Friday 8 August 2014

EXTRA! EXTRA! #BPTurns50 Aug 12th @BostonPizza turns the BIG 5-0! #Giveaway CAN 08/29

♪  "We are family, I got all my sisters with me. 
We are family, Get up ev'rybody and sing! 
Ev'ryone can see we're together, As we walk in by. 
Fly! and we fly just like birds of a feather, I won't tell no lie.
All! all the people around us they say, Can they be that close.
Just let me state for the record, We're giving love in a family dose." 

My siblings and I have been known to regularly channel our Sister Sledge and belt out our rendition of ♫ "We Are Family". We are all about traditions and celebrating life's important events. This is not to say we're stuck in a timewarp, we are dynamic, ever changing and evolving. We add new traditions and retire old ones, always remembering where we came from and how far we have come. 

More times than not our family traditions involve food and maybe a rewriting of the lyrics of a few of our favourite songs to fit the mood or an event, and it is that which our fondest memories are made of. As I approach my 29th birthday for the 22nd time, I realize Boston Pizza has played a part in many of those celebrations and memories over the years. On August 12th Boston Pizza is celebrating 50 years of being part of Canadians' lives and traditions, and like my family they have grown and evolved adding new menu items, and retiring others, all the while maintaining a tradition of value and service. 

It feels like they are part of the family, whether meeting my childhood friend with our kids for dinner (Oakville), or where the family gets together when I am in town for a visit - yep up to 18 of us (Oakville). Maybe it is one of the several times a year my parents and I meet at the halfway point for a quick lunch and a visit, because our schedules won't allow for a multi-day visit and the 6 hour drive each way (Kingston). It is where we go for lunch after bowling (Ottawa), where I met Sarah's (Journeys of the Zoo) kids for the first time (Barrhaven), and where my family goes for dinner (Kanata).


Cheers! Boston Pizza!
Happy 50th Anniversary!
#BPTurns50

Join in the celebration including $5 Individual Size Pizzas on August 12th, and coupons for additional discounts. Don't forget to try the Anniversary menu items available until Aug 17th, 2014.
What's an anniversary celebration without a party? 
You can enter to win one of 50! yes you heard me correctly ... I said 50 Pizza Parties for you and 29 of your favourite people! (valued at $2500) You can find #BPPizzaParty details at BPPizzaParty.com

No doubt about it 1964 is an excellent year! If I wasn't turning 29 again this year I would pick that year to be born! Be sure to check out some highlights of Boston Pizza's 50 year history at Boston Pizza's big 5-0 via Strategy . While reading I noticed the quote below and although I don't see my name specifically mentioned, I'm pretty sure it's about me, my humour and my quirky personality, since we all know I'm a celeb that should be endorsed. At least that's how I interpret it ... Yep just me thinking out loud again.  
"Its survival amongst its competition (it has a market share of 3.7% in the full-service category), is in large part due to tapping humour and building a quirky personality with celeb endorsements and unique product offerings."  

So like that wasn't enough to celebrate ... you can also enter to win 1 of 4 $20 Boston Pizza gift cards to help you start your own Boston Pizza tradition and celebrate Boston Pizza turning 50! 
Good Luck!
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Yep, just me Cathy thinking out loud about turning 50! 

Note: I was not compensated for this post. I have a great relationship with Boston Pizza and so pleased they have generously sponsored this giveaway for my readers. All opinions are my own and reflect my personal experience with this brand.

100 comments :

  1. Food plays a huge role in our Easter celebrations! We paint eggs together, hunt for chocolate and then enjoy a large ham supper! We've been doing it since I was a kid!

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  2. Food is involved in all our family traditions and holidays. After all, we love to eat! No matter where we go, or where we are, we must eat. We go downtown? We must have a Beavertail. We go on a Sunday drive? Stop for ice cream. We eat, therefore we are.

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  3. we are all about the meat pie at Christmas, my grandmothers recipe and omg......

