Celebrating 5 years of Success the momstown way!

This month all of our momstown chapters have been celebrating a huge milestone. It's our 5th birthday this year and we've been throwing parties all across Canada.  Here in our Milton community our party has been the talk of the town for weeks amongst our mamas, partners and sponsors and you could feel the excitement mounting as the event day drew closer and closer.

I knew there would be a line up but never imagined it would be this big over 40mins BEFORE the festivities began! See the gazebo (brown pointy building at the far right of the picture below) ...that's the registration desk!

I think the fact that we had such fabulous prizes and samples from our National sponsors and partners like Today's Parent Magazine,  Kids CBC, Scholastic Canada, Britax, Melitta, Fisher Price, ConAgra Foods and the Canadian Red Cross supporting us might of played a bit of a factor in arriving early. Of course all of the great swag / prizes and support from our local businesses like Snails n Pails, Heart and Soul, Milton Eye Care, Sharkeys, and Tiny Hearts 3D Ultra Sound that helped to  top up our 100  loot bags may have been a driving factor as well.The last count I had was that we had over 800 guests accounted for through our registration process and the goody bags were gone by 10:08am - RECORD TIME!

The activity stations and demos were designed to give everyone (especially trial members and non members) a taste of what momstown is all about. Each of the designated stations not only complimented the businesses that was sponsoring it, it also highlighted our educational curriculum and our 6 program pillars that are encorporated in all of our programs and events that we offer year round. We are so much more then just a  convenient playgroup and I'm confident that we got that point across today at the party.

My Smart Hands, Harmony Is, and Tutor Bright sponsored our Art & Music pillar which is designed to promote developing creative minds. The kids loved singing to the music, learning some basic sign language and getting messy at our Picasso's in the Park station. Thank goodness for the Huggies Wipes that were on hand to make clean up easy and fast so that the little ones could move on to discover the next exciting activity.

 Our commitment to Early Literacy was well represented by Patty Sullivan from Kids CBC who took the time to read to the kids at our Book Nook sponsored by Milton Optometry. The kids were absolutely thrilled to sit still and listen to a story being read by their favourite T.V. celebrity!

Our nutrition pillar represented by our Junior Chef program is a favourite with both moms and tots. It's an opportunity for moms to test out new recipes with their kids. The little ones have fun building on concepts such as mixing, measuring, scooping, blending, etc.. Today we gave them a break and just let them enjoy the finished products such as Snow Cones ( sponsored by the Sanctuary) , Popcorn ( sponsored by Remax)  & tons of samples of Pudding courtesy of ConAgra Foods. Coudn't help but smile every time I saw some blue teeth or pudding mustaches walk by.

Every child has a sense of curiosity and we encourage it through our Science and Discovery programs. Our craft station led by 3d Health Solutions was centered around the human anatomy by creating skeletons and labeling and identifying the various body parts. Wee Ones Childcare Academy had the little ones heighten their tactile experiences with their super cool sensory stations. Another favourite was the Bubble Station run by Pick of the Crop. The kids loved learning how to prime the motor in the bubble gun in order to get the bubbles to shoot  out. Leaning though play and having fun was achieved at each of these activity centres.

 Anyone who has a toddler/preschooler knows that active play is a must in their daily routine. We made sure there were several fitness stations available for ALL of our age groups to burn off tons of energy. No matter what age you were, our Salsa Babies and Guayita Zumba demos had everyone dancing to the contagious Latin beats.

 

 The Diaper Derby run by Cozy Kids encouraged the babes to show off their crawling abilities. It was hilarious watching the moms encouraging their little ones to cross the finish line. One mama tried putting out a trail of puffs while others clapped and waved. The mama who took the victory was the one who waved her child's beloved lovey in front of his face so he had to chase after it. So much fun to watch!

  

Monkeynastix Milton had our kids jumping with delight as they leaped and bounded through the obstacle course.

Grow Play Share had the Kidz Zone covered with climbers, slides and a telescope for imaginary play.

A bouncy castle is a must for any party and we were able to have one thanx to the generosity of the community out reach program sponsored by the Sanctuary.  

  

Of course our final pillar - Play and Social which is the heart of momstown and how it all began. Gallinger Ford had a colouring station along with a vehicle on display for the parents to join in on playtime. Century 21 had a mega blocks and soft blocks for building and kids faces lit up with colour at the Oxford Learning face painting station.

Our Fisher Price Play station was very popular and kids were having a blast discovering the ins and outs of how the toys worked. The kids played with the toys right up until they were raffled away to 8 lucky families.

With all that was going on we definitely had to make sure that our guests stayed well hydrated. So Charming was on hand serving up refreshments - tea party style and Bullseye Child Safety was giving away bottles of ice cold water.

We were also lucky enough to have a lot of local resources join us to make our party a smashing success. A big shout out to the Canadian Red Cross who set up an info both along with tattoos for the little ones, a great big red Fire Truck from the Milton Fire Hall and an ambulance with all the bells and whistles. The Mason Chip Identification Program also offered their services at today's event. So many parents felt a little better prepared once they had the Free Id kit in hand to take home.



 









We finished off the day by having everyone gather around for the cake cutting ceremony. Patty Sullivan led the group in a round of happy birthday and then we got to dig into the cake provided by our local Longo's grocery store.

 

While everyone was enjoying cake we started to call out the door prize winners. We had to start a half hour earlier this year since we had double the prizes to give away!  Check out some of the winners below to see if you recognize anyone?

We made sure that no one goes away empty handed this year. We are offering EVERYONE  (new, old, and current) members / non members a gift of your very own! JOIN NOW (during the months of August and September)  and receive a BONUS SUBSCRIPTION FOR A YEAR TO TODAY'S PARENT!

A Big Shout Out to everyone that came out  to support and celebrate with us and all of the wonderful volunteers that made this event possible! It was great catching up with the regulars and just as great getting to know all the new moms that dropped by to experience momstown Milton first hand. A special thank you to Jamie from Barefoot Studio for capturing the event! You can see more of her wonderful pictures by visiting our Face Book Page for ALL of the pics from our special day. Don't forget to hit the "LIKE" button to keep up to date with our latest and greatest adventures..... Real moms connected!