The ground is filled with more than semicursed treasure chests and fully candied dinosaur bones. Let nature's soil sitters watch over your subterranean cache with today's Groupon: for $12, you get two tickets to the Devonian Botanic Garden (up to a $26 value, including GST). Admission for youth 17 and younger is $5 or less.

Established by the University of Alberta in 1959, the Devonian Botanic Garden encompasses 80 acres of sprawling outdoor gardens and indoor greenhouses, plus 110 acres of natural terrain and ecological preserves. Meandering pathways, stone lanterns, and GPS-wielding elves guide visitors through native and introduced plant species in the Kurimoto Japanese Garden. The kaiyou-style garden slowly reveals a landscape populated by streams, grassy hills, and waterfalls. Meanwhile, clusters of butterflies land on noses in the butterfly house before taking off to soar above vibrant floral arrays. An indoor arid plant house warms cacti and other low-region plant life, and yellow flowers and red-nosed reindeer brighten up the Patrick Seymour Alpine Garden.

Visitors can cultivate home gardens with hand-picked seeds from Devonian's gift shop. The Crafters Workshop also features handmade natural gifts and trinkets, making ideal holiday presents for the kids and wood nymphs in your life.