HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2013-12-19, Page 10PAGE 10. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, DECEMBER 19, 2013.Big Christmases mark holidays for Boyers
As The Citizen spoke to Gary
Boyer of Ethel, he and his family
were in the midst of preparing for a
family Christmas at their home that
would host over 50 people.
It’s certainly a large undertaking
Gary and his wife Brenda say, but
they always find a way to make it
work and it’s always one of the best
days of the year.
The majority of the family
members who make their way to
Ethel for the holidays every year
come from Brenda’s side of the
family.
Gary, who serves on the Ethel Hall
Board and is the chief of the Huron
East Fire Department’s Grey station,
says Christmas around his house is
something to behold, and he truly
wishes everyone could.
“Christmas around here... I wish
everyone could have a Christmas
like ours,” Boyer said in an interview
with The Citizen. “I’m not saying it’s
amazing, but it certainly is to us.”
Having everyone around during
the holidays and spending the time
with Brenda and their four children,
and now their grandchildren, Boyer
says, makes for a lovely home
atmosphere when December rolls
around... or perhaps even earlier.
Brenda does a lot of Christmas
decorating around the holidays and
it usually begins in late November.
This year, because the Boyers are
renovating their house, decorating
started a little late, but the
decorations are usually up by
American Thanksgiving. Then, Gary
says, they’re not usually quick to
come down either, staying up often
for most of January as well.
Both Gary and Brenda came from
smaller families where the holidays
were much quieter than they are
now, but they both say they
appreciate how times have changed.
Brenda gets into the Christmas
spirit by baking, which is a pastime
all of her family appreciates. For
Christmas dinner every year, Brenda
says, she would always ask each one
of her children what kind of pie they
wanted for dessert, meaning she
would bake four different pies every
holiday season.
Her showstopper, however, is her
shortbread cookies, a recipe handed
down to her by her mother.
Gary says they are the best
shortbread cookies he has ever tasted
and that he looks forward to them
every holiday season.
Gary recalls one Christmas when
their children got up on Christmas
morning at 5 a.m. and while most
parents would encourage their
children to go back to bed, he and
Brenda just decided to get up with
their children and open presents.
The afternoon was spent mostly
sleeping, he says, but it was worth it
to make the children happy.
Another Christmas, on Brenda’s
request, Gary dressed up like Santa
Claus to show their children that
their presents had arrived.
Adorned in a Santa suit, Gary was
up on the family’s roof and walked
along the roof past his children’s
bedroom windows one by one. They
could see Santa walking on the roof
and knew it was just a matter of time
until their gifts were under the tree.
“I almost slipped and fell off the
roof,” Boyer says, “but it was worth
it for the kids.”
As for the family’s Christmas tree,
there are always two in the house,
one in each living room.
Gary says it’s nice to have the
Christmas spirit spread throughout
the house, along with the majority of
Brenda’s decorations, but he doesn’t
decorate the trees himself, saying
that if he did, they wouldn’t look
nearly as nice as they do every year.
For a while, Gary says, the family
had its own Christmas tree farm in
the backyard, with a handful of trees
planted years earlier, ready to be cut
for the holidays. The supply
eventually ran out and they were
forced to go elsewhere, but there’s
never a question: the trees always
have to be real at the Boyer house.
“The smell of a real tree when you
come in the house is just great,”
Boyer says.
Constituency Offices
My staff and I would like to wish everyone
a very Merry Christmas
and all the best in the coming year.
QUEEN’S PARK
Room 430 Main Legislative Building,
Queen's Park Toronto, ON M7A 1A8
Phone: 416-325-3467
BLYTH OFFICE
408 Queen Street, PO Box 426
Blyth, ON N0M 1H0
Phone: 519-523-4251
KINCARDINE OFFICE
807 Queen Street, Unit 2
Kincardine, ON N2Z 2Y2
Phone: 519-396-3007
Lisa Thompson, M.P.P.
Huron-Bruce
Website: www.lisathompsonmpp.ca
Email: lisa.thompsonco@pc.ola.org
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Big time decorating
Gary Boyer and his wife Brenda, seen here with one of their two Christmas trees, celebrate
big when the holidays roll around, expecting in excess of 50 family members to their annual
family Christmas and they make sure their house looks the part with holiday decorations
decking their halls from November until the end of January. (Shawn Loughlin photo)
By Shawn Loughlin
The Citizen
www.hc-cs.ca
Mischief to Mailboxes — Perth South
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