If SPARK and Welcome to Weekends is helping you have great weekends, share your experience on Facebook @sparkhd and Instagram @sparkhd and use #sparkweekend to show what you have been doing. I hope you keep having wonderful weekends!
Celebrate Epiphany
Epiphany is this Friday (January 6) and is a day where many cultures take down their Christmas decorations. Traditionally this is the day where the Wise Men were said to arrive at the manger. If you haven’t yet, use this day as a great reminder to clean up your Christmas decorations.
Celebrate Lewis Carroll, the author of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland
Thursday (January 14) is Lewis Caroll’s birthday, so celebrate this great author by reading his book or watching one of the many renditions of Alice in Wonderland, many of which can be streamed on Disney+. Learn more about the 1951 Alice in Wonderland film with this trivia ohmy.disney.com/quiz/2015/11/20/quiz-how-well-do-you-know-alice-in-wonderland/.
Learn some morse code
Morse code is a lot of fun, and Monday (January 11) is Learn Your Name in Morse Code Day. Check out the morse code alphabet here, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morse_code. If you want to learn more than just a few letters, go to morse.withgoogle.com/learn/ to learn the entire alphabet using pictures to help.
Start a workout routine
Use the New Year to find the motivation to keep fit. Find a new way to change your normal routine or get started with a new routine.
Ice Skating at Millennium Park
Millennium Park’s outdoor ice-skating rinks are opening up once again for the Holiday season. The McCormick Tribune Rink is a traditional oval shape perfect for beginners. The Ribbon, located at Maggie Daily Park, is a long circular path with level, uphill, and downhill skating for a slightly more experienced skater although beginners are welcome to try. Skates may be rented for $16-20 a pair, but bring your own, and it’s completely free of charge. Due to COVID-19, there will be limited capacity. Go to maggiedaleypark.com/things-to-do-see/skating-ribbon/ to make your reservations now or to learn more about skating downtown.
https://sparkhd.fm/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/Welcome-To-Weekends-graphic-e1551990668320.jpg340650Sarah Breinighttps://live-sparkhd.pantheonsite.io/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/SparkTopLogo-copy.jpgSarah Breinig2021-01-07 12:26:152021-01-07 12:26:15Spark Welcome to Weekends by Sarah Breinig
If SPARK and Welcome to Weekends is helping you have great weekends, share your experience on Facebook @sparkhd and Instagram @sparkhd and use #sparkweekend to show what you have been doing. I hope you keep having wonderful weekends!
January 3 (Sunday) is the Festival of Sleep—a day dedicated to hitting the snooze button, So use this day to sleep in, take a nap, or go to sleep early. You could also use this day to start getting your sleep schedule on track for school. Since many classes are starting in about two weeks, use this day as a reminder to (regrettably) start sleeping better.
Do some trivia
Trivia is a great way to hang out with friends and learn completely random facts that you’ll probably never need to know. January 4 (Monday) is Trivia Day, so why not pull out Trivial Pursuit and play with friends or family. If you can’t play together due to COVID-19 restrictions, you can always set up a video call and ask each other the questions. If you do not have any trivia-based games, go to www.opinionstage.com/blog/trivia-questions/.
Watch Ant-Man
In January 1962, Ant-Man (Hank Pym) made his first appearance in Tales to Astonish #27. Celebrate the character by watching him appear on your screen. Watch Michael Douglas portray this character in Ant-Man and Ant-Man and the Wasp. If that isn’t enough Ant-Man for you, you can see Paul Rudd portray the second Ant-Man in Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame. All appearances of Ant-Man are available on Disney+ and to rent or buy on YouTube, Amazon Prime, Google Play, and Vudu.
Ice Skating at Millennium Park
Millennium Park’s outdoor ice-skating rinks are opening up once again for the Holiday season. The McCormick Tribune Rink is a traditional oval shape perfect for beginners. The Ribbon, located at Maggie Daily Park, is a long circular path with level, uphill, and downhill skating for a slightly more experienced skater although beginners are welcome to try. Skates may be rented for $16-20 a pair, but bring your own, and it’s completely free of charge. Due to COVID-19, there will be limited capacity. Go to maggiedaleypark.com/things-to-do-see/skating-ribbon/ to make your reservations now or to learn more about skating downtown.
https://sparkhd.fm/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/Welcome-To-Weekends-graphic-e1551990668320.jpg340650Sarah Breinighttps://live-sparkhd.pantheonsite.io/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/SparkTopLogo-copy.jpgSarah Breinig2020-12-30 11:01:302020-12-30 11:02:15Spark Welcome to Weekends by Sarah Breinig
If SPARK and Welcome to Weekends is helping you have great weekends, share your experience on Facebook @sparkhd and Instagram @sparkhd and use #sparkweekend to show what you have been doing. I hope you keep having wonderful weekends!
