The driving forced behind Active Advent-tures is Anne McIntyre. Born and raised in Victoria, Anne and her husband Darrell have two children, Maya and Noah. Having children, Anne admits can make life quite busy and she is constantly looking for activities and events for the family. It was this, combined with Anne’s vision that sparked this simple yet fantastic idea that we call Active Advent-tures.

 

Anne started working on the Christmas Events Book three years ago as a way to organize the various events happening not just in her neighbourhood but all over Greater Victoria.“My calendar is generally exhaustingly full and I find myself juggling time to fit in activities that I feel should not be missed.” This is especially the case during the Christmas holiday season when time is at a premium. “It honestly started because I had been trying to see the Live Nativity at Topaz Park for 5 years. 5 years!” It astounded her how she could miss it every year, “each year I would cut out the advertisement, stick it on the fridge (which would get lost amongst other cut out reminders) and somehow the event would go by and we would be disappointed that we would have to wait another year.”

 

“There are so many amazing events taking place around Victoria every year and with a little organization you can experience a wide variety of events.”

 

Anne started the Advent Activity Craft Kits as an alternative to giving her kids chocolate in the mornings. Each night she would madly try and figure out what the kids would be doing the next day during the holiday season. She started with activities (eg. Learning a Christmas song, getting their pictures taken with Santa, making cookies, etc) and some days they would make crafts. After telling a friend what she did for her kids, the friend asked if she could buy one. With that, Anne began to develop the Advent Activity Craft Kits as a part of Active Advent-tures. For her inspiration, Anne says “full acknowledgment needs to go to my best friend Tracy Laramee as the original creator of doing this with her family.”

 

 

“I feel very lucky to call the island my home. I love the uniqueness of the island and the admiration people have for this place. I am proud of our community spirit. I would like to thank my Dad for leading by example and showing me to look beyond my neighbourhood and explore all that Victoria has to offer.

 

             - Anne McIntyre

© Active Adventtures 2009