I am one of those “dorks” who thrive on the Christmas holidays. We have the music a-playing and the cookies a-baking and our home is filled with jolly spirits and good cheer!  Now, in a new town and a new home, I was eagerly anticipating what traditions would be added to the list and how to make a new Christmas here.

I should have known Saltspring wouldn’t disappoint (it never does) . . .

It started with a Reduce/Reuse/Recycle gift exchange at the kids school where after each family has donated/re-gifted items to the school, all the kids get to “shop” through the items to choose gifts for their families.  To see how excited our kids were at being able to choose an item, independently, for us what amazing, and what a great way to pass along unused items!

Then to craft activities with the kids, icing gingerbread men, making beeswax candles and even tree fairies from pinecones and lichen, our weekends were filled with activities and our house is currently at “decoration capacity”

The craft fairs and handmade gifts were a dream to browse through (and thanks to these, I actually finished my shopping early, and locally!)

The high end Christmas concerts – they seemed much more like theater productions than at the old school, and standing under the moon in Fulford singing along with Valdi as he took us all through the full repertoire of holiday songs.

And what we noticed most of all from our first Christmas on Saltspring, was the way the community pulled everyone together in celebration.  As my hubby said, never in his life has he seen teenage boys singing Christmas carols, or felt such a calm before the holidays.

And now, with our shopping done and no opportunity to run to the mall to pick up more of what we don’t need, we are relaxing into the holiday, baking and filling up on ” Christmas Vacation ” & “The Grinch” and gently welcoming in the holiday!

And again, we look back at this time last year, living in the suburbs of a big city where attending holiday events meant hours driving through traffic and bad weather, and shelling out a wad of cash . . . and we are grateful, yet again, that everything is at arms reach here in our little community, and that the season isn’t about the dollars spent or the chaos ensued . . . maybe Christmas, this year for us, is about a little bit more.

So Merry Christmas, Happy holidays and All the best for a Safe & Healthy New Year!