Monday, July 16, 2012

A new perspective

First of all, let me apologize for having been MIA from this blog for a couple of months. Its not that we've given up on exploring Hamilton - far from it! Rest assured, we're still busy eating in all of our favourite restaurants (plus some new ones!) and taking in the best activities Hamilton has to offer - like Art Crawl, the Art Gallery, the trails (which the dog LOVES!) etc...

But while this blog originally started as a means to document a young couple's exploration of our new home and all it has to offer (and also a dog's eye view of the city!) we'll now also be looking for baby and kid-friendly Hamilton events, activities and pastimes. Yes, we're expecting a new little Hamiltonian soon!

True, the little one won't be able to fully appreciate all of Hamilton's uniqueness and excitement for awhile, but its never too early to start researching, right?

From the get-go, I'm really not sure what Hamilton has to offer when it comes to kids activities. I mean, there are the obvious playgrounds, festivals and mommy/baby groups/yoga/swimming (things I'm sure we could find if we lived in Hamilton, Toronto, Waterloo, wherever...) but what about child-friendly pastimes that are unique to the Hamilton area?

Based on some initial quick research, here is what I've found:

1) The Art Gallery of Hamilton seems to have kid-friendly activities for different age groups (summer camps and family fun days). Never too early to start them on a path towards culture and art appreciation, I think!

2) We've driven past the Hamilton Children's Museum many, many times, but I haven't stopped to think about what it might offer, until now. Looks like good times - they've got 'fun day Fridays', some kids' gardening events and the Wiggle Wagon (love it!)

3) Puddicombe Estate Farms (& Winery!): A farm, a little train - 'nuff said, I think.

4) And for when the wee one is a bit older - this place looks like fun, as does this one!

As we look forward to expanding our Hamilton experience from mostly restaurants and events to family fun, I'd be interested in hearing about any great baby or kid-friendly activities that you've found here in The Hammer! Please feel free to mention these in the comments below.