How easily some relationships, and the customs that come from them, are formed. I met my best friend at work. From this friendship, many things have emerged, our Christmas tradition, a definite favourite.
Friday had arrived and we were the last two in the busy office we’d shared with others. Chatting about plans for the weekend, we somehow got on the subject of concerts. Soon, we discovered a similar taste in music, movies, food, and much more.
This simple conversation led to a beautiful friendship, one that’s lasted more than 10 years. During this time, we’ve been there for each other through everything: changes in career, life, love, and the ups and downs and in betweens.
One winter, my friend suggested that since we missed doing something for my birthday, we celebrate both of ours (mine, late Fall; hers during Christmas), by going to lunch at one of her favourite places, the Laughing Buddha.
After grabbing warm beverages from the drive-thru at Tim Horton’s, we made our way past the snowmen in front yards, waving their branched hands in the wind, and headed downtown.
Sipping hot chocolate and peppermint tea, we sat in the parking lot across the way, catching up, deciding to venture into the quaint shops on Elgin Street before going in for our lunch.
From the first one to the last, each shop was so welcoming, filled with cheery carols, owners and employees, shining as bright as the Christmas lights.
What was really dazzling was the abundance of unique talent that adorned the shelves, walls and displays: one-of-a-kind pottery, colour-rich paintings, rustic wreaths, fuzzy hats, mitts, and scarf sets, hand-crafted jewellery, and many other treasures created by artists, many of them local.
It was one shop, in particular, where we discovered our first ornaments. Hanging happily from the branches of the tree perched in the store’s front window, the little metal frogs found my friend and I.
Smiling up at us with their playfully painted eyes, proper plump bellies and tiny Santa hats, these decorations had us sold! Not only did we decide to buy each other frogs as our Christmas exchange gifts for that year, we made a promise to come back every December to do the same.
Leaving the shop, we were beaming; excited like two little kids with new toys. After ordering our food (deep-fried pickles and a pizza named after one of my favourite animals), we couldn’t help but remove our little frogs.
With care, we uncovered the blankets of white tissue they were tucked inside their boxes in, to admire them again, and delight in their detail. That evening, we both hung our new ornaments, exchanging pictures of the perfect spots we’d found for our holiday hoppers.
We could hardly wait for December the following year; the possibilities of what we might find, the new bobs and bobbles, and the thought of the amazing lunch to follow, dancing in our heads like sugar plums.
Sure, we went downtown throughout the year for coffee, food, festivals, concerts, shopping, etc. but it’s the ornament search and lunch we came to look most forward to.
After the frogs, we’ve found many more — from stained-glass stockings to copper Santa sleighs — our trees are almost too full! Given there is such an abundance to choose from, we find ourselves trying hard to remember which ones we already have and to decide exactly which ones to get next.
Each year since that first one, we’ve continued the tradition, no matter how busy life has been, prioritizing one afternoon to go find our next special ornament and enjoy a meal.
We all have our traditions, especially around the holidays.
When I was younger it was circling items from the Sears Wish Book, leaving carrots for the reindeer and milk and cookies for Santa, bundling up for the Christmas parade, getting a toy at the Inco Christmas party, skating on a rink the group of dads built every year behind our houses, and awkward Christmas concerts where we did our best to remember the words and balance our huge paper mache snowman heads as we twirled around on the stage.
For some, it’s choosing an artificial or a real tree, a festive or ugly Christmas sweater, going out to shop or ordering gifts online, watching a romantic or silly holiday movie, shortbread or gingerbread cookies, enjoying the snowfall from the warmth of home or rushing outside and dropping to the ground to make snow angels, like a row of moving paper dolls…..
Regardless of the tradition, it’s not just what we are doing that makes it special, but being able to count on time together that really matters.
Working at different places for several years now and with busy lives, my friend and I don’t see each other nearly as much as we’d like to.
Regardless, though of what our schedules are, the never-ending list of errands and commitments that need our attention, we still prioritize our ornament shopping lunch date, the one thing we can always look forward to, the holiday tradition we created.
Tara-Lee Lecours lives in Greater Sudbury. It has become a bit of a Christmas tradition that she shares a Christmas story with Sudbury.com.
