Author: Rajat Jindal

Holiday shopping made easy.

There’s nothing like the joy of finding the perfect gift, that moment when you know it’s just right. Whether you’re shopping for a trend-setter, tech lover, or tiny dreamer, Southcentre has gifts that bring smiles to every holiday gathering. Thoughtful, stylish, and ready to wrap, these finds make holiday shopping simple and satisfying.

It’s that time of year again! The back-to-school season is upon us and it’s time to start thinking about all the essentials we’ll need to make this upcoming year a success. Whether you’re prepping your little ones for the classroom or are heading back to school yourself, we’ve got the ultimate back-to-school shopping guide to help make this school year the best one yet.

Ready to hit the books? Read on for our back-to-school essentials.

Back-to-school marks a fresh start and new beginnings, and we hope these picks will help you enter the school year with confidence.

Celebrating Father’s Day with three generations of entrepreneurial spirit

For more than 30 years, Calgary-native Brian deHaan has worked for Juniors Foods Services (owner of New York Fries and South St. Burger Co. franchises in Calgary). He began his career in the restaurant industry as a dishwasher – working for his dad no less – and has since worked his way up through the ranks. Today, Brian is the president and owner of Juniors Foods Services, which currently owns and operates nine New York Fries and seven South St. Burger Co. locations throughout Calgary and area. But this story actually begins more than 50 years ago with Brian’s father, Nick deHaan, who founded Juniors Foods Services in the 1970s (his local business partner, Hart Abercrombie) and passed on his entrepreneurial spirit, and eventually his business, on to his son. Most people don’t realize this, but while popular international brands like New York Fries may seem like they are run from afar by unfamiliar conglomerates, there is actually a much friendlier and more local team at work behind the curtain. In fact, New York Fries got its start in Alberta when Nick and Hart opened the first Western Canada location back in 1985 under the Juniors Foods Services umbrella. What you may not know, is that New York Fries, and many other similar franchises, are actually frequently locally owned and operated by entrepreneurs and families just like the deHaans. And there’s a whole lot of local love and pride that goes into running and growing those businesses!

After opening Western Canada and Alberta’s very first New York Fries location in Calgary in the mid-80s, Nick kept the momentum going by opening a second location at Southcentre Mall (which is still there today!) just two years later in 1987. Over the years, this was followed by seven more openings, bringing the total of locally owned and operated New York Fries locations up to nine. All nine locations are still thriving today, bringing Calgarians a delicious array of French fry-inspired comfort food in a convenient and welcoming environment. While working his way from dishwasher to assistant manager to district manager and onwards,

Brian found his father’s passion for the restaurant industry utterly contagious and eventually bought the business from Nick when he retired in early 2021. But, as Brian will tell you, this journey was one he worked hard for, graduating from SAIT in 1989 and working diligently to learn the ropes from his dad to earn his leadership role and ultimately carry on the family business. Brian’s other partner in business and in life, his wife Alanna, has also played a key role in helping to grow the business. The pair have been married for 29 years and in that time have worked together not only to achieve professional success but also to create a third generation of deHaans.

Now a proud father to two children of his own (daughter Jesse and son Aiden), Brian has invited his kids to be part of the business as they’ve grown up. Both his son and daughter have had the opportunity to work with their father in various positions at New York Fries over the years. Today, Brian’s son still works for his dad, carrying on a third generation in the business. In addition to his own children, Brian can recount fondly that the kids of many friends, neighbors, and fellow community members have also enjoyed the opportunity to work at local New York Fries locations as part of the business’s ‘extended family’ over the years.

From the very beginning, the family aspect of the business has gone beyond just the father-son connection between Nick and Brian. Their philosophy has always been that their business is all about family – but you don’t need to be part of the bloodline to be part of that family. Every employee is treated as part of the deHaan’s extended family and is encouraged to lean on their New York Fries family in good times and in bad. Brian says that he learned from his dad’s example the importance of a hard day’s work, honesty, integrity, and, most importantly, taking care of his employees, both on and off the clock.

From father, to son, to grandson, to the Calgarians they employ and the local community they serve, there is no doubt that through three generations of growth, family has remained the most important thing at New York Fries. To celebrate this special connection, New York Fries will be giving away a year’s worth of fries this Father’s Day! Nominate a dad or father figure in your life to win by following us on Instagram and liking our giveaway post.

Still shopping? No sweat.

