OCR has emailed all Staycation Tax Credit receipts to our 2022 guests. To comply with government requirements, and for our customers’ ease, we have included the HST tax number and all other information required in order to claim the credit.

As all our 2022 OCR guests know, the Staycation credit was available for all our 2022 bookings.  The tax credit allows Ontarians to claim 20 per cent of expenses for vacation accommodations such as hotels, cottages or campgrounds when filing income taxes — with individuals eligible to receive up to $200 and families $400.  This is a considerable advantage to booking a cottage vacation, and also helps to offset the additional HST that was added to the overall price of a cottage vacation rental in 2021.

Both the Ontario Chamber of Commerce and the Canadian Federation of Independent Business have called for the tax credit to be permanent. They call on government to bring in similar initiatives to support the travel industry’s rebound and growth.  We at OCR would suggest even one more year, that is 2023, would help to keep tourism in Ontario, given the mass exodus of tourists to warmer climes in winter. With so much to do in Ontario in all seasons of the year, we need to do more to encourage people to appreciate nature in Ontario’s cottage country.

 

Looking to make deliciously easy meals for the whole family around the campfire this trip to the cottage? Here are five great recipes we found.

 

Tin foil Surf n’ Turf

Want the luxury of surf n’ turf but around the campfire surrounded by loved ones and the view of a lake? Check out this great recipe that shows you how to cook the best surf n’ turf on an open flame of a campfire.

 

Skillet Ratatouille

Want to feel like you’re in Italy while you’re surrounded by trees, water, and wildlife? Check out this Ratatouille recipe we found using the flame from a campfire and a skillet.

 

Campfire Pizza

Pizza is one of the most fun meals you can make with your family since the range of toppings can in theory be endless. Learn what you need to make great campfire pizzas with the recipe provided.

 

Chicken and Bacon Ranch Packets

Want something a little more unique that the whole family will love? Check out this video recipe on how to make Chicken and Bacon Ranch Packets over the campfire.

 

Grilled Cheese

The classic grilled cheese is a king of lunch and could also be used for a lazy dinner or for any picky eaters at dinner. Checkout this great recipe we found to allow anyone to conquer the campfire grilled cheese

 

The kids have been put to bed and it’s finally time for the adults to have some fun. The bottle(s) of fermented grape juice start flowing, and the laughter starts arriving, let’s just try not to wake the kids, now shall we. Here are five of the best adult board games we’ve found.

Betrayal at House on the Hill:

Betrayal at House on the Hill lets a person star in their very own horror movie, but the twist is there’s no way to know if the person is the hero or victim of the story until it’s too late. This one key aspect makes the game great is that it is one of the most re-playable board games out there on the market. When you start this game, you will have no idea what is ahead of you. This is because you, alongside the other players lay down room tiles at random as everyone goes through this haunted house. As the game progresses, random creepy events happen. For example, a monster hungry for flesh wakes up in the basement. Throughout the game you will never know whether a player is on your side or while backstab you. Perhaps a teammate may try to sacrifice you in exchange for extra life. The game is super suspenseful and will tell you a whole lot about the people you are playing against.

Puzzle: Azul:

For the people out there who want a more relaxing game experience, Azul may be your go-to. The game is to place tiles on the board and score points, as simple as that. Some may even describe it as a “colour-based crossword’. You’ve still got to take care, though. The aim is to not waste tiles, this means there is much manoeuvring and competition to outwit your opponents.

Catan:

Catan sends you in a time machine back to the settling of the wild frontiers. Your goal as a settler is to inhabit this island and expand your civilization through trade. The trick is to know where to inhabit since resources are determined by probability of dice rolls, therefore quite scarce. Some locations supply greater resources which make for people to race and claim the best locations. Like Monopoly, players can trade for resources they need with other players, better trades mean better chances of winning. What follows is an intriguing balancing act.

Scrawl:

Warning, this game may bring out the immature adults. The game is described by www.gamesradar.com as a “A filthy-minded road trip through the weirder parts of your brain, it’s a delight at parties that’s best described as a cross between Telephone and Pictionary”. To play, a player receives a crazy prompt card, whatever it is, the player must draw it. (“photocopying your balls”). After, the drawing is handed to the person beside you who has to guess what it is.

Next, the picture gets passed down again and the next person has to guess what the thing the second person thought the picture was of and draw it. The original drawing will be unrecognizable and just downright hilarious.