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  4. The Christmas Holidays. The food goes on for days :)

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  5. We always go out to a restaurant to celebrate birthdays (we always celebrate with food! LOL!)

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  6. celebrating birthdays is always a good excuse to have some good eats

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  7. Birthdays are my favourite family tradition. We always request the same chocolate birthday cake my Mom has been making since we were young children.

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  8. growing up we always made rappie pie during the holidays, we all pitched in peeling mounds and mounds of potatos. It was the highlight even more so than our presents.

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  9. Growing up we would always visit the local fair where ever we were living at the time. My love of fair funnel cakes has steadily grown.

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  10. Our most food oriented tradition is cakes to celebrate any & every occasion in our family :) For us its a reason to eat together, socialize with each other, catch up & savor & celebrate all the moments in life no matter how big or small. I've taken on making the cakes & have gotten into the fondant cakes so now, the bar is set for each gathering to up the ante, lol

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  11. Food plays a part in so many events. At christmas it is all about the family and the food. The huge turkey all the fixings and of course the mincemeat pie. Christmas would not be the same without all that

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  12. Every year we have a family reunion in the summer. We have a huge BBQ, with lots of salads, corn on the cob, fruit, meat and sweets....not to mention drinks

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  13. Making perogies together as a family for Christmas Eve dinner

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  14. When all the family gets together it is a tradition that we all enjoy my mothers famous pork rib recipe.

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  15. shared on facebook https://www.facebook.com/joshdsiemens/posts/783943754991702

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  16. A favourite family tradition is birthdays where the birthday person gets to choose the menu, first course and dessert.

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  17. We always have a big family turkey dinner at Christmas,Easter,and Thanksgiving,,always did,ever since I can remember.
    (Karla Sceviour)

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  18. Our family food tradition is we eat supper out as a family every Saturday

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  19. we order out or eat out every Friday night. It's our family's way of having a good time together and celebrating the week's end. Usually Chinese Food, or Pizza but we enjoy our food.

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  20. Chris Stockford8 August 2014 at 23:09

    The Christmas Holidays. The food goes on for days.

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  21. we eat out as a family every friday

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  22. My mom makes awesome fish and chips with fresh pickerel we catch from our lake cottage and we always have that when our family is there together.

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  23. Every Sunday morning my DH makes pancakes for the family. The Kids help mix the batter and eat the pancakes. I look forward to it every week.

    Besos, Sarah
    Blogger at Journeys of The Zoo

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  24. We always have a family meal to celebrate birthdays

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  25. Our family tradition is to go out to dinner for birthdays (food is the centerpiece next to family)

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  26. At Christmas time, me and my kids do lots of baking together.

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  27. Our favourite family tradition is baking together in preparation for the different holidays.

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  28. Aside from the usual holiday meals we all get together for we have one strange tradition. When my kids were small my sister decided that friday the 13th didnt need to feel like and unlucky day for them so we turned it into SUNDAE (sunday lol ) So every friday the 13th we all get together and make ice cream sundays . My kids still love it

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  29. Once a month, my family takes turns cooking and have each other over on a sunday. It is always fun to get together not only just on holidays!

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  30. We usually make a big deal of thanksgiving and get together for a feast in which each family memberpreps and brings brings their specialty recipe.

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  31. Once a month we make lasagna together as a family. The kitchen gets messy, but the kids have so much making it together and are so proud to eat it.

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  32. Birthday's I always let the kids pick their birthday dinner, so its always something they look forward to, getting their favourite meal even if its something that the others don't enjoy. Lucky for me, its normally fairly normal. My 7 year old picked McDonalds this year, and my 17 year old picked chicken parmesan. Waiting to hear what my oldest wants for his birthday at the end of the month. He'll be 20, and is on his own, so guaranteed he will pick something homemade that he can't get at fast food restaurants lol

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  33. We all contribute something for each big family dinner (Christmas, Easter, Thanksgiving, birthdays etc).

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  34. My husbands birthday is on Christmas say. We always have non- traditional food and cake for him to celebrate.