The countdown to the holidays is on, but there’s still time to make it special. Whether you’re finishing your list or adding the final touches, Southcentre has gifts that feel thoughtful, festive and always effortless. From quick shop-and-go finds to stocking stuffers that surprise and delight, it’s your one-stop holiday destination.

February 10, 2024, marks the beginning of the Lunar New Year, a celebration that’s considered the most important holiday in many Asian countries and across the Asian diaspora. The celebration marks the first new moon of the lunisolar calendars, traditional to many east Asian countries including China, South Korea and Vietnam. in China it is called Chūn Jié, in Vietnam it is known as Tết, in Korea it is Seollal and in Tibet it is called Losar. Additionally, it is known as Spring Festival.

Each year in the lunar calendar is represented by one of the 12 zodiac animals, all of which represent different characteristics and future. 2024 rings in the year of the dragon—a sign of power and energy, symbolizing a prosperous year ahead.

In honour of this celebration, we asked six prominent Asian Canadians to share their favourite Lunar New Year traditions.

If you’re a fashion girlie with a love for thrifting and DIY projects, you probably know Rachel Spencer Wong (aka @rachspeed). The Toronto-based content creator (who created the genius and now-viral “333 outfit challenge”) has built a loyal following for her fun, aspirational and yet still approachable take on fashion and styling.

Rachel’s favourite memories of Lunar New Year include spending quality time with her family.

“Every year I celebrate Lunar New Year with my immediate family – as well as my grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins. Now that we’re all grown up, my cousins have their own families and children that we’re also able to share these traditions with,” she says.

One tradition Rachel is looking forward to this year is giving out red envelopes, now that she is married.

“This [year] is my first LNY married, which means traditionally it’s now our turn to give hong bao (lucky red envelopes) to our younger relatives!”

“I grew up being raised by a very superstitious Mah Mah (paternal grandmother), and one superstition I abide by is to make sure we clean our house before LNY. If you clean your house on the day, you’re ‘cleaning’ away all the luck!” — Rachel on her LNY superstitions.

1. Nudestix Nudies Glow Cream Highlighter Stick in Hey Honey (Available at Sephora): “My fave gold highlighter!”
2. Aesop Resurrection Duet (Available at Hudson’s Bay): “It’s tradition to clean house in anticipation of LNY – and I love any reason to stock up on my favourite luxury hand soap.”

Shop Nudestix | Shop Aesop

Mai Nguyen is the author of Sunshine Nails, a tender and humorous story about a Vietnamese Canadian family in Toronto who will do whatever it takes to protect their no-frills nail salon after a new high-end salon opens up closeby. The book’s complex characters showcase the diversity of immigrant experiences and community resilience.

Mai, who is also a National Magazine Award-nominated journalist and copywriter, was born in Winnipeg, raised in Halifax, and is now based in Toronto. She has fond memories from childhood of celebrating Lunar New Year (or tết) with her family.

“Growing up, my Vietnamese parents would buy these massive trays of dried, candied fruits every year. Ginger, tamarind, wintermelon, you name it. My favourites were the colourful coconut ribbons called Mứt Dừa. I could eat a whole batch of those!” she says.

This year marks her first Lunar New Year with her daughter, and Mai is looking forward to passing on traditions to mark this special occasion.

“I’m looking forward to dressing her up in red and giving her her first red envelope. I also can’t wait to eat this sticky rice cake called Bánh chưng made with glutinous rice, mung beans and pork. It’s best when it’s pan-fried so that it’s nice and crispy on the edges,” she says.

“I’m a firm believer that one should not enter the new year with a dirty home, so I start decluttering my belongings the week prior and thoroughly clean the home the day before. I like the idea that you can sweep away bad luck and enter the new year with a clean canvas.” — Mai on her LNY superstitions.

1. Jellycat Bashful Dragon Plush Toy
2. Dr. Martens Adrian Year of the Dragon Hair-On Tassel Loafers

Shop toys | Shop Dr. Martens

Deborah Lau-Yu is the queen of Lunar New Year celebrations. The editor-in-chief of Fête Chinoise magazine and creative director of Palettera Inc. is the woman behind the Fête Chinoise Signature Lunar New Year gala, an annual black-tie event held in Toronto (and also in Vancouver this year) that celebrates Chinese culture in the Canadian community.

As a designer and creative director, one of Deborah’s favourite Lunar New Year traditions is collecting lucky red envelopes.

“These ‘lucky money pockets’ as I used to call them growing up are fascinating to me…I was obsessed with the design on the red pockets I would receive as a child. I had an affinity toward the very traditional ones because I felt a connection with my grandmother who taught me almost everything I know about my heritage when I was growing up. From the imagery to the words on each pocket, I learned a lot through the symbolism which factors into my understanding and depth of appreciation of Chinese culture today,” she explains.