The game is practically broken visual, inappropriate, broken telephone, and it is just so fun. It’s also very similar to cards against humanity since it is based off of dark humour.

Joking Hazard:
Like Cards against Humanity but with artwork. Players get a cartoon strip and a series of random cards from a pile; they must strategically place the best card from their hand that fits the cartoon strip the best in order to amuse the chosen player. The funniest selection by a player wins the hand and the player with the most hands won at the end of the game wins the game!
Easy to learn and honestly hilarious.

 

Hope you have fun at your next games night, adults!

 

When I was planning my trip to Muskoka, I knew I wanted to experience everything Muskoka has to offer. So, when I was looking for a place to stay, I was looking at all platforms, Airbnb, VRBO, Ontario Cottage Rentals. From the start I was leaning towards choosing Ontario Cottage Rentals because it was a smaller, local company that seems to honestly want to make my experience as safe as possible. Luckily, I found a great place, Deer Bluff, on Ontario Cottage Rentals.

I chose Deer Bluff because it was in a really great location. It’s right next to Deerhurst Resort so my husband and I can visit one of Ontario’s nicest resorts. Also, my husband and I are really into golfing, so we got to play at Deerhurst and Grandview golf clubs, some of the nicest courses in Ontario (I’d say).

Honestly Deer Bluff was such a comfortable place to live, the place is newly updated and modern. It had all the conveniences of our house in Toronto, it just felt fresh, clean, air conditioned (which came in handy due to the heat Huntsville had during our visit).

Another thing we did was visit Algonquin Park, which is about a 20-40min drive away, depending on the trails you want to walk off Hwy 60. Algonquin is beautiful! It was our first time visiting and we did just a couple of the trails off the Hwy 60 corridor. But the best thing of all was being able to come home at the end of a hot and sweaty day of doing the trails and hopping in the lake with the semiprivate beach.

Overall, Deer Bluff was an incredible spot to visit to fully experience Muskoka.

 

Every summer it gets incredibly busy here at Ontario Cottage Rentals. Everyone wants to come up to a cottage and rightfully so, Cottage country is beautiful! However, this means many of our cottages get completely booked up and for the people who haven’t booked their cottage, yet it may seem frustrating when you are searching for a place, and nothing seems to be available. That is why we created the Last-Minute Rentals page where you can find all the cottages that are still up for rent until labour day. But wait, there’s more! To make these last-minute vacays a little tastier we will be throwing in a $150 gift  certificate when you book your trip.

Here are the cottages that are still up for grabs as of today until Labour Day:

 

All Star Retreat

 

Clover Cottage

 

Deer Bluff

 

Dragon’s Bay

 

Dun Roamin’

Hidden Treasure

 

Highbury House

 

Moonshadow

 

Oolong’s Lake

 

Whalley’s Way

 

If you have children who have reached that age where their phones have become the most important things in their lives, this blog post is for you. When your family is at the cottage the last thing you want are your kids on their phones the whole time. Cottages are for family bonding through laughter at the dinner table, story telling by bon fires, and outdoor activities you can’t do at home. Here are 4 ways that will help prevent phones from ruining an amazing cottage experience.

1. The first thing and perhaps the most important thing of all to note is to not force your kids from not using their phones. This then makes them resentful of you and creates passive aggression and moodiness. Instead, allow the kids to still have their phones, however set boundaries for when they can use it. For example, not allowing your kids to use their phone when the family is playing a board game, whether your child wants to play the board game or not. Then no phones during meals should become mandatory, since these are times when the greatest bonding moments occur
2. Next have enough activities planned that makes the experience stimulating enough so your children don’t feel “bored” and want to use their phone all the time. Family activities like walking in Algonquin Park (which has no reception, bonus!), or going for a boat ride and maybe even tubbing are great fun activities to keep the kids off their phones. In a sense, the more fun you can jam pack into a vacation, the less time the kids will be bored and on their phones.
3. Stay off your phone! If the kids see you on your phone they will go on their phone or become envious if you have prevented them from going on their phone.
4. Have times during the day when the whole family shuts down their phones, so that means no notifications at all distracting you. You could even make a game out of it, if someone catches a person sneaking a peak at their phone, the person has a negative consequence. This could be monetary or nonmonetary like having to run for a kilometre.
5. If you want to go cold turkey, you could go to a cottage with no Wi-Fi and possibly no reception so there is no possibility anyone can use their phone. Or if that is not an option you could, in a sense not find out the Wi-Fi password, which would at least keep the kids off social media in most cases