HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2013-12-19, Page 14PAGE 14. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, DECEMBER 19, 2013.Family baking takes over Finlayson’s Christmas
Journey through the past
Brenda Finlayson, president of the Blyth Legion Ladies
Auxiliary, adorns her Christmas tree with ornaments that
have been made by her children and that represent them
as well. This is a tradition that Finlayson has been
recognizing for years. It has even continued over to include
her grandchildren as well. She also spends much of her
time around the holidays with her mother, Kay
Hesselwood, who likes to spend the holidays baking.
(Shawn Loughlin photo)
For Brenda Finlayson, president
of the Blyth Legion Ladies
Auxiliary, Christmas means
preserving as much of the past as she
can and decorating her tree with it.
Finlayson has four children, who
are all grown, but still live within an
hour of her Walton-area home, as
well as five grandchildren.
While she doesn’t do too much
decorating around her house, the
decorating she does is of special
meaning to her. Many of the
ornament she places on the family’s
tree were made by her children,
many of them specially-made
snowflakes.
She also has an ornament for
every one of her children, a red ball
with their name on it. She has since
expanded the tradition to her five
grandchildren, creating red balls for
them, all adorned with their names.
“Christmas has been just super
with them around,” Finlayson said
of her grandchildren in an interview
with The Citizen. “It means for a lot
more excitement and it makes it a lot
noisier.”
Watching her grandchildren open
their Christmas gifts every year is
Finlayson’s favourite part of the
holidays, she says, adding that
seeing how happy they get when
they open presents just warms your
heart.
In addition to Christmas with her
children and grandchildren,
Finlayson says Christmas is an
important time for her to visit with
her mother, 2011 Citizen of the Year
Kay Hesselwood. Christmas baking
at Hesselwood’s home begins
around September and it doesn’t
stop for the entire month. Finlayson
is a big part of that process, getting
to Blyth to see her mother and lend a
hand whenever she can.
Hesselwood, who originally built
and ran the Triple K restaurant just
east of Blyth, has always baked,
Finlayson says, but around the
holidays, her urge to bake is
multiplied.
“We have already been to threedifferent craft sales selling bakedgoods,” Finlayson says.
Finlayson says she and her
husband don’t have much of a sweet
tooth for Hesselwood’s creations,
but around the holidays there is
always plenty to go around and
everyone always leaves family
gatherings with a tin of something.
While Finlayson doesn’t
remember too much about growing
up on a farm in the Londesborough
area, she does remember the gift
structure for her and her siblingswhen the holidays rolled around.“We always just got three gifts
every year,” Finlayson said.
“One toy, a pair of pajamas and a
book.”
The structure was always the same
year after year Finlayson said.
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By Shawn LoughlinThe Citizen
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