Have a Merry Christmas
2020 may have been a difficult year, but don’t let that stop you from celebrating the birth of Christ. Safely get together with family and have a Merry Christmas! Try setting up a video call to see high risk family members or those who live too far away to safely see in person. From the spark HD family to yours, we hope you have a very Merry Christmas.
Have a happy New Year
The year 2020 ends this Thursday (December 31), so get ready to say goodbye to a difficult year and hello to a new one. Happy New Year!
Watch Soul
On Christmas (Friday December 25), Disney and Pixar are releasing Soul on Disney+. Set up a Group Watch with family and friends and celebrate the Christmas holiday together.
Watch Wonder Woman: 1984
After several changed release dates due to the pandemic, Wonder Woman: 1984 will be released to theatres and HBO Max this Christmas (Friday December 25).
Ice Skating at Millennium Park
Millennium Park’s outdoor ice-skating rinks are opening up once again for the Holiday season. The McCormick Tribune Rink is a traditional oval shape perfect for beginners. The Ribbon, located at Maggie Daily Park, is a long circular path with level, uphill, and downhill skating for a slightly more experienced skater although beginners are welcome to try. Skates may be rented for $16-20 a pair, but bring your own, and it’s completely free of charge. Due to COVID-19, there will be limited capacity. Go to maggiedaleypark.com/things-to-do-see/skating-ribbon/ to make your reservations now or to learn more about skating downtown.
https://sparkhd.fm/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Christmas-spark-2020-website-banner.png5001600Sarah Breinighttps://live-sparkhd.pantheonsite.io/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/SparkTopLogo-copy.jpgSarah Breinig2020-12-24 11:46:172020-12-24 11:47:17Spark Welcome to Weekends by Sarah Breinig
If SPARK and Welcome to Weekends is helping you have great weekends, share your experience on Facebook @sparkhd and Instagram @sparkhd and use #sparkweekend to show what you have been doing. I hope you keep having wonderful weekends!
Make a Christmas Ornament
Since many traditional Christmas activities are canceled due to COVID-19, why not do something from home to celebrate the season? Try making your own decorations this year. Go to https://www.housebeautiful.com/entertaining/holidays-celebrations/g2818/homemade-christmas-ornaments/ for a bunch of ideas. My personal favorite is a little yarn hat ornament on slide 4. Slide 12 shows you how to make simple but elegant paper ornaments.
Watch Kindergarten Cop
On Monday (December 21), Kindergarten Cop turns 30 years old. Join in the fun as Arnold Schwarzenegger, a gritty cop, is assigned to find and protect a dangerous criminal’s ex-wife, but the only way to do that is to go undercover as a teacher in a kindergarten classroom. You can watch Kindergarten Cop on Hulu and Amazon Prime or rent/buy on YouTube. To learn some trivia about the film, visit https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0099938/trivia?ref_=tt_ql_2.
Go caroling
Even though the Christmas season looks different this year, you can still celebrate the season with your family by caroling. Use Go Caroling Day, which is this Sunday (December 20) as an excuse to get outside and share some Christmas joy!
Look on the bright side
Monday (December 21) is Look on the Bright Side Day. 2020 has been an unusual and difficult year for everyone, and it can be easy to look at it negatively. Use this day to reflect on all of the good things that have come from this year. For example during quarantine, you probably learned a new skill or got in touch with a friend who hadn’t talked to in a while.
Ice Skating at Millennium Park
Millennium Park’s outdoor ice-skating rinks are opening up once again for the Holiday season. The McCormick Tribune Rink is a traditional oval shape perfect for beginners. The Ribbon, located at Maggie Daily Park, is a long circular path with level, uphill, and downhill skating for a slightly more experienced skater although beginners are welcome to try. Skates may be rented for $16-20 a pair, but bring your own, and it’s completely free of charge. Due to COVID-19, there will be limited capacity. Go to maggiedaleypark.com/things-to-do-see/skating-ribbon/ to make your reservations now or to learn more about skating downtown.
https://sparkhd.fm/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/Welcome-To-Weekends-graphic-e1551990668320.jpg340650Sarah Breinighttps://live-sparkhd.pantheonsite.io/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/SparkTopLogo-copy.jpgSarah Breinig2020-12-17 11:15:252020-12-17 11:15:25Spark Welcome to Weekends by Sarah Breinig
If SPARK and Welcome to Weekends is helping you have great weekends, share your experience on Facebook @sparkhd and Instagram @sparkhd and use #sparkweekend to show what you have been doing. I hope you keep having wonderful weekends!
Visit the Museum of Science and Industry virtually
Since the Museum of Science and Industry closed for COVID safety, they decided to still host virtual tours of their Christmas Around the World and Holiday of Lights exhibit. For many, this is an annual tradition and is a great way to celebrate the different ways Christmas is celebrated in other cultures. Go to www.msichicago.org/explore/whats-here/exhibits/christmas-around-the-world/ to find the next online tour. If you enjoyed that tour, sign up for another virtual tour of the U-505 a real German submarine from World War II by visiting www.msichicago.org/explore/whats-here/exhibits/u-505-submarine/.
Watch The Emperor’s New Groove
On Tuesday (November 15), The Emperor’s New Groove turns 20 years old. Journey with the self-absorbed Emperor Kuzco as he loses the throne after being turned into a donkey by the evil Yzma. Filled with animated hijinks and loads of laughs this film is an all around great time. Try some trivia if you already think you’re an expert, ohmy.disney.com/quiz/2015/09/18/quiz-how-well-do-you-know-the-emperors-new-groove/. You can stream The Emperor’s New Groove on Disney+ or rent/buy it on iTunes, YouTube, Google Play, Amazon Prime, or Vudu.
Bake some cookies
This Christmas is definitely going to look different than most, but that doesn’t mean you still can celebrate the birth of Christ with friends and family. You can bake cookies and leave them on people’s doorstep with a note and you can safely share a sweet treat with those you love without any contact. If you don’t have any festive recipes, go to www.delish.com/holiday-recipes/christmas/g2177/easy-christmas-cookies/. My personal favorite on the list is on slide 21- a brownie cookie aka a “brookie.”
Get some Christmas shopping done
Pull out your phone and get everyone’s gifts this year. It can be easy to forget when things get so busy, and if you order soon your gifts can still make it before Christmas.
Ice Skating at Millennium Park
Millennium Park’s outdoor ice-skating rinks are opening up once again for the Holiday season. The McCormick Tribune Rink is a traditional oval shape perfect for beginners. The Ribbon, located at Maggie Daily Park, is a long circular path with level, uphill, and downhill skating for a slightly more experienced skater although beginners are welcome to try. Skates may be rented for $16-20 a pair, but bring your own, and it’s completely free of charge. Due to COVID-19, there will be limited capacity. Go to maggiedaleypark.com/things-to-do-see/skating-ribbon/ to make your reservations now or to learn more about skating downtown.
https://sparkhd.fm/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/Welcome-To-Weekends-graphic-e1551990668320.jpg340650Sarah Breinighttps://live-sparkhd.pantheonsite.io/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/SparkTopLogo-copy.jpgSarah Breinig2020-12-12 11:04:582020-12-12 11:05:20Spark Welcome to Weekends by Sarah Breinig
Spark Welcome to Weekends by Sarah Breinig
/in The Spark Blog /by Sarah BreinigIf SPARK and Welcome to Weekends is helping you have great weekends, share your experience on Facebook @sparkhd and Instagram @sparkhd and use #sparkweekend to show what you have been doing. I hope you keep having wonderful weekends!
Epiphany is this Friday (January 6) and is a day where many cultures take down their Christmas decorations. Traditionally this is the day where the Wise Men were said to arrive at the manger. If you haven’t yet, use this day as a great reminder to clean up your Christmas decorations.
Thursday (January 14) is Lewis Caroll’s birthday, so celebrate this great author by reading his book or watching one of the many renditions of Alice in Wonderland, many of which can be streamed on Disney+. Learn more about the 1951 Alice in Wonderland film with this trivia ohmy.disney.com/quiz/2015/11/20/quiz-how-well-do-you-know-alice-in-wonderland/.
Morse code is a lot of fun, and Monday (January 11) is Learn Your Name in Morse Code Day. Check out the morse code alphabet here, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morse_code. If you want to learn more than just a few letters, go to morse.withgoogle.com/learn/ to learn the entire alphabet using pictures to help.
Use the New Year to find the motivation to keep fit. Find a new way to change your normal routine or get started with a new routine.
Millennium Park’s outdoor ice-skating rinks are opening up once again for the Holiday season. The McCormick Tribune Rink is a traditional oval shape perfect for beginners. The Ribbon, located at Maggie Daily Park, is a long circular path with level, uphill, and downhill skating for a slightly more experienced skater although beginners are welcome to try. Skates may be rented for $16-20 a pair, but bring your own, and it’s completely free of charge. Due to COVID-19, there will be limited capacity. Go to maggiedaleypark.com/things-to-do-see/skating-ribbon/ to make your reservations now or to learn more about skating downtown.
Spark Welcome to Weekends by Sarah Breinig
/in The Spark Blog /by Sarah BreinigIf SPARK and Welcome to Weekends is helping you have great weekends, share your experience on Facebook @sparkhd and Instagram @sparkhd and use #sparkweekend to show what you have been doing. I hope you keep having wonderful weekends!
2020 is finally over. 2021 here we come! As always try setting up your new year with a resolution. If you need help coming up with a resolution you can actually keep up with for the entire year, go to Harvard Health for some help (www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/seven-steps-for-making-your-new-years-resolutions-stick). Happy New Year!
January 3 (Sunday) is the Festival of Sleep—a day dedicated to hitting the snooze button, So use this day to sleep in, take a nap, or go to sleep early. You could also use this day to start getting your sleep schedule on track for school. Since many classes are starting in about two weeks, use this day as a reminder to (regrettably) start sleeping better.
Trivia is a great way to hang out with friends and learn completely random facts that you’ll probably never need to know. January 4 (Monday) is Trivia Day, so why not pull out Trivial Pursuit and play with friends or family. If you can’t play together due to COVID-19 restrictions, you can always set up a video call and ask each other the questions. If you do not have any trivia-based games, go to www.opinionstage.com/blog/trivia-questions/.
In January 1962, Ant-Man (Hank Pym) made his first appearance in Tales to Astonish #27. Celebrate the character by watching him appear on your screen. Watch Michael Douglas portray this character in Ant-Man and Ant-Man and the Wasp. If that isn’t enough Ant-Man for you, you can see Paul Rudd portray the second Ant-Man in Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame. All appearances of Ant-Man are available on Disney+ and to rent or buy on YouTube, Amazon Prime, Google Play, and Vudu.
Millennium Park’s outdoor ice-skating rinks are opening up once again for the Holiday season. The McCormick Tribune Rink is a traditional oval shape perfect for beginners. The Ribbon, located at Maggie Daily Park, is a long circular path with level, uphill, and downhill skating for a slightly more experienced skater although beginners are welcome to try. Skates may be rented for $16-20 a pair, but bring your own, and it’s completely free of charge. Due to COVID-19, there will be limited capacity. Go to maggiedaleypark.com/things-to-do-see/skating-ribbon/ to make your reservations now or to learn more about skating downtown.
Spark Welcome to Weekends by Sarah Breinig
/in The Spark Blog /by Sarah BreinigIf SPARK and Welcome to Weekends is helping you have great weekends, share your experience on Facebook @sparkhd and Instagram @sparkhd and use #sparkweekend to show what you have been doing. I hope you keep having wonderful weekends!
2020 may have been a difficult year, but don’t let that stop you from celebrating the birth of Christ. Safely get together with family and have a Merry Christmas! Try setting up a video call to see high risk family members or those who live too far away to safely see in person. From the spark HD family to yours, we hope you have a very Merry Christmas.
The year 2020 ends this Thursday (December 31), so get ready to say goodbye to a difficult year and hello to a new one. Happy New Year!
On Christmas (Friday December 25), Disney and Pixar are releasing Soul on Disney+. Set up a Group Watch with family and friends and celebrate the Christmas holiday together.
After several changed release dates due to the pandemic, Wonder Woman: 1984 will be released to theatres and HBO Max this Christmas (Friday December 25).
Millennium Park’s outdoor ice-skating rinks are opening up once again for the Holiday season. The McCormick Tribune Rink is a traditional oval shape perfect for beginners. The Ribbon, located at Maggie Daily Park, is a long circular path with level, uphill, and downhill skating for a slightly more experienced skater although beginners are welcome to try. Skates may be rented for $16-20 a pair, but bring your own, and it’s completely free of charge. Due to COVID-19, there will be limited capacity. Go to maggiedaleypark.com/things-to-do-see/skating-ribbon/ to make your reservations now or to learn more about skating downtown.
Spark Welcome to Weekends by Sarah Breinig
/in The Spark Blog /by Sarah BreinigIf SPARK and Welcome to Weekends is helping you have great weekends, share your experience on Facebook @sparkhd and Instagram @sparkhd and use #sparkweekend to show what you have been doing. I hope you keep having wonderful weekends!
