made with micro fiber that imitates leather. Local designer clothing: Valerie Dumaine, Annie So, Eve Lavoie and Josianne Perron can be bought here.
Location: 176 Bernard Ouest
corner: Esplanade
Tel: 514-273-3933
Hours: Tues-Fri 12-6, Sat & Sun 11-5 
www.arterieboutique.com

Parc Safari has something for everyone in your family. It is wayyyy beyond a drive around to see exotic animals, though that is an amazing part of the day. The water park, with its three lagoons (one with a waterfall), tube ride, and especially the new sculpturally beautiful splash pad/slide Lagon des dauphins, can be a whole day in itself. This new area offers up 8 water slides and 60 water games.  Here’s a tip: if you go there, keep your eye on the yellow pail of water.

Besides the safari drive, you can walk around three animal areas. We’re talking 500 animals, folks, in about 60 different species: elephant, bison, deer, camel, tiger, lion, water buffalo, yak, zebra, hippopotamus, rhinoceros, wildebeest, eland, black bear, monkeys, etc.  You can find great scrabble words as you come across the oryx, addax, gaur and onager.  Learning about the animals is fascinating:  giraffes only sleep 20 min a day, swan couples mate for life,  zebras are black with white stripes  (finally found that out!) and Shaka the lion is a movie star, having appeared in the film “The Aviator” with Leonardo DiCaprio.

There is no way you cannot be wowed by the lion and tiger clear glass tunnels which you walk through and are separated by a mere 3 cm.  from these beautiful beasts. Have you ever gone eye-to-eye with a giraffe? Well you can do that here too.

A lovely part about Parc Safari is that you hardly have to put your hand in your pocket once you pay to get in ($113.86  for a family of 4, or under $100 with a CAA discount). They allow you to bring your own lunch, and have endless amount of picnic tables in the shade, grass, and even a sandy beach.  The staff in the parc actually give you the food to feed the bears or monkeys, etc.  You can bring your own carrots to feed the safari animals – it’s so much fun to watch as they chew and crunch right in your face.

If you decide to lunch at Parc Safari, besides your burgers, pizza and hot dogs, you can munch chicken burgers, smoked meat, sausages, waffles, fruit smoothies, poutine (mais oui!) and even grab a beer. It costs about $8-$14 for the restaurant meals and $6-$7 in the cafeteria.

For those who like rides, there are still some retro ones that bring huge smiles (and screams) to both young and old. Where else can you spend a day on all the rides you want, as many times as you want for a measly $3 per person? The few extras in the parc are so minimal: a pony ride is only $4, and one on the camel is $6. The tube ride is a mere $2.  If you want to buy a box of animal food, it’s only a tooney.

Especially endearing is the  “custom spray” tilt-a-whirl ride. You do not have to go high tech to make customers happy on a hot day – all you need is a hose. As you get on this ride, a gentleman ask if you would like to get sprayed as you pass him; you can say yes or no, and even ask for a little or a lot. Where else can you select-a-preference-water-factor on a ride?

On a busy day the 45 min safari adventure can take up to 2 hours. This is NOT necessarily a negative. We must learn to slow ourselves down to the pace of nature. If you are inching along, sitting in the comfort of your air-conditioned car, you get to really take the time to watch the animals live and interact.  Babies are being shown what to do by their mommas, bisons are rolling in the dirt to scratch themselves, animals’ chests are rising and falling as they take a siesta, and yes they’re  peeing and pooing too – still a thrill for the kids. You can feed and even touch some of the species as they come up to visit you at your car window.

And we haven’t even gotten to the six stage shows and eight animal feedings or les Filouminous characters who wander around the park giving hugs.  There is so much to do that you can turn this in to a staycation weekend. Look on their site for reasonably priced 1 and 2-day packages, including an overnight in nearby motels or campsites.

Parc Safari is celebrating its 40th Anniversary this year so to celebrate they are having a contest with over $8,000 in prizes. You can win a backyard swing set, a safari package, summer camp at the Cosmodome, and gift certificates and passes. You can go online to fill out the form:  www.clikici.ca/ralleye-safari-2012.php

If you haven’t been to Parc Safari since you were a kid, it’s time to go back. The best deal is that if you add $20 to your admission price, you get a season passport.  Divide that all up into many days of fun and it is really pennies to enjoy this entertaining gem right at our doorstep.

Location: 280 Rang Roxham, St-Bernard-de-Lacolle, QC, J0J 1V0
Tel: 450 247-2727
Summer Hours: 10-5 for the safari, 10-7 for the parc  (less hours in Spring and Fall)
www.parcsafari.com