Donald Teuma-Castelletti
QUYON Dec. 4, 2017
Residents in Quyon made like Santa Claus last week, as folks toured from home-to-home in an annual Christmas event.
With around 130 people taking part, the Quyon Pastoral Charge’s Christmas House Tour let folks explore six local residencies as they’ve been all dolled up for the holidays, throughout the evening of Monday, Dec. 4.
Starting off at 9 Bristol Lane, home to Mitchel Trudeau and Colby Richardson, the place was decked out in lights, aiming to complement the self-described coziness of the building.
“It’s more of a Mr. and Mrs. Claus kind of house,” said Trudeau.
Complete with Christmas music and a tree, guests were also led through a winter wonderland scene on the driveway.
When asked to participate in the tour, they had no reservations about welcoming the community through, despite having moved into their home just this year.
“They’re all like our neighbours,” said Richardson. “We don’t see too many strangers come through.”
Next up was the home of Kim Boucher, who was marking the second time she participated in the tour. Sitting at 5 rue Saint-George, her home was recently renovated, so it made for a great opportunity to host lots of guests once again.
Opting for a mix of traditional and modern Christmas décor, Boucher said she had a bit more time to decorate for the season now that her children are teenagers.
Beyond the chance to share her knack for decorating, Boucher also liked to participate because it’s a great way for her to help support her community.
“It’s really important when it comes to community events,” said Boucher, on the need for volunteers. “It’s important for members to volunteer or lend a helping hand to make it all work.”
Backtracking a bit, the next stop would be the home of Glenna Campbell, at 1010 rue de Clarendon. With multiple trees throughout, a theme for each room and even some actors in the form of family members, Campbell was happy to have guests take their time browsing through.
Situated in one room was her grandson, Brodee Campbell, dressed in an elf costume and reading a special greeting as people entered. Surrounded by his grandma’s collection of 16 nutcrackers, Brodee’s room was representative of an elf’s workshop. Next door to him was supposed to play home to an Elsa, from Disney’s Frozen, to accompany a snowman room, but she was too tired to join the group in the evening.
“I’m a plain Jane, actually,” said Glenna. “I don’t put lights up on the roof, but put coloured lights out front every second year.”
Admitting that Brodee did most of the decorating in the basement, Glenna put on a good face this year, greatly disguising the fact that she prefers a simpler approach to sprucing up her home for the holidays.
All done at the Campbell’s, the next home belonged to Brenda Clarke and Wayne Ramsay, further out of town at 7860 chemin River. Hanging outside, blowing furiously in the wind, were a collection of lanterns, helping distinguish the home as part of the tour.
With two floors to decorate, and not being big on going all out with the festive decorations in the first place, they had quite the work to get to. Starting Thursday night, they enlisted the help of a friend and even then, were still finishing up as people arrived Monday evening.
Already displaying their proud collection of antiques and collectibles throughout their home, the fun came when it was deciding where to put everything on top of their collection.
“The kid’s room had to be the elves’ workshop,” said Clarke. “Then it was just pull out all the decorations and see what we come up with.”
Downstairs, in light of the anniversary, they draped a Christmas tree in Canadian flags and colours, with the help and suggestion from Sally Cavan. This tree drew many com;iments, standing out in the room as a unique addition.
Finally, the last stop on the tour was 3803 Highway 148, the home of Anita Draper and her family. Preparing for lots of questions, and looking to save herself a bit of repeating herself, Draper had a prepared write-up welcoming guests to her homestead.
“Anita Draper and her children pooled together their Christmas decorations to make this year’s house tour. No need to buy more, just put together all that we had to create a festive atmosphere both inside and outside the house,” it read. “You will find homemade Christmas signs as well as some homemade snowmen. One made from tractor tires and another made from plastic cups.”
Sure enough, snowmen and Christmas trees filled the home, with a special surprise hidden away in the upstairs bathroom – an igloo and some penguin inhabitants. The home was proud to show off a collection of antiques, including trunks that were over a century old and a collection of bells, too.
The annual house tour is a tradition starting 15 years ago, working as a fundraiser for the Quyon Pastoral Charge and organized by Jillian Young, plus her team of volunteers. Tickets were sold before and the night of the event, at $10 a pop and refreshments were offered at the Quyon United Church following the tour.
Each year, Young looks for volunteers to host the guests in their homes, a task that has been easier on some tours more than others.
“Basically, it’s me asking everyone I could think of,” laughed Young. “I usually try to think of bigger homes, but there’s a few smaller ones who enjoy decorating.”
Clarke confirmed Young’s hectic rush to find homes this year, as she had made a promise to Young back when the tour was in it’s beginning.
“I kept putting it off, and told her way back when that the year that she can’t [get the volunteers], I will participate,” said Clarke.