Another favourite tradition of Deborah’s is feasting. “The feast with the family came with the festivities every year and is something I miss since a lot of my family is no longer around. I tried to capture this sentiment and love for food and culture in our Fête Chinoise tea towel, titled, Feast,” she says.

“I don’t wash my hair on new year’s day. It’s just a tradition and superstitious habit that was passed down through the grapevine: if you wash your hair, you might wash your new year luck away! I also wear red, as it’s an auspicious colour in the culture and for the occasion.” — Deborah on her LNY superstitions.

1. Red sweater: “[It’s] always a good reason to choose a red sweater to add to the closet that can be worn at LNY and other occasions, like Christmas. [I’ve] already got mine.” (Editor’s Pick: Lilysilk Ultrafine Merino Wool Crewneck at Hudson’s Bay)
2. Gold bracelet: “When you receive lucky red pockets from elders or give pockets to others, the attention is on the hand gesture of giving and receiving.” (Editor’s Pick: Michael Kors bracelet at Hudson’s Bay)
3. Red Hunter Boots (Available at Hudson’s Bay): “Some lucky red Hunter boots to do all the travelling, celebrating, home visits, and event set up, all while being protected from the rain.”

Shop red sweaters | Shop gold bracelets | Shop Hunter boots

You could say fashion runs through content creator Sasha Mei (@sasha.mei)’s veins. With a mother who worked in fashion marketing at GUESS in Malaysia, it’s clear that style runs in the family. Over the past few years, Sasha has solidified herself as a purveyor of style, providing endless inspiration of chic and effortless minimalism.

Community and conversation are also important to Sasha, which led her to co-found a supper club called Yu + Mei. Yu + Mei brings individuals together for stylish, intimate gatherings, where food and conversation take center stage.

When it comes to celebrating Lunar New Year, Sasha enjoys her special tradition of having Peking duck or dim sum with friends and, of course, dressing up for the occasion.

“We don’t have many family traditions surrounding LNY – the half of my family that celebrates is in Malaysia, and we didn’t have any relatives in Canada. My mother never really reinforced strict traditions, probably because LNY during her childhood involved endless rounds at relatives’ homes and she found it exhausting. [However], two things were guaranteed on LNY growing up: special red envelopes from our parents and grandparents, and some sort of delicious meal. When I went to university, I started bringing my friends for Peking duck or dim sum on LNY and it became a new tradition – they don’t have to celebrate it, but I always think that the best part of any holiday is sharing food with people.”

“I always keep my red envelopes – I’m too scared to throw them out in fear that it will bring bad luck!” — Sasha on her LNY superstitions.

1. Pandora Two-tone Chinese Year of the Dragon Collier Necklace (Available at Pandora)
2. Chanel N°1 de Chanel Revitalizing Serum (Available at Hudson’s Bay)

Shop necklaces | Shop Chanel beauty

You may remember Hannah Sung gracing your television screen in the early 2000s as a MuchMusic VJ who hosted MuchNews and TheNewMusic. She was one of the few racialized women in media at the time, and for many, was one of the first examples of Asian representation in the Canadian media landscape. Her journalism career also includes roles at CBC Radio, TVO and Globe and Mail, where she produced Colour Code, a podcast about race in Canada.

These days, Hannah continues to create space for misrepresented voices in media through Media Girlfriends, an award-winning podcast production company led by journalists of colour which focuses on promoting greater inclusion of perspectives in Canadian media.

As a proud Korean Canadian, one special Lunar New Year tradition Hannah follows is getting dressed in a hanbok.

“It’s so much fun to do with my children because it’s the only day of the year that they get to put them on. They’re also growing so fast that their hanbok is always either too small or too loose, which is cute. We wear hanbok to bow to older generations. The kids watch my husband and I kneel down to the floor and bow to my parents and my kids bow to all of us,” she explains.

“My kids don’t speak much Korean but they’ve definitely perfected the Korean phrase for ‘Wishing you good luck in the New Year.’ They love this ritual of respect and they get money and well wishes in return. Then we eat ddeok guk (떡국), an absolute fave. It doesn’t feel like a new year until we have that meal.”

“I’m not superstitious, but I always do a quick Google of the Chinese zodiac to read what the year has in store for me, a snake. If I don’t like the predictions, I skip to the next one and just read until I find one that tells me I’m going to have a good year.” — Hannah on her LNY superstitions.

