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Christmas 2014
How to arrive safely to your next holiday destination
Thousands of people will be jumping into their vehicles and hitting the B.C. highways visit…
VIDEO: The real way to wrap a present
YOU WERE DOING IT WRONG ALL ALONG Anyone who has ever seen origami knows the…
Keep gifts safe from thieves during the holidays
KEEP VALUABLES, PACKAGING OUT OF SIGHT THOMPSON-OKANAGAN – City staff and volunteers are ramping up…
MAP: Where to see the best Christmas lights in Kamloops
KAMLOOPS - Nothing quite says Christmas like thousands of little twinkling lights, and every year our neighbours race to beat the inevitable cold snap to get their displays up and ready for the first snowfall. All right, let’s be honest, some neighbours keep up their lights year-round. But they are not usually the ones who...
Locally-made spirits to get you through the holiday
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - There’s no faster way to get into the spirit of Christmas than with Christmas spirits, and the Thompson-Okanagan has two award-winning local craft distilleries to help with last minute gifts or to keep guests from noticing that overcooked turkey. Urban Distilleries in Kelowna’s north end focuses on vodka, gin and whiskey, and they...
Eight books by Vernon and area authors to put under the tree this year
VERNON - For die-hard book worms, there’s no greater Christmas gift than a good read. A book, especially one with a personal inscription, makes a thoughtful gift for the book lover in your life. If you’re on the hunt for local titles, we’ve got a few suggestions. For the fiction lover %%Image1%% Turtle Valley by...
IN PHOTOS: It’s not Christmas in Kamloops until you see these things
KAMLOOPS - Christmas is many things to many people but there are a few sights that almost everyone will recognize as symbolic of the holidays. For three weeks every year the B.C. Wildlife Park opens the doors in the evenings so families can take in the tens of thousands of little sparkling lights that make...
22 books from local authors to gift for Christmas
KAMLOOPS - Trends may come and go, but you can almost never go wrong when you give someone special a book for Christmas. Choosing the right book for the right person can be a challenge. But if you'd like to make your gift unique, consider choosing a local author. Whether the person you're shopping for...
Local handmade holiday gift ideas
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - If you’re hoping to go a less commercial route this holiday season, look no further than the Thompson-Okanagan, a region that boasts numerous handcrafted gifts. From ceramics to sweet treats, there’s surely a gift to be found for every boy and girl — one that keeps you out of box-store lineups to boot....
Regional District offering free Christmas tree chipping
KELOWNA – Disposing of your real Christmas tree certainly isn’t the best part of the holidays, but the Regional District of the Central Okanagan has several locations in Kelowna and West Kelowna offering free tree chipping this year. From Dec. 26 until Jan. 31, drop off spots will be available at the Glenmore Landfill as...
Where to toss your Christmas tree in Vernon
VERNON - The presents are unwrapped and the ornaments packed up. It’s time for the Christmas tree to go. If you’re ready to part with this year’s Christmas tree, here’s the low-down. Trees will not be picked up with residential refuse, but Vernon, Coldstream and BX residents are invited to dispose of them in the...
Where to toss your tree after Christmas
KAMLOOPS - Your tree was neatly decorated, the stockings were hung, and the presents were all perfectly wrapped and placed under the tree. Now the presents have been torn open, the stockings sit discarded in the corner and your tree is losing needles every time you turn around. It’s time to clean up after the...
Library, pool and arena busy over holidays
PENTICTON - Penticton’s public institutions saw increased usage over the holidays, with the library alone seeing double the usership it normally does on a Monday. Penticton Public Library’s Systems Librarian, Shelley Murphy, said after being closed for four days usership doubled what was usual for a Monday. “It was amazingly busy yesterday. We had line...
Your guide to a Christmas lights driving tour in Vernon
VERNON - It’s not Christmas without the dazzle of bright lights around the city, and we’ve found the displays you don’t want to miss this year. A Christmas lights driving tour is a fun, and best of all free, way to get in the holiday spirit. When night falls, the City of Vernon transforms into...
MAP: Christmas lights in Kelowna
KELOWNA - From Candy Cane Lane in Springvalley to Rotary's Kerry Park display, residents of Kelowna have stepped up their efforts this year to make it one of the best ever for lovers of light. Although we were unable to get all the light displays in the city on this map, it does represent all...
Penticton’s official Christmas lights tour
PENTICTON - When you are looking for Christmas lights to see in Penticton, you do what we did: Ask the bus drivers. We did our best to find some of the best areas of the city for Christmas lights and compiled them into this handy map. But the city has to have more than this: Did...
STAFF PICKS: Christmas movies
There are many Christmas movies that have been created over the years. We have grown up with old cartoons like Frosty the Snowman, The Grinch and A Charlie Brown Christmas and the classics like Miracle on 34th Street and comedies such as Home Alone. But there are some newer holiday movies that have quickly become...
CHRISTMAS PAST: Memories from our newsroom
Remember the joy in carefully crafting presents in class for your parents? The excitement to see a gift under the tree with your name on it? How about getting dressed up in awful, and often matching outfits to go to Grandma and Grandpa’s house for Christmas? At Christmas we often take the time to reminisce...
Corduroy, double knits and extreme weather: What Christmas was like 50 years ago
KAMLOOPS – Fifty years ago in Kamloops the gifts, clothes and news were different, but the holiday spirit was just as strong as today’s. In a look back at the Kamloops Daily Sentinel from December, 1964 the hot ticket items to gift for kids were dolls for girls and trucks or model kits for boys....
VIDEO: Vernon business surprises customer with heartfelt Christmas gift
VERNON - A local Vernon business is getting into the spirit of Christmas. Rice Box owner On Ouch surprised a loyal customer recently with an all expenses paid trip down to Vancouver to see a Canucks game. He hoped the gift would make the holidays extra special for the single mom and her kids. “This...
‘Tis the season to donate time and money
KELOWNA – It’s not only retailers counting on the holiday season to push the bottom line into the black. People open up their wallets and schedules for charities in greater numbers at Christmas time. It’s no different in Kelowna. You probably saw the Salvation Army Christmas Kettle Campaign volunteers outside local retail shops. The money they...
STAFF PICKS: Our Christmas traditions
It seems everyone has Christmas traditions. They can be passed down generation after generation or maybe it is something you started doing in recent years but has quickly become a tradition for you and your family.
MERRY CHRISTMAS
It's finally here. After weeks of decorating, shopping and Christmas music— it's Christmas Day.
Cheapest last-minute Christmas vacations on a beach
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN – The spirit of Christmas is supposed to be with you wherever you go, so who says you can’t celebrate the holidays with a mojito on a beach somewhere? If you’re ill-prepared for the holidays and impulsive when it comes to travel, the top two all-inclusive locations that won’t break the bank in December...