Parade people we’re not, but this year’s Montreal Santa Claus Parade on Ste. Catherine St. turned out to be a hit with both kids (age 2.5 and 5), and a meltdown-free (aka fun) family outing. On a beautiful, sunny day, we had pretty good visibility and spent almost an hour watching lots of fun Christmas characters, marching bands and seasonal floats.

Since there are a few more Christmas parades coming up in Montreal, here are a few tips on how to make them more fun with kids.

1. Prepare for chilly weather. This may sound obvious, but one of the things that made today’s parade more manageable was that we lucked out with the weather. It was sunny and about eight degrees. We went to the Santa Claus Parade on a much colder day three years ago and left pretty quickly. Unless you’re really well equipped for the weather, and you think your kids are patient enough to deal with the waiting between floats and entertainment, you’ll want to leave pretty quickly, too.

2. Take notes from the parade pros. When we arrived at today’s parade, it was immediately clear we were not of the same organizational echelon as many of the other parents. There were those who had prime, edge-of-the-curb seating, their own fold-out chairs, blankets, Starbucks coffees, as well as Santa hats and reindeer-shaped earmuffs. No, I am not kidding. While the seasonal accessories and coffee are luxuries, bringing seats for the kids would make a big difference. You would not leave the event experiencing numbness in the arms and back spasms from holding the kids up to see what’s going on, for example.

3. Know the parade route. If you have little ones who have little patience, you may want to consider being as close as possible to where the parade route begins at the start time, or get to the end of the route to catch the end of the parade. This way they’ll get to see a lot of the action, and not have to wait much between floats. The last time we went, we figured that showing up on any corner of Ste. Catherine St. would be fine, but our two-year-old wasn’t impressed by the “leisurely” pace of the event.

4. What’s your getaway plan? Think ahead about what possible eateries or other child-friendly distractions that are in the vicinity of the parade. That way, if it does end up being too cold, crowded or Christmasy to stick out, you have a convenient getaway plan. Incidentally, we ended up at La Cage aux Sports restaurant in the Bell Centre for lunch after, because it was the closest place we could think of. Turned out to be a child-friendly haven, with baskets of free popcorn, kids’ placemats with crayons, a kids’ menu, and about 400 TVs showing various sports.

I Spy Montreal has information on Montreal Christmas parades, Christmas shows and theatre, and other family Christmas activities.