From repurposed ornaments to life-sized nutcrackers, readers share their favourite holiday decorations | Canada Voices

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[“Mike Fanning, Cranbrook, B.C.“],
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[“It started as a “lark.” One of my friends was hired by the North Pole to be a Santa fill-in at the Bay in Vancouver. We went down to visit him in the evening and he said – “Hey, why not get your photo taken with me?” so we had an “official” Santa photo of our visit. Well, every year since then it has happened.”]
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[“We have two married kids who live five hours apart and a few years ago, they “conspired” to get us to meet one family in Calgary and unknown to us, the other family came so we could get a coveted family Santa photo with the grandkids – best gift ever.”]
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[“Jo Slade, Victoria“],
[“The star of our Christmas decorations is, hands down, our Patience Brewster alligator. The alligator, bought almost two decades ago, wears red high-heeled fur-lined boots, and is topped with little Christmas trees. It also has a star for a hat.”]
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[“We have many ornaments with sentimental value, and we appreciate them, but our alligator wins the big door prize every year because it is impossible not to smile when looking at it, and since it is so gaudy in its glorious attire, we look at it a lot, therefore we smile a lot. Win-win.”]
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[“Stella Deacon, Toronto“],
[“Many years ago, my daughter made for me small clay replicas of traditional Greek foods to hang on the tree – a wee tray of pastries that were made each Christmas with coffee, and a Greek salad bowl. They measure about two inches by 1½ inches.”],
[“My daughter Eleni is named after my mother who died three months before she was born. She was in her early 20s when she made these ornaments for me and she’s 40 now.”]
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[“It’s hard to choose a favourite, but I will say the one with the pastries because it reminds me so tenderly of my mother and all the baking she did at Christmas and for special occasions. She rolled and flung out the sweet dough for the twirly pastries with a broom stick. It would measure about three feet in diameter by the time she was ready to start cutting the strips to fry and twirl them. Finally, there was the dip in hot honey syrup and a final sprinkling of cinnamon and chopped walnuts.”]
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[“David Brook, Victoria“],
[“It has to be the Hanukkiah – the nine-branched candelabrum used to light the candles for the eight-day Festival of Lights. I believe we purchased it when I got married more than four decades ago.”],
[“The custom is to light in a prescribed fashion. Our kids would sing the prayers in Hebrew with us as we lit, and we would do the Three Priestly Blessings over them every night for eight days, year over year.”]
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[“Light is a powerful symbol of hope, of freedom, and of overcoming darkness, a testament to steadfastness. A lit Hanukkiah is always placed in a window to bring light to the world.”]
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[“Sharon Frayne, Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ont.“],
[“Our very first house had a beautiful little crystal chandelier. It was the selling point for me – I loved its sparkle and the beautiful variety of crystals. Later, when a new job took us to another town, I couldn’t bear to leave my beloved chandelier behind. It was excluded from the sale, and I packed it up carefully, moved it to the next house and hung it with pride. We’ve since moved 15 times, always with the chandelier.”]
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[“Now, in what we think will be our last home, the brass structure fell apart and the lighting fixture couldn’t be rebuilt again. I was heartbroken, as the light of the chandelier became to symbolize something larger. I wrapped up the individual crystals (all 100 of them) one last time and put the box in a cupboard. I just couldn’t throw them away.”]
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[“A few months later, I saw a scrawny white Christmas tree on sale and bought it. I set the tree up on a table by a south-facing window and hooked the crystals on the skinny branches until it was filled. Light flooded through the crystals and dozens of rainbows flooded the room. It was breathtaking. It was home.”]
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[“Now, the incredible white crystal tree goes up early every year and the rainbows dance in our house and in our hearts. We’ve been married almost 50 years, and the crystals have been with us for the journey.”]
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[“Dave Fuller, Parkhill, Ont.“],
[“I built two six-foot nutcrackers in 1987 and painted them brightly. They are six feet tall and were made from ¾-inch plywood. The plans were from an issue of Women’s Day Magazine published that year that we’ve still held on to. They stand outside our century home’s front door every December. The neighbours say Christmas doesn’t start until they see them. I guess we like the “classics” – I have my 1960 Lionel train circling under the Christmas tree (but that’s another story).”]
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[“Mark Droughan, Hamilton“],
[“Our family has had for at least 50 years a miniature wooden stable, complete with “straw,” a manger, and ceramic statues of Mary, Joseph, the baby, two or three sheep and the three kings.”]
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[“As a child, my parents would set up the stable (complete with a light that was perched under the roof) prior to Christmas and only add the baby Jesus and the three kings on Christmas Day and Little Epiphany, respectively. When my parents had passed on and it came time to distribute belongings amongst my three siblings and myself, I said that I would take possession of it. “]
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[“I used to put it on display for my kids when they were small – they are grown up now, so I plan to put it out again when my granddaughter and grandson are a few years older (they are four and one, respectively) and would better understand and appreciate its meaning.”]
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[“Eloise Thurier, Toronto“],
[“Our story begins in 1992. Larry had been dumped by his long-standing partner in August. In December, he noticed the Alpine Village for sale in the mall. The price had started at $16.99, then it went down to $8.99, then to $4.99, and finally it was $2.99. He felt akin to this rejected piece of merchandise. So he bought it! He set it up on the windowsill of his apartment, and enjoyed the glowing lights in the houses and the church. And so it became his annual Christmas tradition.”]
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[“In 1994, Larry and I were introduced to each other by mutual friends at a party on Dec. 30. I gave him my number that night, and he surprised me by calling me on New Year’s Day. We had our first date that night and eventually, we moved in together in July, 1996.”]
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[“Fast forward to Christmas, 1996. He brought out his Alpine village and I brought out my Christmas tree. He set up everything on a small table, using my Christmas tablecloth to suggest a snowy landscape and a piece of mylar shaped like a skating rink. Over time, more things have found their way into our Christmas scene, embellishing our annual tradition!”]
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[“Wendy Rintoul, Oakville, Ont.“],
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[“My dad was a self-taught woodworker from the time he grew up on a farm in the Ottawa Valley and was an overall DIY guy. He made furniture we have in our home today including cedar chests, armoires, canon ball bed frames, cedar canoes and lots more.”]
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[“My dad passed five years ago. This decoration reminds me of him every day. The wooden Christmas tree was made by another woodworker in my family, my spouse. Together these decorations are very dear to me.”]
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[“Judy Friebe, Cobble Hill, B.C.“],
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[“Sheila Bean, Calgary“],
[“Every year, my mom would haul out the Crystal Party Tree (minor assembly required), complete with plastic evergreen sprigs to fill in the base. I would load it with Mom’s homemade fudge: chocolate marshmallow, Brazil nut, and the eye-poppingly sweet divinity. Last year my daughter’s baking festooned the little plastic cups.”]
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