‘Twas a few days before Christmas, and all through the house, not a creature was stirring, not even a –

“Don’t put that in your mouth. Do not put that in your mouth! Don’t make me come over there! You do not want to make me put down these bite-sized sausage rolls and come over there!”

Oh, hello. I didn’t hear you come in. My son was just snacking on some Christmas ornaments. Aren’t kids cute? Excuse me one second.

“Don’t you dare give the cat eggnog! Listen to me very carefully, mister. That’s daddy’s special eggnog. Why is the cat wrapped in tinsel? I am this close to calling Santa right now. This close!”

If you’re like me, you love the spirit of the holidays. And who better to share it with than your kids, who are home from school. All day. For many, many days in a row.

Here are a few bright ideas to keep them occupied while they’re on vacation. For many, many, many consecutive days. Did I say that already?

14th annual Bright Lights in Stanley Park (until Jan. 2; closed Christmas Day)  
Kids love lights. Kids love trains. Combine the two in Stanley Park and you’ve got a magical ride through a forest complete with hot chocolate, fresh popcorn and roasted chestnuts. Sunday to Thursday, 3 to 10 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, 3 to 11 p.m. Admission to plaza by donation to the British Columbia Professional Fire Fighters’ Burn Fund. Heard tickets for the train are scarce — visit Ticketmaster.ca for more info.

Festival of Lights at VanDusen Botanical Gardens (until Jan. 2; closed Christmas Day)  
The crowd favourite has to be the Dancing Lights on Livingstone Lake. They start at 4:30 p.m. with two different shows: one on the half hour and a completely different one on the hour. Encourage your kids to dance very hard at both. Nap ensues. VandusenGarden.org.

Canyon Lights (Until Jan. 1; closed Christmas Day):
You’ve probably gotten wise to the fact my son loves lights. At Capilano, they’ve got about 250,000 of them scattered throughout the park.

Add a suspension bridge, the Treetops Adventure and a lighted Cliffwalk and you’ve got a recipe for a couple of hours of entertainment. Check out CapBridge.com.

Have a great holiday season everyone and a happy New Year.