Happy Holidays from FLARE

Eat. Drink. Read our favourites and be merry.

Whether it’s trimming the tree with loved ones, curling up by the fire with your favourite book, or singing carols with new friends, everyone has their favourite way to spend the holidays. However you choose to enjoy the season, we wish you the very brightest and best!

Read on for holiday tidbits from all of us at FLARE and be sure to check out our for truly unique, meaningful gifts to give this year.

Orietta Minatel
Publisher

Best gift received.
I loved and still do love receiving surprise floral arrangements—they’re unexpected and remind me of how the simplest things are often the most beautiful and that summer will return!

Must give.
Time—time to be together and celebrate the returning of the light, whether that be drinks, dinner or just a walk.

Favourite holiday movie and song.
Movie: White Christmas and A Christmas Carol
Songs: “Ave Maria” and “O Holy Night”

Treasured holiday memory.
Big Italian dinners growing up—lots of people, food and laughter, where the focus is on being together and not on the gifts.

Lisa Tant
Editor-in-Chief

Best gift received.
I love gifts that give me more time with my friends. I love getting gift certificates for two (with them of course!) to a spa, dinner out, or the movies.

Must give.
I give all my girlfriends with new babies a set of books by Sandra Boynton. They never fail to warm hearts. A cashmere scarf in a delicious colour is always popular for men or women. Who doesn’t love to wrap themselves up in that silky warmth.

Treasured holiday memory.
I spent last Christmas with my family in Vancouver. The night before I left, my boyfriend created an early Christmas for me in my condo. There was a fire blazing in the fireplace, candles and dimmed lights, a gift certificate to our favourite restaurant for dinner that night and our pug Harley dressed up in a bright red ribbon. I hated to leave!

Elio Iannacci
Features Director

Favourite holiday song.
“What Are You Doing New Year’s Day”, sung beautifully by both Ella Fitzgerald and Rufus Wainwright.

Must give.
The must-give item this season is a charitable contribution. I prefer giving to libraries and archives that require financial assistance. If you are strapped for cash, I suggest donating books and magazines that you don’t use anymore to a library of your choice.

Tracy Picha
Managing Editor

Best gift received.
A framed print of a friend’s photographic work. It meant so much to me that my boyfriend wanted to give me something special and wanted to support one of my friends in her artwork, too.

Favourite holiday movie.
I’m hoping the new movie with Vince Vaughn and Paul Giamatti, Fred Claus, will become my favourite…

Carlene Higgins
Associate Beauty Editor

Favourite holiday movie.
My all-time favourite holiday movie has to be National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation. It’s the best!

Tanya Watt
Art Director

Best gift received.
Last year, an engagement ring and this year, a baby!

Must give.
iTunes gift cards and for family, framed pictures of the babe.

Favourite holiday movie or song.
A Charlie Brown Christmas—both the TV special and the CD.

Treasured holiday memory.
Late Christmas eve was always my favourite time…chilling with friends and family, tree lights on, snow falling…

Alex Breen
Associate Entertainment Editor

Best gift received.
A surprise trip to Honduras from my boyfriend.

Christian Martinez
Assistant Art Director

Favourite holiday movie or song.
Holiday Movie: A Christmas Story – hands down “You’ll shoot your eye out!”
Holiday Soundtrack: A Charlie Brown Christmas

Treasured holiday memory.
My family and being in the moment over Christmas dinner.

Erin Finlayson
Art Production Associate

Best gift received.
An out of print photography book by my favorite photographer, Sarah Moon

Favourite holiday movie and song.
Movie: Elf with Will Ferrell
Song: U2’s “Christmas” (Baby Please Come Home)

Treasured holiday memory.
Having my Grandfather stay over every Christmas Eve so he could be there in the morning to open presents with us

Raquel Lowe
Editorial Assistant

Best gift received.
Blank vouchers from my boyfriend. It’s the gift that keeps on giving.

Must give.
Time with loved ones. We never have enough.

Favourite holiday movie or song.
Movie: It’s not a holiday movie but every Christmas my family gathers together and watches the Anne of Green Gables series starring Megan Follows. It never gets old.
Song: Vanessa Williams’ jazz version of “What Child Is This”

Treasured holiday memory.
Partaking in my mom’s rum fudge every year.

Amanda Virtanen
General Manager, Flare.com

Best gift received.
My first computer, a Coleco Adam, when I was six years old—probably the most excited I’ve ever been over a present. I played “Buck Rogers” for hours.