Since many traditional Christmas activities are canceled due to COVID-19, why not do something from home to celebrate the season? Try making your own decorations this year. Go to https://www.housebeautiful.com/entertaining/holidays-celebrations/g2818/homemade-christmas-ornaments/ for a bunch of ideas. My personal favorite is a little yarn hat ornament on slide 4. Slide 12 shows you how to make simple but elegant paper ornaments.
On Monday (December 21), Kindergarten Cop turns 30 years old. Join in the fun as Arnold Schwarzenegger, a gritty cop, is assigned to find and protect a dangerous criminal’s ex-wife, but the only way to do that is to go undercover as a teacher in a kindergarten classroom. You can watch Kindergarten Cop on Hulu and Amazon Prime or rent/buy on YouTube. To learn some trivia about the film, visit https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0099938/trivia?ref_=tt_ql_2.
Even though the Christmas season looks different this year, you can still celebrate the season with your family by caroling. Use Go Caroling Day, which is this Sunday (December 20) as an excuse to get outside and share some Christmas joy!
Monday (December 21) is Look on the Bright Side Day. 2020 has been an unusual and difficult year for everyone, and it can be easy to look at it negatively. Use this day to reflect on all of the good things that have come from this year. For example during quarantine, you probably learned a new skill or got in touch with a friend who hadn’t talked to in a while.
Millennium Park’s outdoor ice-skating rinks are opening up once again for the Holiday season. The McCormick Tribune Rink is a traditional oval shape perfect for beginners. The Ribbon, located at Maggie Daily Park, is a long circular path with level, uphill, and downhill skating for a slightly more experienced skater although beginners are welcome to try. Skates may be rented for $16-20 a pair, but bring your own, and it’s completely free of charge. Due to COVID-19, there will be limited capacity. Go to maggiedaleypark.com/things-to-do-see/skating-ribbon/ to make your reservations now or to learn more about skating downtown.
Spark Welcome to Weekends by Sarah Breinig
/in The Spark Blog /by Sarah BreinigIf SPARK and Welcome to Weekends is helping you have great weekends, share your experience on Facebook @sparkhd and Instagram @sparkhd and use #sparkweekend to show what you have been doing. I hope you keep having wonderful weekends!
Since the Museum of Science and Industry closed for COVID safety, they decided to still host virtual tours of their Christmas Around the World and Holiday of Lights exhibit. For many, this is an annual tradition and is a great way to celebrate the different ways Christmas is celebrated in other cultures. Go to www.msichicago.org/explore/whats-here/exhibits/christmas-around-the-world/ to find the next online tour. If you enjoyed that tour, sign up for another virtual tour of the U-505 a real German submarine from World War II by visiting www.msichicago.org/explore/whats-here/exhibits/u-505-submarine/.
On Tuesday (November 15), The Emperor’s New Groove turns 20 years old. Journey with the self-absorbed Emperor Kuzco as he loses the throne after being turned into a donkey by the evil Yzma. Filled with animated hijinks and loads of laughs this film is an all around great time. Try some trivia if you already think you’re an expert, ohmy.disney.com/quiz/2015/09/18/quiz-how-well-do-you-know-the-emperors-new-groove/. You can stream The Emperor’s New Groove on Disney+ or rent/buy it on iTunes, YouTube, Google Play, Amazon Prime, or Vudu.
This Christmas is definitely going to look different than most, but that doesn’t mean you still can celebrate the birth of Christ with friends and family. You can bake cookies and leave them on people’s doorstep with a note and you can safely share a sweet treat with those you love without any contact. If you don’t have any festive recipes, go to www.delish.com/holiday-recipes/christmas/g2177/easy-christmas-cookies/. My personal favorite on the list is on slide 21- a brownie cookie aka a “brookie.”
Pull out your phone and get everyone’s gifts this year. It can be easy to forget when things get so busy, and if you order soon your gifts can still make it before Christmas.
Millennium Park’s outdoor ice-skating rinks are opening up once again for the Holiday season. The McCormick Tribune Rink is a traditional oval shape perfect for beginners. The Ribbon, located at Maggie Daily Park, is a long circular path with level, uphill, and downhill skating for a slightly more experienced skater although beginners are welcome to try. Skates may be rented for $16-20 a pair, but bring your own, and it’s completely free of charge. Due to COVID-19, there will be limited capacity. Go to maggiedaleypark.com/things-to-do-see/skating-ribbon/ to make your reservations now or to learn more about skating downtown.