I Love a (Santa Claus) Parade
I love a good parade and Toronto has one of the best in the world!
The Toronto Santa Claus Parade, which this year will take place on Sunday, November 15, is the world's longest running children's parade. Of course it's not the only parade that will bring Santa to town but it has always been my favourite.
Did you know that this year will be the 111th Anniversary of the Toronto Santa Claus Parade? That makes it not only a long-running tradition but also a part of our city's living history. Toronto Public Library has several items in our collection that document the parade's history including Audrey Greer's book The Santa Claus Parade story: 100 years of great parades in Toronto.
The parade's official website includes a replica copy of the 1952 Santa Claus Parade Colouring book that you can download (PDF), print and colour. Toronto Public Library's Osborne Collection of Early Children's Books has original copies of Eaton's Santa Claus Parade Colouring Books from 1948, 1956, and 1957 that you can look at in their fourth floor location at the Lillian H. Smith Branch.
This year's Santa Claus parade will have 26 floats, 21 marching bands, and thousands of people marching along the parade route. That's one really big parade! But parades don't have to be big to be special; you could host a mini-version at home with your family:
- Decorate cardboard boxes to make festive floats for stuffed animals to ride in.
- Make instruments out of recycled materials and become your own marching band.
- Practise waving like a king or queen, marching like a toy soldier, or doing a silly clown walk.
And remember, your parade doesn't have to be for Santa. You can have a parade for any reason or for no reason at all! (I really like the idea of a "Library Book Parade" from http://www.teachmama.com.)
Check out these books for even more inspiration:
As for me, it's just about time for me to put on my elf hat, grab a cup of hot chocolate, and join in some Toronto Santa Claus Parade fun!
4 thoughts on “I Love a (Santa Claus) Parade”
What a great post Katherine. I love that downloadable pdf of the 1952 coloring book. With the increasing popularity of adult colouring books, I imagine some grown-ups might want a printout of this for themselves, too!
Thanks Suzanne!
Always love seeing items from our special collections. Thanks for sharing, Katherine!
Thanks Soheli! Finding those colouring books in our Special Collections was like receiving an early Christmas present!