Favourite holiday movie and song.
Nothing beats A Charlie Brown Christmas. Fave song is “Rockin’ Around The Christmas Tree” by Brenda Lee.

Zdenka Turecek
Senior Editorial Producer, Flare.com

Best gift received.
Not getting everything I wanted growing up.

Must give.
Christmas cards to my friends from all over.

Favourite holiday movie or song.
Home Alone

Treasured holiday memory.
Sitting around the dinner table—eating my mother’s traditional Czech cabbage soup with my family.

Michael Loucas
Senior Web Producer

Best gift received.
A homemade quilt my mother gave me. She made it while fighting cancer.

Must give.
A calendar made by me for my family with everyone’s birthday, anniversary, etc. listed.

Favourite holiday movie or song.
National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation—I can watch this movie all year around.

Treasured holiday memory.
When I was a child—the anticipation at the top of the stairs with my brother waiting for my parents to let us charge into the family room to rip open our gifts.

Laura Lanktree
Editorial Producer, Flare.com

Must give.
iTunes cards and magazine subscriptions.

Favourite holiday movie or song.
Elf!!!

Treasured holiday memory.
None! I’m such a Grinch, but I’m hoping to turn a new leaf this year.

Megan Kirkwood
Editorial Production Coordinator

Favourite holiday movie.
My favourite holiday movie has to be Love Actually (Hugh Grant…to die for).

Must give.
Pink champagne—a pretty pick-me-up for holiday visits!

Anne Wetheral
Advertising Director

Best gift received.
A hilarious handmade Christmas card and a vintage Cartier watch—both from my smart boyfriend.

Must give.
Luxurious, naturally scented body creams and candles.

Favourite holiday movie or song.
“O Holy Night” sung by Mahalia Jackson.

Treasured holiday memory.
Putting the Christmas tree up and decorating it always brings back happy memories.

Debbie Madsen
Chief Copy Editor

Favourite holiday song.
It really puts me in the Christmas mood when I hear “Linus and Lucy” by the Vince Guaraldi Trio from the soundtrack to A Charlie Brown Christmas.

Catherine Gauthier
Account Supervisor

Best gift received.
A Gucci watch.

Must give.
Sephora glittery makeup bag.

Favourite holiday movie.
The Sound of Music

Treasured holiday memory.
Spending the holidays in Las Vegas!

Krista Bradley
Account Supervisor

Best gift received.
My house with my new fiancé—we moved in December 23rd last year!

Must give.
If we can plan our destination wedding in time, I’ll be giving away travel vouchers to family and friends.

Favourite holiday movie.
A toss-up—when I’m in the mood for romance, nothing beats Love Actually and when I want to laugh so hard I cry, Elf!

Treasured holiday memory.
Feeling like I was going to jump out of my skin with excitement when I woke up Christmas morning and saw a stocking with my name on it filled to the brim (that is assuming I ever fell asleep in the first place).

Gail Burford
Assistant to the Publisher

Favourite holiday movie and song.
Movie: A Christmas Carol in black and white with Alastair Sim as Scrooge. It’s the best rendition ever—made in 1951.
Song: “The Christmas Song” by Nat King Cole (Chestnuts roasting on an open fire…)

Olga Cancellaro
Assistant to the Publisher

Best gift received.
A watch from my sister.

Must give.
I always buy cookbooks. This year it might be the Martha Stewart Volume one and two.

Favourite holiday movies.
White Christmas-I watch it every year. It’s a Wonderful Life is another one. And I watch Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer with my little girl.

Treasured holiday memory.
I always enjoyed the getting together with family and friends that happens at this time of the year.

Tracy Finkelstein
Director, Business Development and Promotions

Must give.
Bottles of prosecco.

Favourite holiday movies.
Neither a movie, nor a song… but a true holiday tradition. The Nutcracker performed by the National Ballet of Canada.

Treasured holiday memory.
I grew up celebrating Christmas and Hannukah, so I always remember having both a tree and a menorah in the house.

Nicole Carter
Associate Fashion Editor

Best gift received.
My engagement ring.

Favourite holiday movie and song.
Movie: Scrooge with Bill Murray.
Song: Anything from the Charlie Brown Christmas album.

Natasha Rajakariar
Flare.com Web Producer

Must give.
Books – ‘A Thousand Splendid Suns’ by Khaled Hosseini is a great one.

Favourite holiday song.
Michael Bublé’s version of Grown-Up Christmas List

Treasured holiday memory.
When I was about 7, I remember waking up just after midnight on Christmas day to see if Santa brought me the Mary Poppins video I wanted, and I was so excited when my parents let me stay up and watch it.