1. Dr. Jart+ Cicapair (Available at Sephora): “My skin is crazy dry right now, so I’ll use anything that is healing.
2. “A few baked treats for the family.” (Editor’s Pick: Chocolaterie Bernard Callebaut)

Shop Dr. Jart+ | Explore more Southcentre dining options

Chef Trevor Lui is a known pillar in the Asian Canadian community, particularly in Toronto, where he’s based. The chef, restauranter and entrepreneur has a knack for bringing people together through culinary experiences—whether that be through his restaurant Bao Bird, food concept Fat Bao, management agency Quell, or hospitality business, The Highbell Group.

It should come as no surprise, then, that one of Chef Trevor’s favourite Lunar New Year traditions is the celebration of food with friends, family and community.

“Having a family banquet to both close and open the year (‘tuin leen’ and ‘hoi leen’) is always a wonderful time to have the family get together and eat great food. We also love the custom of exchanging turnip and sugar cakes (‘bak tong go’ and ‘leen go’),” says Chef Trevor.

This year, Chef Trevor is most looking forward to the continued emergence of the Asian community, one, he says, has begun to finally garner a voice beyond our own borders.

“Modern day successes buoyed by prominent figures in our community and growing allies are helping to tell stories of our generations of history of struggle, racism and success (particularly in the role we played in building North America),” he explains.

Some of these successes include what Chef Trevor calls a “new renaissance” of Asian chefs in New York City. “[These chefs] were classically trained and have now gone back to cooking the food they grew up with ‘their way’ and are now being recognized for it. I’d love to see that in our communities here in Toronto. With that, we need to take this time to help shine a light on the talent we have and find ways to support and elevate their names and establishments.”

“I’m still stuck on the superstition of not showering or washing our hair on New Year’s Day to ensure we don’t ‘wash away’ our year’s health and prosperity. So get that shower in at 11:59 NYE!” — Chef Trevor on his LNY superstitions.

No matter how you celebrate, we hope this Lunar New Year brings lots of luck and prosperity!

5 Tips for How to Style the Perfect Holiday Family Photos

November is here, which means it’s time to get into the holiday spirit. While you’re perusing gift guides and crafting your shopping list (or dreaming up your own wish list!) now is also the time to start prepping for your family’s holiday pictures and Santa photos. Whether you’re planning on stopping by Southcentre Mall for a visit with St. Nick or are booking a full photoshoot for your annual Christmas cards, getting your family’s wardrobes organized is a must. Not only will it help your picture day run smoothly, but it also gives you the chance to get a little creative with your family’s style!

For some guidance in the fashion department—along with help from H&M’s The Holiday Shop—we’ve outlined five themes to showcase the best in holiday attire, no matter what your style is.

Ready for your close up? Read on for simple tips and tricks to nail the perfect holiday photo session.

Costumes, décor, treats & more.

Halloween is the ultimate celebration of creativity, community, and fun—and Southcentre makes it easy to find everything in one place. From head-turning costumes and festive décor to indulgent treats and seasonal scents, our retailers have everything you need to bring the spooky season to life.

Make this Halloween unforgettable with costumes, décor, treats, and beauty essentials from Southcentre’s retailers. Visit in-centre today or check our Halloween Events to plan your perfect spooky season. Don’t forget—a Southcentre Gift Card is the ultimate treat.

From beauty and skincare to clothing and lifestyle products, there are plenty of incredible brands helmed by female entrepreneurs that are worth supporting.

Read on to learn more about women-owned and operated brands to support.

This Father’s Day, treat the dad or father figure in your life with a gift that’ll show your love and appreciation for him. From the latest in tech to gourmet picks and additional options for every budget, dad is sure to love these gifting picks.

Shop Father’s Day Gifts

For the Grill Master

If dad is known for being a pro on the BBQ, he’ll love these picks that’ll help level-up his game on the grill. From a new tool set to a burger press or even a cookbook with some new recipes for him to try, these picks will delight dad’s culinary senses.

No matter what you choose to gift dad, the most important thing about Father’s Day is to show him your love and appreciation for everything he does. Happy Father’s Day to all the dads and father figures!

Shop all Father’s Day gifts here.

Special gifts to show you care

It’s true: moms should be celebrated every single day of the year. With our curated gift picks, you can show her exactly how grateful you are. Whether she’s due for a beauty re-up or deserving of a self-care experience, our ideas will make shopping for Mother’s Day a cinch.