May 23, 2012

Holiday Survival Guide 2011

This December three things are virtually guaranteed: you’ll attend at least one holiday party, family gatherings will happen, and, at some point, life will be stressful. 

To help combat the madness, Dr. Mel Borin, family physician and associate professor at University of Toronto, says to play it cool this December. It’s all about keeping your focus. “This holiday season, try and display positive emotions such as joy, bliss and ecstasy, and do your activities with attitude and gratitude — try laughing and playing more,” says Borin, who also devotes time delivering lectures on stress and ways to handle it. “Everything else is superfluous.” This season, get involved in the spirit of giving a bit more, he says, and suggests scheduling activities that are highly enjoyable, such as checking into a hotel for a romantic dinner and stay, and taking the kids to go see a movie, the zoo or Science Centre. “When you laugh and play, it’s a great way to counteract stress levels, and it makes you feel good,” he says. 

Here at Post City, we’ve come up with ways to keep your stress levels down, keep onside with your boss at the staff party and find places to unwind when gatherings and gift buying become a bit too much.

Office Party Dos & Don'ts

(Or how not to get fired or end up a YouTube sensation for all the wrong reasons this holiday season)

Do: have a sip or two of wine before the party to put yourself at ease and coax out the small talk, if you need to.

Don’t: get the “party started” at home with your cubicle buddy by cranking up “Highway to Hell” and knocking back a bottle of Jägermeister. Thanks to social media, photos of your naked limbo on the boss’s desk may surface earlier than you think.

Do: mingle with people, ask a lot of questions and genuinely seem interested in the lives of your co-workers. Even the cat people.

Don’t: work out personal issues by bouncing what-if scenarios off of everyone in a desperate attempt to find someone who agrees that your wife was over-reacting about that whole “thing” in Vegas.

Do: bring an elegant host or hostess gift if the party is at the house of a co-worker or employer. Be sure to offer thanks. Hugs optional.

Don’t: Bring gag gifts. they do not count. No whoopee cushions, no fake vomit, nothing! And don’t even think about bringing that lampshade. It never ends well.

Secrets of the Devine Parking Sisterhood

For $8 Yorkdale minions will park your car for you. Yorkdale also offers a new porter service that sees helpful mall-savvy folk meet shoppers at the door and guide them around the crazy-busy centre.
Shops at Don Mills offers complimentary valet parking on weekends (www.shopsatdonmills.ca). There is also car detailing available while you shop.
Holt Renfrew offers free valet parking at their Bloor Street store Thursday, Friday and Saturday between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m.
The Bay on Queen offers personal shopping services, by appointment only, as well as concierge services and a couple of great restaurants, including Bannock by Oliver & Bonacini.
Hazelton Lanes in Yorkville offers doggie day care while shopping.

Get away from it all

The holidays are fun, sometimes. But with crazed shoppers and irritable in-laws added to an already stressful mix, sometimes you need to get far, far away from it all. If you want to take it to the next level, try spending an hour in a float tank. Toronto’s Tranquility Floating lets you float around inside a space capsule for a couple of hours, and the experience has been described as calmer than being inside a womb. It has over twice the buoyancy of the Dead Sea and is meant to reduce 98 per cent of your stress.

Can't miss bars for the in-laws

Spin Toronto

It is hard to have a bad time at a bar that specializes in ping pong. Nobody is good at this game, so you won’t get hustled; there is gender parity; it is a straight-up goofy game; and there is a fully loaded bar. That is a recipe for a successful night.

Spin Toronto, 461 King St. W., 416-599-7746

Gladstone Melody Bar

Sure, the Melody Bar’s got the prestige factor (it’s been voted one of the top 10 bars in the world), but it also has the coolness factor with its regular karaoke and The Simpsons trivia nights. So if you’ve got the urge to sing your heart out and proudly say “D’oh!” with reckless abandon, here’s your chance.

Gladstone Melody Bar, 1214 Queen St. W., 416-531-4635

The Ballroom

The latest and greatest bowling alley in the city features 60 LED TVs, a gourmet comfort food menu and, yes, bowling.

The Ballroom, 145 John St., 416-597-2695

Comedy Bar

Sometimes the holidays leave us feeling less than cheery, so that’s why it’s a good idea to head over to Comedy Bar. The theatre hosts 70 shows a month and features more than 300 performers, in sketch, improv and stand-up, to tickle your funny bone.

Comedy Bar, 945 Bloor St. W., 416-898-5324

Xmas Day Capers

Little india — a stretch of Gerrard Street East from Greenwood Avenue to Coxwell Avenue that is as festive as all get-out and open for everything from barbecued corn to fine fashions.

Chinatown — hunker down for some dim sum then pick up a few DVDs for later. Legal ones, of course.

Koreatown — this fun and happening strip runs along Bloor between Bathurst and Christie and offers plenty of food and fun options, but most opt for the delish BBQ followed by karaoke.

Pacific Mall — this crazy whirling dervish of a mall offers, well, pretty much anything you can think of, including awesome noodles and anything electronic.

This article appears in the December 2011 issue of Post City Magazines

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