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  35. baking at Christmas time, my sisters and mother and I - it has been a tradition for as long as I remember

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  36. We like to go out to eat dinner at the restaurant every month as a mini gathering and catching up with everyone.

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  37. Every summer our family gets together for a big family BBQ. We also order in pizza for the kids.

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  38. Food always plays a roll at fam functions! Everyone has a dish that we all love and when we all get together---Look out!!!

    Lori R Jackson

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  39. we love to go to my grand parents every summer for a huge barbeque

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  40. commented on http://cathythinkingoutloud.blogspot.ca/2014/01/tips-ideas-from-kitchen-of-cathy.html#comment-form

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  41. Commented as Eldon on http://cathythinkingoutloud.blogspot.ca/2014/08/new-york-travel-hilton-garden-inn-syracuse-review-familytravel.html?showComment=1407721980183#c7822434608309047093

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  42. Well a family tradition involving food is usually getting together for a feast of turkey at Christmas and Easter ..oh and thanksgiving

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  43. Food always plays a big role in bringing my family together in the holidays.For Christmas and Thanksgiving, we usually have turkey, and on New Year's Eve we always have takeout like a pizza. It brings us closer together )

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  44. Food is most important at family gatherings. There is never too much food!!

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  45. I also commented on the Belkin switch non-giveaway page under my name.

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  46. Food is an integral part of family dinners - what would Christmas dinner be without mashed potatoes and gravy!

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  47. Every family get together we have a big jigs dinner (newfoundland pot dinner) also once a month my daughter and I bake up a storm :)

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  48. Every summer we have a big corn roast, where we cook a huge pot of corn and have side dishes! So fun

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  49. During Winter season, we make taffee-on-snow. It's a French-Canadian tradition where we pour real maple syrup on clean snow and roll it up on a Popsicle stick. We've been doing it every year since I was a child.

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  50. During the summer we make a point to order pizza for a summer time movie night. A very casual, relaxing time that is less spent over the stove and more with family over a slice of (pizza) pie.

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  51. During the hockey playoffs it's tradition for us to rustle up some pizza and enjoy some fine beer

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  52. My parents live on the lake and several times a year we have hot dogs roast over the lakefront fire and have a variety of salads. When it's warm we go swimming and play bocce ball. When it's cold we go inside and play board games.

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  53. Birthdays are a very traditional, foody affair in our family. We always go all out and cook everything from scratch, although we have hit up a favourite restaurant on occassion.

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  54. Birthdays and holidays we usually do a big spread.

    billiondollarprincesss@hotmail.com

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  55. I never cared for Birthday cake so my mom always made me date squares which are my favourite!!!
    via Rhonda W G.

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  56. Commented as Yuen C - http://cathythinkingoutloud.blogspot.ca/2014/08/JK-to-Grade-12-reading-StaplesCanada-KindleFireHD-review.html?showComment=1407901287343#c5095269341468155210

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  57. My family and I have our annual summer BBQ. We would each make one dish, so there is always a lot of food at these gatherings.

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  58. My kids help me bake and decorate their birthday cakes. It's a fun activity to do together and it relieves some of the pressure I put on myself to make everything just perfect.

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  59. Our family tradition is our birthdays. Each family member gets to choose theme and food they want to eat. Sometimes other family members have to dress up certain way if the birthday person desires this ei. Pirates, Anne of green gables....

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  60. We have make your own pizza night on family game night and on family movie nights we go out for dinner!

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  61. Family BBQs are frequent in the summer!

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  62. This wasn't an intentional tradition, but every Christmas the family gets together and we all bring cookies. Since we've shared recipes over the years, we inevitably end up with five or six batches of exactly the same type of cookie. They still somehow all get eaten though :)

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  63. Every Sunday we go to my parents place to spend time with the family and I usually help my mom cook dinner

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  64. We have Swedish food on new years eve, it is supposed to be for good luck.

