I admit it: I’m a Star Wars nerd. The franchise and I were born in the same year, so I’ve never known a world without Star Wars. The opening fanfare music gives me goosebumps every time I hear it. I had a Hoth System play set as a kid. I own a Yoda key chain.

Back in the day, being a girl and a Star Wars fan was fairly rare, since it was mostly boys playing with Luke Skywalker and Han Solo action figures. Today, it’s a different story – literally. Star Wars returned to the big screen in 2015 and 2016 with

The holiday season is about carrying on the traditions that are special to you, whatever they may be. It might be anticipating the daily antics of the Elf on a Shelf, curling up to watch a favourite yuletide movie or baking a classic family recipe. For me, it’s sending holiday cards.

I realize that in today’s day and age, sending paper cards by regular mail may seem ridiculous and archaic. It’s more expensive. It’s more time-consuming. It’s slower. It’s (as my son would say) “from the olden times.”

A parent trying to get a cranky preschooler to cooperate with a routine task (such as getting ready to leave the house) can be likened to a rodeo clown chasing around a bucking bronco.

You wouldn’t think a dentist’s office and trick-or-treaters would have a common goal at this time of year, but Dr. Mayada Kheriba is trying to change that. Every year, her dental office in New Hamburg, Ontario hosts a “candy buy back” a week after Halloween, where kids can swap their extra candy for cash.

“We started it three years ago as an initiative to give back to the community,” says Dr. Kheriba. “The kids wear their costumes to the office and receive a dollar for every pound of candy they trade in. The candy is then donated to Ronald McDonald House at Sick Kids Hospital, where it is shared with young patients – along with their siblings and families – who may have missed out on Halloween.”

I’m a big fan of fall, and it has nothing to do with the pumpkin spice latte. Nothing against people who like flavoured coffee, but if you’re spending these months solely focused on your PSL, you’re missing out on many other reasons to fall for fall. For example: