Santa Clause Parade!

This has now become an annual event for us to go down to the Toronto Santa Clause Parade. This is the 3rd year that we have gone and obviously the first year for Quinn. This yearly tradition was because of the McLean family in London. Dan and Nicole started bringing their family down and we decided we would join them. It makes for some interesting events every year. Always a lot of fun.

This year we bundled Quinn up with 2 pairs of pants, 2 shirts, a jacket and a hat. We also had a snowsuit as a back up. We left the house nice and early and got to the subway station about 2 hours or so before the parade and there already was a line up for the subway starting. We maneuvered the stroller down various hallways and areas to find the necessary ramps/elevators. Then got on the subway and we were off. It was Quinn's first subway ride and she maintained the same face that she usually gets when she is in an elevator or for that fact seeing anything new.... "What the heck have you two got me into this time". We had a strange guy sit right next to us which is pretty much the status quo when you are on the subway for longer than about 3 stops.

We got to our stop, made our way off and surprisingly it wasn't as crazy as we thought it would be. It was definitely busy but not that bad, probably because it was still 1.5 hrs from the start of the parade. We met the McLean's, headed up to street level and got our spots. Several people crossed the road and not sure if Brenda had a big sign on her but they always tried to get through where she was standing and use the stroller for support. Not sure what people are thinking when they do stupid things like that. Finally after a mild body check to some old guy we cut the passage off. Quinn was enjoying looking at all the people and we know she was really happy that her parents bundled her up.

The parade was great, lots of candy and chocolate being thrown out, we had a great spot right near the Tim Horton's. Lots of great floats. Quinn slept for a lot of the parade but we managed to keep her in the spirit as in the picture below.

The parade was way too long. It totalled almost 2.5 hours. With kids that is about 1 hour too long. The weather was great. Past years have really pushed our fortitude on making it an annual event but this year it was sunny and only a bit cold but not bad at all. Quinn slept for a lot of it and then when Santa finally made his appearance we tried to get her up but she was way too tired as you can see by the family photo below. Once Santa is past you it is time to head home. We got on the elevator, back down to the subway and back home. All in all a great day out for Quinn's first Santa Clause Parade.