St. Nicholas was known in his lifetime for his generosity, in particular giving gifts to people in need and he is the patron saint of children – so he is credited with beginning the practice. But it’s not obvious from the historical record when people started to give gifts to children at Christmas; in about the year 400 it was noted in a church sermon that gift-giving was making children selfish so it had begun at least by then. Gifts for children were being given in Medieval Europe. A list of possible gifts for German children includes money, sweets, fruit, and dolls. clothes, books and a Bible.

Advertising for Christmas gifts, especially for children, began in the 1700s. Before the Industrial Revolution of the 1800s, most toys were hand-made but by the 1860s store-bought toys, made in factories, became the norm. And in North America, by the end of the 1800s, toys could be chosen and purchased from mail-order catalogues such as T. Eaton & Co.

Want to reminisce about toys that you or your grandparents wished for or received as a child? Ask your local library to borrow:

Under the Tree: The Toys and Treats that Made Christmas Special, 1930-1965, written by Susan Waggoner, published by Harry N. Abrams in 2007.

Dear Santa: Children’s Christmas Letters and Wish Lists, 1870-1920, published by Chronicle Books in 2015.

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The choir has also performed with The Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony, the K-W Chamber Orchestra, Canadian tenor John McDermott, Kenny Rogers, K’naan and has been heard on radio and television. In the past, the choir has toured throughout Ontario, Michigan, Washington D.C., and has sung at the Parliament Buildings in Ottawa. Recently the choir competed at the Ontario Vocal Festival and was recommended to the National Music Festival where they received a silver. In 2014, the choir participated in the Queen City Children’s Music Festival in Cincinnati. The GPCC’s first music CD was produced in 2013 with their own original composition, penned with Jim Papoulis, as the title track, I Will Find an Answer.

The Grand Philharmonic Youth Choir

Founded in 1993 as the Zion Community Children’s choir, the Youth Choir provides extensive choral training and excellent performance opportunities to singers between ages 14-23. They have become one of the premier youth ensembles in Canada and have competed in national and international competitions and have received many first place honours.

Director Mark Vuorinen maintains a mandate to present choral repertoire at the highest standard as you will see today.

At regular rehearsals, choristers prepare a varied and extensive repertoire list and receive instruction in voice production, theory, sight-singing and ear-training. Singers also attend additional rehearsals for major performances and recordings throughout the season.

Since gaining national recognition by winning first prize in the Mixed Voice Youth Choir category in the prestigious CBC Choir Competition in 2006, the GPYC has become one of the premiere youth choirs in Canada and is often invited to perform great works with local ensembles such as the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony, Kitchener-Waterloo Youth Symphony Orchestra and The Wellington Winds. They have recently had the opportunity to perform with Video Games Live and Kenny Rogers at the Centre in the Square and premiered a commissioned work at the Stratford Festival of Canada.

The choir has competed in national and international competitions in the past three years winning first place, Mixed Choirs, at the Summa Cum Laude Choral Festival in Vienna, Austria in 2012. In 2014 they received first place honours at the K-W Kiwanis Festival, Ontario Vocal Fest, Ontario Music Festival Association Provincials and at the Canadian Federation of Music Festivals National Music Festival.

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Visit our Toys and Games shops and artisans in Christkindl's Marketplace (see link below).

Shown here are wooden handcrafted and handpainted toys from The Silver Thistle.  

For more toys and games, also browse: 

(see links below)