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  65. I commented in "Family Road Trip to @DestinyUSA So much more than shopping! #ShopPlayStay #familytravel #travel" posting under "Maggie Cheung".

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  66. Friday nights are pizza nights in my house. We usually get creative and make our own and try new topping combos.

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  67. Mediterranean food is a must for our Christmas tradition

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  68. Christmas morning breakfast is Ukranian Breakfast. It's a tradition that we have always shared and I don't plan to break it. It's so yummy!

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  69. Decorating the tree for Christmas. LOTS of hot cocoa and food for friends and family who come and help

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  70. growing up we used to try to eat dinner every night together, and at Christmas time we all got together at my Grandma's house, we still try to do that every Christmas. of course there's lots of food and good times had by all

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  71. Blog Post commented on..... Old School or Hi- #Tech - JK to Grade 12 - Reading Lists still part of summer! @staplecanada #KindleFireHD commented as Meredith Agius

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  72. Easter is when all the family come to my house. I prepare for two days a big feast filled with some traditional foods. A joyous occasion.
    Thanks.

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  73. We eat together as a family and enjoy mooncakes at moon festival in September

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  74. We make big strawberry shortcakes every summer to eat on the deck with coffee.

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  75. Birthdays. We usually have noodles on birthdays...to symbolize long life

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  76. We do a family dinner potluck every Sunday!

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  77. after i moved to a different part of the country, whenever i visit home, my mom makes lobster for me.

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  78. Family tradition is going apple picking and then coming home and making apple crisp and pies.

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  79. MY GRNADPARENTS LIVE IN A SMALL BC TOWN WITH NO KFC... EVERY TIME THEY COME TO VISIT US, WE HAVE A kfc PARTY

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  80. We always have weekly movie nights- with popcorn and every adult birthday party is celebrated with a great family meal at a restaurant!

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  81. For us its chicken noodle soup...when anyone is sick its a known fact mom or dad will be making you soup!

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  82. comment on Family Road Trip to @DestinyUSA
    Suzie M

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  83. Food is what brings everyone together in my family. We love to eat and we love to prepare together as it brings us closer together.

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  84. Annually at Christmas - to bind family together kids/adults alike - jointly we prepare a punch bowl of non-alcoholic egg nog. With hors d'oeuvres displayed for tasting we all pour a glass and toast to the memories we shared as a family. Pizza is a regular in this household - anytime of year....

    Eva Mitton-Urban

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  85. Long Weekend BBQ's in the summer with everyone bringing Pot Luck. Such great times…:)

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  86. Every Thursday we order takeout... A great tradition that I kept with me

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  87. My grandma would have everyone over on sundays for a big stew dinner :)

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  88. Every fall we pick apples from our trees and spend a weekend making preserves (apple butter and apple sauce). Usually make an apple pie for dessert as well.

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  89. We buy the biggest popcorn when we go to the theater and everybody digs in.

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  90. We have a yearly trip out to the drive in movie. We pack sweets and drinks. When we arrive we go to the cool old concession and grab fries and popcorn. We always have a fun night!

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  91. Being French-Canadian tourtiere was always and still is part of our Christmas dinner. However no one in our family has been able to duplicate my mother's recipe.

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  92. Christmas is all about baking with the family!

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  93. Our traditional Thanksgiving dinner is obviously based around a ton of food. We always have our homemade pies!

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  94. usually a fav meal or restaurant is chosen

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  95. When our family gets together it is potluck. My father loved a dish I devised and called mock pizza. I made it to use leftovers but he would make it from scratch. Cooked rice was put on the bottom of a greased casserole dish, then leftover cooked vegetables and tomato sauce. This was topped with grated or sliced cheese and baked until heated through and cheese melted.

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  96. Usually have mash potato and make diff type of pasta for thanksgiving.

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  97. We go out for dinner on birthdays

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  98. commented here as tammy d http://cathythinkingoutloud.blogspot.ca/2014/01/tips-ideas-from-kitchen-of-cathy.html

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