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Originally Posted by galanthus  I have been lying to my daughter and friends all of these years, oh dear  Thanks meta |
You were quite close though - both Canis Major, and Canis Minor, are fairly nearby, to the left of Orion.
If you extend the line of Orion's belt (in your imagination) down and left, they point straight at Sirius, the 'Dog Star', which is the brightest star of Canis Major.
Now look above Orion's belt - see those two bright stars? They are Betelgeuse, and Bellatrix, and they mark Orion's shoulders.
If you extend an imaginary line left from those two, the next bright star you come to is 'Procyon', the brightest star in Canis Minor.
Also, below the belt, is a line of stars pointing down - take a look at that area with binoculars - the middle 'star' is actually the Orion nebula, and even binocs will show the diffuse gas clouds.
Here's a diagram to show how to find these things...
